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Brigham Young Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake (left) and Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham speak before a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah football vs. BYU by the numbers

Originally posted on Utah Utes on SI | By Cole Forsman | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 4:10 PM ET

There's no shortage of familiarity between Utah and BYU heading into Saturday's rivalry game from LaVell Edwards Stadium.

From the coaching staff to the rosters, several faces set to feature in the next installment of the Holy War have spent time on the opposing sideline, whether as a former player or coach. That includes both head coaches in Kyle Whittingham (former BYU linebacker) and Kalani Sitake (ex-assistant under Whittingham at Utah) — as well as over a dozen other student-athletes, coaches and analysts who've made the switch from the Cougars to the Utes and vice versa.

Perhaps, then, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the two teams share certain characteristics on the field with their similar styles of play and philosophies on both sides of the ball.

"Between the two teams, there's a lot of similarities statistically," Whittingham said during his weekly press conference. "Both rushing for roughly the same amount, throwing for roughly the same amount, scoring roughly the same amount.

"Defensively, there's a lot of similarities as well; both in the upper third of the conference, in most of the key stats. Should make for a great matchup."

Indeed, the in-state rivals have more commonalities than differences in some regards; both have leaned on the ground game through their first six games, with Utah (248.2 yards) leading the Big 12 in that category and followed closely by BYU (238 yards); they also sit next to each other in the league's passing leaders column, albeit further down the list at No. 12 and No. 13, respectively (though they're separated by just 1.3 passing yards per game).

On the other side of the ball, the Cougars yield 263.5 yards per game to their opponents, while the Utes give up 293.5 yards per contest. They're neck-and-neck in passing yards allowed — Utah is No. 2 in the Big 12 with 153.7 yards allowed through the air, followed by BYU at No. 4 in the league with 159.3 yards allowed — and have comparable efficiency numbers on offense and defense.

All that to say, Saturday's showdown should deliver quite a battle from Provo, Utah.