SALT LAKE CITY — It’s the first-ever Top-10 rivalry game between No. 7 BYU at No. 3 Utah on Saturday, with both teams bringing standout quarterbacks to the stage.
Utes senior Devon Dampier has led his squad to an 8-0 record, while Cougars sophomore Bear Bachmeier’s team sits at 7-1.
Watch: Quarterback duel takes center stage in BYU-Utah rivalry game
“There's a reason why they're undefeated,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said about the Utes. “They're well coached. They have this great connection, and you can see that their culture is strong, and Morgan's done a great job with that, but I think he realizes he has amazing leaders on his team, and I recognize that too.”
Both Bachmeier and Dampier are dual-threat quarterbacks. They’ve each had no issue exploiting an opposing defense with their feet. BYU’s signal caller has 80 carries for 336 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground so far this season. The Utes captain has 83 carries for 393 yards and five touchdowns rushing.
Bachmeier has thrown for 1,750 yards for 12 touchdowns, while Dampier has had 1,876 passing yards for 18 touchdowns. Coming into this game, Bachmeier has the slight edge in interceptions with only four, while Dampier has thrown seven.
“I'm going to be honest, when I first started watching Bear, I'm like, 'This guy cannot throw,'” Utah head coach Morgan Scalley admitted. “He's a running back playing quarterback. I was wrong, dead wrong. (BYU offensive coordinator) Aaron Roderick has done such a great job developing him, and you can tell his work ethic also, you have to compliment (Bachmeier) on that. He is an efficient thrower. Add to that the fact that he, when he runs, it's like, OK, bring your lunch every time.”
“First off, he's difficult to contain,” Utah defensive coordinator Colton Swan said about the BYU captain. “He's very diverse in what he can do with his feet, with his arm. He plays well with that system. He's a phenomenal player. I mean, you're not doing what they're doing without being really good.”
Scalley expanded on why he’s confident going into the rivalry game with not just an offense, but a team, led by Dampier.
“This is a guy that's making really good decisions throwing the ball, and he's also making people pay and running the ball when he can run,” he explained. “He's competitive. He'll call his own number. I'll go to war any day with, with a guy like that.”
The game between BYU and Utah kicks off at 10 a.m. Mountain in Rice-Eccles Stadium and on ABC.
—