Cougars, Utes expect to compete for MWC title, BCS berth

My only question is: How are the Utes in this discussion?
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http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview08/news/story?id=3529952

Few football rivalries around the country combine the fierceness of the gridiron with the passion of religion like BYU and Utah, and this year their rivalry could have an impact of national proportions. No Mountain West team has accomplished an undefeated, BCS bowl season since Utah in 2004, but the Cougars and Utes have the rosters and the schedules to be the conference's hope in the BCS standings.

The schools have battled on the football field for 86 years -- or 112 if you go by Utah's records -- but few outside know the depth of the rivalry and the contempt each team has for the other. That could change this season as the finale on Nov. 22 could mean the difference between an undefeated record and BCS berth.

"In the state, [the rivalry] is one of the most fierce things I've ever witnessed of any of the places that I've coached," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "There isn't a gray area here. No in-between. You're either a BYU fan or a Utah fan."

During the early part of the season, Utah has a chance to make a name for itself with games against Michigan and Oregon State, while BYU will face Pac-10 foes Washington and UCLA. Those are important stepping-stones toward gaining momentum and prestige heading into a Mountain West Conference that BYU has swept each of the last two seasons, including dramatic wins over Utah during the final games of the season.

But as great as BYU has been over the last two seasons -- 11 wins in 2006 and 2007 -- the Cougars have never generated as much buzz as they have this preseason. As luck would have it and in true rivalry fashion, Utah, which won eight of its last nine to finish 9-4 last season, returns almost all of its starters and is attempting to wrestle the spotlight away from its neighbors to the South.

It's easy to dismiss this rivalry because it doesn't have the immediate pizzazz of an Alabama-Auburn or a Florida State-Miami, but it's as rich in tradition and as heated as any rivalry in the country.

The game is often referred to as the "Holy War" because of BYU's affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and because Utah is owned by the state, the whole week leading up to the contest tends to take on a church vs. State undertone.

"I think one of the reasons that makes the rivalry so fierce is both teams are having success, No. 1, but the second thing is any time you have religion or faith into any topic, it would be similar to politics, the emotions that it brings out in people are just unreal," Mendenhall said.

During the opening contest between Utah and Brigham Young Academy in 1896 there was a full-scale brawl in the stands. BYU actually dropped football from its program for the next 26 years.

In the 1990s there were more brawls -- some between fans, some between players and some between players and fans. In 1998, BYU linebacker Derik Stevenson attacked a fan in the crowd who was harassing his father. A year later in Provo, a Cougar fan jumped out of the stands and attacked a Utah male cheerleader who was running around the field with a Utah flag after a Utah touchdown. The cheerleader proceeded to beat the fan until police separated the two.

The violence moved from the stands to the message boards and every year each campus braces for the defacing of property by the opposing school's fans. Even Utah coach Kyle Whittingham endures scrutiny because he graduated from BYU, which only adds to the intense nature of this rivalry.

"I don't think there's anything friendly about it," Mendenhall said. "[Utah] Coach Whittingham and I, I think, have a professional relationship and one of respect. But that's the extent of it.

"Both of us have to be careful how we describe [the rivalry] because no matter what we say it will end up with someone taking it out of context. You really can't make the rivalry bigger than it already is."

These teams are 9-9 in the last two decades and 10 of the last 11 games have been decided by a touchdown or less.

In last year's game, BYU quarterback Max Hall found receiver Austin Collie for a 49-yard gain on fourth and 18 with 1:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. Harvey Unga rushed for an 11-yard touchdown with 38 seconds remaining to give BYU a 17-10 win.

BYU returns almost all of its offense from a year ago and is ranked No. 17 in the preseason coaches' poll. BYU also holds the nation's longest winning streak at 10 games.

Whittingham said this year's offense is the deepest he's had in his four seasons with the program. The Utes were decimated by injuries last season, but all of those players are back and the young players who stepped in now provide depth.

If these schools are as good as most predict, the game on Nov. 22 could be one that has fans and non-fans alike glued to their televisions, giving the Mountain West a much-needed boost in prestige both by BCS schools and within the non-BCS.

"In a perfect situation, that's the ideal scenario, to have that game come down to the championship every year," Whittingham said. "That's what college football's all about. When you have the opportunity to decide a conference championship against your No. 1 rival, I don't think it gets any better than that."