The U athletic program has had some monumental wins in its prestigious existence.
Everyone has heard about Arnie Ferrin and his 1944 Utes defeating Dartmouth to win the national championship.
The faithful U contingency recalls the Andre Miller, Hanno Mottola and Michael Doleac connection that led the Utes past North Carolina into the national championship game against the Kentucky Wildcats.
And who could forget the pride of Sheboygan Falls, the infamous Rick Majerus and his successful, but controversial, tenure as the head coach of the Runnin’ Utes? Or former football head coach Ron McBride and his 1994 Freedom Bowl 16-13 victory against No. 8 Arizona? And hell, Saturday’s victory at the Big House could be characterized as one of the most impressive wins of all time.
But all of these victories bear no comparison to the best win in Utah history. There was no conference title on the line. No national championship waiting to be won. Just a sign of things to come.
The 2004 football season started out the same as any other. There was promise and there was talent. There was a head coach who thought he had the system and the personnel to make history. The doctor of the modern-day spread offense, Urban Meyer, found diamonds in the rough and molded them into priceless works of art.
Not many football enthusiasts knew the likes of Alex Smith, Paris Warren, Steve Savoy or Quinton Ganther before Meyer.
Bo Nagahi, Marquess Ledbetter and Morgan Scalley? Blue-collar players turned stars.
Scheduling non-conference games against the likes of Texas A&M, Arizona and North Carolina wasn’t what put these Utes on the map. It was the offensive-wizardry that Meyer, Smith and Co. worked against every defense, a wizardish potion that whipped up 45 points per game with an average margin of victory of 26 points per game.
But the most important win that year was also the biggest one for all Utah athletics.
It was Nov. 20, 2004. It was cold and it was time to play BYU. The Utes were 10-0 at the time. ESPN’s College GameDay crew was on hand and the fans were in a frenzy. Lee Corso did a marvelous Swoop impersonation, donning the U mascot’s head, while Kirk Herbstreit donned a sombrero and threw tortilla chips in the air, signaling a possible trip to the Fiesta Bowl for the Utes. The fans riled Herbstreit up so much that he made host Chris Fowler break out into laughter on live TV. Herbstreit then proceeded to pelt Fowler with chips.
“Get ready, make your reservations Utah fans,” Herbstreit yelled. “You’re going to Tempe.”
The Cougars held tough with the undefeated Utes for two quarters. Alex Smith threw two picks, doubling his season total for the entire season and the Utes held a 21-14 lead at halftime.
The offense and defense came out and put the clamps on any hope of a rivalry upset in the second half.
Steve Savoy ran all over the Cougar defense, including a 92-yard touchdown that put the nail in BYU’s coffin.
Nagahi was “Mr. Do-It-All,” returning a fumble for a touchdown, running a fake punt for 23 yards and had a hand in laying out Cougar receivers all game.
Defensive lineman Steve Fifita rumbled, stumbled and bumbled into the endzone single-handedly pushing down a would-be Cougar defender8212;literally.
The likes of John Beck, Curtis Brown, Todd Watkins and Austin Collie were not to be heard of on this night. Beck looked like he was taking snaps for the Dolphins and Collie must not have been living righteously off the field.
On that night it was Savoy, Ganther, Marty Johnson and the Utes’ rushing attack, rather than the aerial assault, that put on the offensive showcase in a 52-21 win.
It was the most important win in school history. It put the Utes on the map and it proved to BYU and, most importantly, college football, that the Utes were kings of the Utah football hill.
Chris Kamrani