The BYU football team was denied a chance to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in Cougar history and fell short to the University of Utah 35-28 in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. After surrendering five turnovers on its first five possessions, BYU (9-4) found itself in a 35-0 hole after the first 10 minutes of the game. The Cougars rallied for a touchdown on their last possession of the first half to trail 35-7, then strung together three more touchdowns out of the break and held the Utes (10-3) scoreless to make it 35-28 with 3:23 remaining. Utah converted two first downs on its final drive to get into the victory formation and prevent BYU from having another chance.

After a forgettable first quarter, BYU dominated the statistics, outgaining Utah 386 to 197 in total yards and 315 to 71 in the passing game. The Cougars averaged 4.8 yards per play to Utah's 3.0, but 35 points off five turnovers was too much to overcome. Despite throwing three interceptions and fumbling in the first quarter, true freshman Tanner Mangum stayed composed to finish 25 of 56 for 315 yards and two touchdowns, also rushing for a 4-yard score. He finished his true freshman season with 3,377 passing yards and 23 touchdowns. Devon Blackmon caught three passes for 97 yards while Nick Kurtz and Remington Peck each caught a touchdown pass. Francis Bernard added one rushing touchdown on seven carries for 58 yards. Defensively, Bronson Kaufusi led BYU in his final game as a Cougar with nine tackles and three tackles for loss. Laulile posted two sacks while Micah Hannemann had one of his own.

Mangum fumbled at the 25-yard line on BYU's first possession, and the Utes took advantage on a short field, punching it in from a yard out for an early 7-0 lead. On BYU's next possession, a tipped pass fell into the hands of Utah's Tevin Carter and was returned for a score just 17 seconds later, putting the Cougars in a 14-point hole. Back-to-back picks on the next two possessions resulted in another 14 points for Utah — one returned to the 1-yard line and finished with a rush, the other a pick-six. A fifth BYU turnover in five possessions set up Utah's fifth touchdown of the first quarter, making it 35-0 with 4:38 left.

The Cougar defense shined after the barrage of turnovers, forcing four consecutive punts including three three-and-outs. BYU finally capitalized on its last drive of the half. Despite being pinned at their own 3-yard line, the Cougars executed a 97-yard drive capped by Peck's 3-yard touchdown reception — the first by a BYU tight end all year — to make it 35-7 at half. Mangum was 5 of 6 for 83 yards on the drive.

BYU scored on its opening drive out of the half. Mangum hit Bernard on a swing pass and Bernard rumbled into the end zone for a 10-yard rushing touchdown to make it 35-14 with 10:02 to go in the third quarter. BYU was driving on its next possession but suffered a sack on third down forcing a punt. Utah put together a five-minute drive but turned the ball over on downs at the BYU 35-yard line one minute into the fourth quarter.

Facing a fourth and 13, Blackmon got loose behind the defense and Mangum found him for a 44-yard gain to keep the drive alive. On another fourth down at the Utah 4-yard line, Mangum rocketed a pass to Kurtz for a touchdown to get within two scores with 10:33 to go. With 5:05 remaining, Utah went for a short fourth-and-1 and the BYU defense stuffed Joe Williams for no gain to get the ball back. Mangum hit Blackmon for 45 yards to get inside the Utah 4-yard line, then called his own number and rushed four yards for the score to make it 35-28 with 3:23 on the clock. The Ute offense got two first downs on the ensuing drive and never gave the Cougars a chance to complete the comeback.

BYU finished the season 9-4. Mendenhall departed as the second winningest coach in school history with a 99-43 record.