PROVO?The Utah football team had a chance last Saturday night to knock off an undefeated team, take the Mountain West Conference lead and, most importantly, teach much-hated BYU a little lesson in humility.

But when this opportunity knocked, it knocked the Utes over.

The game pitted BYU’s high octane offense against Utah’s stifling defense, and while the adage claims that “defense wins championships,” this time it was the offense that came out victorious, as BYU scored two touchdowns in the last 3 minutes, 11 seconds of the game for a dramatic 24-21 come-from-behind victory to win the MWC title and earn a berth into the AXA Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn.

“It’s hard to think they could score two touchdowns on us in the last five minutes, but they did it, and it’s hard to deal with,” said senior U linebacker CR Dwinnell.

The Utes had won four straight in Provo, not losing at LaVell Edwards Stadium since 1991, but couldn’t hold a 21-10 advantage this time around, as BYU quarterback Brandon Doman threw for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns, and running back Luke Staley ran for 169 yards, and each scored one touchdown apiece through the air and on the ground.