The Brigham Young University Cougars and Utah Utes, after a two-year hiatus, will meet again this Saturday night in a big rivalry game that has been known as the “Holy War.” The schools first played each other in 1896, and have met 101 times prior. And, as has been the case since 2011, both schools will wear color jerseys. But this year they’re taking the uni game a step further, and will play a full-on, mono-vs-mono, color rush game.
BYU will be breaking out their all-royal uniforms.
GAME 9. pic.twitter.com/573GqxU4Gx
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) August 1, 2024
Utah will counter by going all red.
, #GoUtes | @BookSeatscom pic.twitter.com/aT1YjKvk9r
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 5, 2024
Utah isn’t just wearing all-red. They are wearing an all red throwback uniform. The red throwback tops and helmets are not new. However, Utah has never worn red throwback pants. This will be the first time Utah has worn an all-red throwback set.
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 5, 2024
The Utes’ uniforms will feature all red with white accents and the double “U” logo as the primary logo.
As far as rivalry games go, this one is up there with Ohio State/Michigan, Army/Navy, and USC/UCLA. As noted, the teams first met in 1896 and have played 101 games against each other. For many years, both teams played in the same conference. From 1922 to 2010, most recently in the Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference, the teams were not just in-state rivals, but conference opponents as well. That changed in 2011, when Utah joined the PAC-12. It was also in 2011 that the games became color vs. color, with each school wearing its “home” jerseys. The two schools played color vs. color from 2011-2021 (missing 2020 due to COVID). Here’s a look back at the uniform combinations for both teams this century.
As you can see from the graphic above, Utah has worn mono-red for every game since 2010. BYU has been a bit more traditional, wearing white helmets for every game, and white pants for every game except the 2013 matchup. Since 2015, BYU has worn white/royal/white for each game.
But that will change this year. BYU, after playing as an “independent” between 2011-2022, joined the Big XII last year. Following the breakup of the PAC-12 after last season, Utah joined the Big XII this season. This will mark the first time in more than a decade that the two schools meet as both in-state and conference rivals. So BYU decided to break out the mono-royal for the big game. Mono-royal is a rarely worn combo for the Cougars, as they have only worn the mono-royal look four times ever (2021 vs Arizona, 2022 vs Baylor, 2023 vs Cincinnati, and 2024 vs Southern Illinois).
Since 2010, Utah has dominated the rivalry, going 9-1 in the 10 games played since then. But BYU finally won the last time the teams played in 2021, and this year the Cougars are really good. They are undefeated this season (8-0 overall, 5-0 in the Big XII) and are currently ranked No. 9. If the season were to end today, BYU would be the four seed (which includes a bye) in the new College Football Playoff. Utah is having a down year (4-4 overall, 1-4 in the Big XII), but are always up for the game against BYU.
I am usually a big fan of color vs color games, so I am naturally excited for this one (although I’m not sure if I want the full color rush treatment). Color vs color games are still fairly rare in college football, and so long as the colors don’t clash, I wish there were more of them. How great would it be to see Ohio State in scarlet vs. Michigan in blue? USC/UCLA has traditionally been the standard for color vs color games, but it would be fantastic if more rivalry, neutral-site or bowl games went this route as well.
The BYU/Utah tilt will be featured on ESPN as the “after dark” game, with a kickoff scheduled for 10:15 pm (ET). I’ll definitely be watching. I’d also venture the game will make Jimmer’s 5 & 1 on the good side, the only question is where in the Top 5 it will land.
What do you guys think? Should more college football games be color vs color (so long as there is enough difference between colors)? Should rivalry games, neutral site games and Bowl games be color vs color? Or do you prefer color vs white jersey games?
While red vs blue is perhaps the most basic of color vs color matchups, the seems like a lot of fun for a rivalry game.
As a diehard BYU fan, I actually cannot watch this game because it causes me too much stress. (I will watch it the next day if we win ) However, I wish the Cougs had stuck with the traditional white/royal/white against the Ute’s’ mono red. Mono a mono will still look good, but there’s a reason the classic look is a classic.
Go Utes!
Would have been nice for at least one of them to wear white pants. But at least its color vs color. Something which does not happen enough, but certainly could.
In that Utah promo video, all of my focus is on the exit signs in the background. At least the sign colors compliment the unis.
As much as I despise the mono-unis, this one will actually look pretty good since it’s color vs color. Being a night game will help a lot too under the lights.
Oh baby!! This is what I’m talking about!
Unnecessary mono battle. Not only that, but unnecessary for teams to go color vs color. It would be just as great a matchup if was red/red/white vs blue/white/blue.
I absolutely despise color on color matchups. JMHO but one team should always be wearing white jerseys. The ONLY possible exception for me is the UCLA/USC game.
In this day of high-definition technology for most of those who watch from home, I don’t think that we NEED white uniforms for sports teams – unless both teams have similar color schemes
BYU/Utah going Blue vs Red is a good idea: more rivalry games should do the same regarding wearing color vs color
I love color vs color for a big rivalry game. As you mentioned, I wish Michigan-Ohio State would do the same. I’m kinda bummed that the “Civil War” Oregon-Oregon State game this year wasn’t such attired. This game will look great and should be #1 on Vilk’s list come Sunday!