Salt Lake City, Utah - BYU retained the Wasatch Cup as the Cougars exploded for 76 points in defeating hosts Utah 76-31 Saturday.

“The score doesn’t tell the whole story of the game. We knew the Utes would be ready to play as they have in the past,” said BYU Head Coach David Smyth told BYURugby.com. “Our backs did a great job finding the holes leading to several tries.”

BYU senior prop Kody Thompson scored two tries and wing Jordan Lowry scored three on the day as BYU built a 57-17 lead midway through the second half. But Utah kept coming and scored twice late before BYU capped the day with three tries in the space of seven minutes.

Ryan Blaser, Hoseki Kofe, Josh Whippy, Jose Nicholls, and Ben Keith all touched down for the Cougars, while flanker Ara Elkington scored twice. Flyhalf Jonny Linehan hit eight conversions.

“We knew they were fired up but we knew we could rely on what we worked on during practice,” BYU captain Kyle Sumsion told BYURugby. “Every time they scored, we fought back in whatever way we could. It didn’t matter if it was in the scrum or in line outs; we keep pushing each other for the win.”

The Wasatch Cup is the traveling trophy for the annual BYU v Utah game. It's possible these two teams will meet again in the Varsity Cup, if so that would be in the semifinals.