Utah Utes vs BYU Cougars Football Preview

The Brigham Young Cougars and the Utah Utes hate each other, and after this game, they will no longer be members of the same conference. An emotional day awaits in Salt Lake City.

The complicating factor about a nasty in-state rivalry is that on many occasions, the two teams reside in the same conference, which means that during September – when non-conference games are played – the fans of both schools find themselves rooting for the rival team, in order to boost their own conference’s national standing. BYU and Utah fans have both rooted for each other (at least to some degree) over the past decade because the schools have shared a spot in the Mountain West Conference. Given the struggles of the league’s top teams to make BCS bowls (Utah and TCU have finally broken through in recent years), it’s important for the league to win non-conference games and earn national respect. BYU and Utah fans have been drawn together more than they’d like to admit.

Now, though, all the gloves are off in this bitter Western feud. With BYU becoming an independent football team next year and Utah heading off to the Pac-10 Conference, this rivalry game will now enjoy even more natural forms of hatred. These schools no longer have to care for each other’s well-being in non-conference play. They can hate each other for the rest of eternity. The emotions involved in the rivalry will only make this Saturday’s contest that much more spirited.

The Cougars have played much better football than Utah has over the past month. Quarterback Jake Heaps, only a freshman, used a bye week to gain a much better understanding of coordinator Robert Anae’s offense. Heaps is now on the same page with his receivers, who are in turn making plays for their quarterback. This was not the case in the first half of the season. Heaps needs to display composure in his first game against Utah, especially since this is on the road. Heaps must control his emotions, make proper reads, and choose the safe short pass over the risky long ball. In what will be a quarterback-centric game (in terms of game keys, not necessarily in terms of excellence or quality), Heaps has to sustain the momentum he’s generated in recent weeks.

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For Utah, momentum didn’t exist for most of the past few weeks, but it just might have returned on Nov. 20. With the Utes spiraling downward last weekend on the road against the Aztecs of San Diego State, Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn answered the call for his team. Down 27-10 midway through the second quarter, Wynn engineered a very impressive comeback in a 38-34 Utah win that revived the Utes’ flagging season. Wynn needs to build off that game and provide another strong effort for coach Kyle Whittingham. Wynn, a sophomore, has often looked like a freshman in the month of November, but his bold showing in San Diego might be the turning point for his Utah career. It needs to be.

The other big key for Utah in this game is to punch BYU in the mouth, especially Heaps. BYU has played a lot better in recent weeks, but it’s also true that the Cougars have fattened up against the bottom half of the Mountain West Conference. UNLV, Colorado State, Wyoming, and New Mexico are all bad teams. If Utah can get a quick 14-0 lead, BYU might fold and, in the process, make the Utes’ task much simpler on their home field.

It will be hard for BYU to win this game on the road, but it will also be difficult for Utah to easily subdue a confident bunch of Cougars. This game has historically been very, very close, and with BYU playing really well over the past month, there won’t be a shortage of self-belief on the visiting team’s sideline.

The Holy War is anyone’s game. Let the hatred begin as these schools’ Mountain West football eras come to an end.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer