There are a number of components that make the Holy War particularly fierce. As the name of the rivalry implies, religion is a large component to the rivalry. The long length of rivalry is also a major element. Another factor was that both teams played in the same conference from 1922 to 2010, and the Holy War game often decided the conference title. In 2011, Utah joined the Pac-12, and as BYU was not invited...BYU became independent.The proximity of the two schools and the successful nature of the two teams also fuel the rivalry

The Holy War is one of America's oldest and most heated college football rivalries. The schools differ on when the first game was played. Utah claims that the first game was played in 1896 against Brigham Young Academy. BYU's athetic website shows their schedule dating back to 1922, but no earlier. The Utes lead the all time series 54–34–4 or 51–31–4, depending on whether the first six meetings are counted.

Prior to 1972, Utah dominated over BYU (41–8–4). From 1972 to 1992, BYU led the series with a record of 19–2 over the Utes.. In 1994 the Utes achieved what they had failed to achieve since 1972: consecutive wins. The rivalry has become much more intense from 1992 to the present. The last twenty games have resulted with Utah having eleven wins and BYU having nine. The largest point spread during the last twenty meetings is 31 points, which has happened once by each team: BYU won 48–17 in 1991 and Utah won 52–21 in 2004.

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