No. 9 BYU motivated for 1st rivalry game with Utah in 3 years

PROVO — Sonny Makasini didn't necessarily grow up in a BYU household, though the redshirt sophomore is all-blue as he prepares to play against rival Utah for the first time in his college career.

He's not going anywhere, and his family will be cheering him on this weekend just as they will younger brother Taani, a Class of 2025 linebacker commit out of Timpview High.

But don't expect that rooting interest to be easy in the Makasini home, he cautions.

"I think they'll wear my jersey underneath their Utah stuff," Makasini said of his mother and two uncles who played for the Utes. "They were on that Fiesta Bowl team (in 2005), so they're pretty proud to be Utes."

The Makasini clan is hardly unique as a family often split apart by the state's preeminent sporting rivalry. There will be something different when No. 9 BYU faces the Utes for the first time as members of the Big 12 at 8:15 p.m. MST Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadiums, where the Utes are determined to "spoil" the Cougars' season as 3.5-point underdogs.

This one isn't the SEC, but in Utah, it just means more.

"It's a blessing, an awesome opportunity," Makasini told KSL.com after practice the week before the game. "I grew up watching this game from here in Provo with lots of family fights over who is going to win. But I'm just grateful to have the opportunity to play in a game I've dreamed of playing in my whole life."

Family allegiances aside, Makasini said he grew up wanting to play in the rivalry game, which is a common sentiment among his teammates — especially those from the state of Utah.

"It was a big game for me growing up as a fan, and it's a big game playing in it now," said offensive tackle Brayden Keim, the son of former BYU and NFL lineman Mike Keim who prepped at Alta. "But for us, it's the next game. It's the most important one, like all of them have been. That's been the focus."

The Cougars (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) have everything to play for this season, with a potential Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff berth on the table after opening the CFP rankings Tuesday at No. 9.

The Utes (4-4, 1-4 Big 12) are a little different, having lost four in a row including a 17-14 setback to Houston after offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig stepped down.

The last time the two teams played, BYU snapped a nine-game losing skid on a rain-soaked night in Provo, when BYU fans rushed the field in 2021 a couple days after an invitation to join the Big 12 arrived.

Keim didn't play in that game — "I was cheering really hard on the bench," he joked — but remembered how many matchups revolved around the offensive line.

"They were rolling the D-line off the ball, and Tyler Allgeier was running hard," Keim said of a group that allowed Jaren Hall to complete 60% of his passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns and run for 92 more in the 26-17 win. "They had a great game that year."

That was a long time ago; BYU has remade its defense in three years since, bringing in former Utah cornerback and Weber State head coach Jay Hill to run a defense that rates in the top-40 nationally, one that will go up against a Utah defense rated No. 15 in total defense.

Like head coach Kalani Sitake, who spent a decade on Kyle Whittingham's staff at Utah, Hill also hasn't forgotten where he came from.

"I owe Kyle so much," Hill said. "He was obviously a coach to me, and when I was a young coach, I learned so much of the game from him. I've got so much love and respect for that guy; he taught me so much. He's like a brother/father figure to me in coaching. It's a close relationship, and I'll cherish it forever because I owe him so much."

Utah's original starting quarterback Cam Rising is out for the season, and head coach Kyle Whittingham has remained coy about playing true freshman backup Isaac Wilson or Brandon Rose under center.

Utah also ranks 74th nationally in rushing offense (BYU is 59th), and has an offense proven to be strong and physical up front — exactly what the Cougars' offensive line has tried to prove in wins over No. 13 SMU, No. 17 Kansas State and others.

Keim expects the same from the Utes.

"This is a good team: big, strong and physical," he said. "But we've played big, strong and physical D-lines all year."

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