In 1996, Edwards assembled one of his best teams: winning 14 games, finishing the season #5 in both major polls, and with a thrilling victory over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Utah's resurgence to national basketball prominence, and BYU's struggles in the late 1990s, are illustrated by the fact that from 1995 to 2000, the Utes beat the Cougars 12 straight times.

Under second-year head coach Urban Meyer, and future #1 NFL Draft choice Alex Smith at QB, the Utes beat the Cougars 52–21, and clinched a bid to the Fiesta Bowl.

Ten days later, an employee of a discount store in Salt Lake notified the police that a customer had recently developed pictures of himself and friends in front of the painted "Y."

[14] In the second half, after some back-and-forth physicality between the guards, Emery cocked his arm back and hit Taylor in the face—who then fell to the court and smacked his head on the hardwood.

[15] Krystkowiak said after the game that he was incensed by Emery's punch and what appeared to be further taunting by the freshman guard as well as a lack of discipline by BYU coach Dave Rose concerning the play.

Most Utah fans and some among national sports media, including ESPN hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, applauded Krystkowiak's decision to cancel the game [19]—citing incidents that have given BYU athletics a reputation for "dirty play" in recent years.

[15] A few of the local media, most of the BYU fanbase, and even Utah Governor Herbert criticized the move, citing the deep historical significance of the series.

Earlier in the season, a highly favored BYU team beat Utah 82–64 in Provo, extending their record to 17–0, and earning a #3 national ranking.

After missing the majority of the season due to health problems, Utah coach Rick Majerus watched the game from the stands as the Utes (15–13, 7–9) and Cougars (21–7, 11–5) met in the first round of the WAC Tournament.

The highly favored BYU squad was able to establish a nine-point lead with 11:23 left in the game, but Utah, led by Josh Grant, Craig Rydalch, and Walter Watts, fought back to force overtime.

But with the game tied, Utah's Tyrone Tate committed a foul, which allowed BYU's Nathan Call to put the Cougars up by two from the free-throw line with :08 left.

Meanwhile, Utah (13–4, 1–1) entered Provo without coach Majerus, who was in Southern California attending the funeral for the stepfather of former Ute star Andre Miller.

One year after Utah coach Wayne Howard waged a "crusade to beat BYU," the Utes (5–3, 2–2) and Cougars (7–2, 5–0) squared off at Rice Stadium on a cold November afternoon.

But Ute QB Randy Gomez would find WR Frank Henry wide open in the southwest corner of the endzone for the game-winning touchdown.

BYU (8–2, 5–2), on the other hand, gave up eight turnovers, and suffered numerous game-ending injuries at key positions, including to QB Sean Covey.

Local companies and fans capitalized on the victory by selling key chains made with pieces of the goal posts, and tee-shirts which proclaimed: "I was there: 57–28!"

The game also featured six lead changes, including a 27-yard touchdown pass from John Walsh to Mike Johnston to put BYU ahead by four with 2:15 remaining.

But Ute freshman Cal Beck returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to the Cougar 32; and three plays later, Utah QB Mike McCoy found RB Charlie Brown for a 20-yard touchdown strike with just 56 seconds left to retake the lead.

In the final seconds of the game, BYU was able to move to ball all the way up to the Ute 34, but Utah's Bronzell Miller forced a fumble that teammate Luther Elliss recovered to preserve the win: 34–31... again.

Then, after forcing BYU to punt on their next possession, Utah's offense promptly marched the ball down the Cougar 15-yard line to set up the potential game-winning field goal.

The term "doink" comes from the description of the play given to local media outlets by former Cougar QB Steve Sarkisian who was on the BYU sideline during the game.

The Ute defense held two Cougar QBs to a combined total of 41 yards passing, and only allowed BYU's offense to cross the 50-yard line once the entire game.

The Utes outscored the Cougars 31–7 in the second half to secure the win, and sombrero-clad fans (expecting a Fiesta Bowl invitation) rushed the field as time expired.

Utah (5–5, 3–4), on the other hand, came into the game with a disappointing record, and was forced to start Brett Ratliff, an inexperienced JC-transfer, at quarterback after starter Brian Johnson went down with a season-ending injury the week before.

On BYU's ensuing possession, QB John Beck's fourth-down pass landed incomplete in the back of the endzone, just beyond the outstretched arms of Todd Watkins.

With the game clock displaying zeros, John Beck's completed an 11-yard pass across his body to a wide-open Jonny Harline who caught the ball in the end zone on his knees to win the rivalry for the first time in 4 years.

This time BYU's kick sailed above Utah's defense and had enough height to make the distance, but hit the goal's upright and bounced back into the field.

It seemed that BYU would start off horribly again as they had been all season, but the punt that followed the opening drive landed in the hands of a Utah special teams member, and was dropped.

The attempt failed, giving Utah the ball with less than a minute on the clock, sealing a 35–27 comeback win and an eighth straight victory over BYU.