Down 0-2 in games. Down 11-20 in the DreamBreaker. One point from losing the title.

Utah Tech 1 came all the way back to beat FAU 1 3-2 on Championship Sunday at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas, and repeat as College World Champions. It is the largest comeback in College Pickleball Tour history, and it came against the one program that had beaten them on a big stage this year.

How the comeback happened

Top-seeded FAU 1 won women's doubles and men's doubles to go up 2-0. One more game and the title was theirs.

No. 3 Utah Tech 1 answered in mixed doubles, then took the second mixed doubles game to force a DreamBreaker.

FAU looked to have it there too. They led the DreamBreaker 20-11, one point from the world title. Utah Tech erased the nine-point deficit and took the DreamBreaker to clinch the championship.

The rivalry of this era

Utah Tech vs. FAU is the rivalry of the current college pickleball era. The two met at The Nationals earlier this year, and FAU won that one 3-1.

On paper, the final was as close as it gets. Utah Tech 1 came in with an average team DUPR of 5.350. FAU 1 averaged 5.342. That's a gap of 0.008, and the match played out just as tight.

A tale of two DreamBreakers

FAU 1 already had to survive one Utah Tech DreamBreaker to reach the final. In the semifinals, Utah Tech 2 battled back from 2-1 down to force it, and FAU escaped 21-18 to win 3-2.

On the other side of the bracket, Utah Tech 1 swept Alabama 3-0.

That set up a second Utah Tech DreamBreaker for FAU in a single afternoon. This one went the other way.

A bracket that held to form

The bracket was almost perfect chalk. Only two matches went against the seeds:

• No. 10 Texas 1 beat No. 7 Alabama 1, 3-1
• No. 3 Utah Tech 1 beat No. 1 FAU 1, 3-2, in the final

Just behind Utah Tech and FAU were the usual programs looking to break through. Alabama made the semifinals, and Wisconsin, Texas, UVA and Arizona State rounded out the quarterfinals.

In DUPR terms, a lower seed beating a higher seed is performing above expectation, the same thing that moves a player's rating up.

Back-to-back

Utah Tech came to Farmers Branch as the defending champion and leaves with its second straight world title. FAU has the Nationals win, Utah Tech has the last word, and the rivalry is only getting better.

Check your DUPR to see how your own game is trending, and follow the College Pickleball Tour for what's next.

What's next on the College Pickleball Tour

The pro action continues at Brookhaven right after Worlds, with the Opendoor Pickleball World Championships running Nov. 2-8. On the college side, the fall schedule keeps moving:

• Midwest Collegiate Fall Invite 100, Nov. 7, Lake Geneva, Wis.
• Charlotte Classic Regional 200, Nov. 7, Charlotte, N.C.
• North Alabama Showdown, Nov. 14, Florence, Ala.
• George Mason 100, Nov. 14, Fairfax, Vir.
• Pickleball U Rager Regional 200, Nov. 14-15, Sarasota, Fla.
• Arizona Super Regional 300 @ Center Court Glendale, Nov. 21-22, Glendale, Ariz.
• Indiana Classic 200, Dec. 5, Bloomington, Ind.