SALT LAKE CITY -- Cameron Jensen, one of the seniors begging for a win over Utah, quietly stood on the sideline as do-or-die unfolded.

"Please make a play," the linebacker helplessly told himself Saturday during the last BYU timeout, and into the last gasp.

"Please make a play," was all he could repeatedly think about his team's offense as he waited to find out what kind of night it was going to be.

A wish, the believe-and-heave, came true. Finally, after not defeating the Utes since 2001, the Cougars reveled in the rivalry.

The celebration will last for a long time, and the game will be discussed and dissected forever. As entertaining as this series has been, BYU may have the upper hand for quite some time in terms of sheer dramatic victories.

BYU players did the Haka twice, once before the game and again after the 33-31 victory when quarterback John Beck sealed his wobbly (the first three years or so) and wonderful (a brilliant final one) legacy with an 11-yard touchdown pass.

They never dance an extra time in the same game, but this celebration deserved a large dose of unusual.

Even on the road, BYU fans stuck around and kept chanting players' names.

They, in turn, led in yelling the school song. One fan stormed the field with a 'Y' flag and paraded it to midfield.

Bronco Mendenhall, the publicly reserved head coach, couldn't help but roam the west side stands and dish out high fives.

The blazing energy had to be released. This night -- though, obviously even more for BYU fans -- was meant to be bottled up. Not bottled in.

"I wanted to jump out of a window," said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe, who was on the sixth floor of the Rice-Eccles Stadium press box while BYU roamed 75 plays in 10 yards in the final 1 minute, 19 seconds.

Brandon Doman, the team's quarterbacks coach who was the last BYU signal caller to beat the Utes, stood upstairs and yearned for duplication.

Clutch as he was five years ago, he found it harder to watch someone else try to replicate his magic.

"Seeing John do it," Doman said, "was an even greater feeling. But it was a lot harder to go through, too."

Beck's been so good since conference play started. A bunch of league blowouts were strung together by the 10-2 Mountain West champions, who hadn't been threatened since September. This day wasn't supposed to be any different. The Cougars, who finished 8-0 in the league, had every advantage but home field. Yet it came down to a last chance.

On the final play, the one your great-great-great grandchildren will still be talking about, the Utes attacked The Man with only one man. Eventually, another charged him. Everyone else waited for the pass.

The play was a flood to the left, meaning everything went that way. It was actually called two plays in a row. Beck failed to recognize the coverage on the previous play, coaches admitted. Zac Collie was open in the left corner of the end zone, but Beck chose to go to the opposite side where favorite target Harline roamed. Incomplete pass. One more shot.

"During the timeout, we wondered what the odds were they'd expect us to call it again," offensive coordinator Robert Anae said.

It was such a dramatic ending, fans erupted on both sides. Full plastic bottles rained down to the field, along with a few ecstatic BYU fans who had to get closer to their team.

A few fights from ticket holders spilled out.

It's the second year in a row -- the visiting team the winner each time -- that the rivalry game ended on the final play. It cannot get any better, can itfi

Last year, in Provo, Beck lobbed a desperate pass in overtime that fell short. This year, he found himself carried off the field on teammates' shoulders.

"I've been waiting my whole career for this time," Beck said of the win and the completion, not the hoisting.

The hatred runs deep between these two teams, like in all good rivalries. It extends from players to schools to families, down through the generations.

Yet it was such good competition, so ridiculously wonderful to watch, that the star player of each team couldn't help but appreciate the art they'd created together.

Beck and Eric Weddle, the Utah defensive star, shook hands and smiled. They gave each other a pat on the back, told each other great game.

They had been a part of something truly unique. The ending was too good to hold a grudge for long. Fans of both teams chatted in the parking lot, a very distinct opposite of the pre-game scene.

For as good as this series has been, even though Utah had dominated the recent results, Weddle's words may have said everything.

"It's a shame someone had to lose," he said. "It was just that great of a game. But BYU deserves it. They were one play better."

On this day, classy and classic were one in the same. That says a lot about how good the game really was.

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This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B3.