Utah Utes, BYU football: BCS busting: the sequel

For the second time in five seasons, the original Bowl Championship Series busters are poised for another trip to college football's promised land. Saturday's 48-24 win over BYU at Rice-Eccles Stadium sealed the deal for Utah.

The Utes, who defeated Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, entered the game ranked seventh in the BCS standings. They completed the regular season with a 12-0 record and an outright Mountain West Conference championship after defeating the No. 14 Cougars (10-2).

BCS pairings will be announced on Dec. 7.

"I couldn't be more proud of the guys on this team," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We had a great season."

Great was a word Whittingham used frequently after the Utes defeated the Cougars for the first time since 2005.

"We played great in every phase of the game today — offense, defense and special teams — so I'm happy with our effort," he said.

"Brian (Johnson) played a great game. All three coordinators did a great job.

"Now, all we can do is sit back and let the rest of the season unfold. It would take a perfect storm for us to get (into the BCS title game), but there are a couple more weekends of football left and it will be interesting to watch," Whittingham added.

Utah sharpened up its resume against the Cougars.

Johnson led the offense by completing 30-of-36 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns.

"If he's not an all-conference quarterback," Whittingham said, "I don't know who is."

Johnson, one of 18 seniors playing his final home game for the Utes, acknowledged a BCS-clinching win over BYU was the perfect way to go out.

"Tonight was a tough challenge and we stuck together and played well," Johnson said. "It's always a big challenge for me to play against other great quarterbacks and try to be the best at my position on the field."

Johnson certainly had a better outing the Max Hall. The Cougars' quarterback was 21-of-42 for 205 yards. He was intercepted five times and lost a fumble that Utah recovered.

"I think that without the turnovers it would have been a completely different game," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said after congratulating Utah on its victory. "In a game like this when there is a championship on the line, you have to play cleaner than we did."

The bulk of the Cougars' woes came after they pulled to within 27-24 midway through the fourth quarter.

Utah's defense seized control of the game with four interceptions and a fumble recovery down the stretch.

"Our defense rose to the occasion when it mattered most," Whittingham said.

The decisive turnovers came after an 11-yard touchdown run by quarterback Max Hall gave BYU the game's only third-quarter score.

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