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Utah stands off against rival BYU in search of BCS berth

Nov 22, 2008 - 11:20 AM (14) Brigham Young (10-1) at (7) Utah (11-0), 6:00 pm EST

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Four years ago, Brigham Young had a chance to derail the BCS dreams of arch rival Utah. But despite the implications, the Cougars could only run with their rivals for one half before ultimately suffering the same fate as the Utes' last 11 victims.

On Saturday, 14th-ranked BYU gets another shot to change history as it takes on another undefeated Utah squad looking to crash the BCS bowl party.

The seventh-ranked Utes will try to complete their second undefeated campaign in five years when they host the Cougars in the latest installment of "the Holy War."

With a win, Utah would also clinch its first Mountain West Conference championship since 2004.

Only 40 miles separate the state's two flagship institutions, but the dividing lines between red and blue are set in stone. One of the nation's longest rivalries, dating to 1896, it had primarily regional implications until just a few years ago when Urban Meyer turned around the Utah program and vaulted it into the national consciousness.

Since then, BYU has tried to catch up behind head coach Bronco Mendenhall - and many felt the Cougars would do so coming into this season. The consensus just a month ago was that the annual showdown between these two rivals would be the other way around.

BYU was tearing opponents apart from week to week. But the Cougars' early-season promise was derailed by a road loss to fellow conference foe TCU on October 16.

Utah nearly suffered the same fate earlier this month, falling behind at home against the Horned Frogs before pulling out a 13-10 victory with a last-minute scoring drive.

Of course, the Cougars - who have rebounded with four straight victories since their lone defeat - would love nothing more than to pull off an upset against Utah.

BYU (10-1, 6-1 Mountain West) has won the last two conference championships, closing each regular season with come-from-behind victories over Utah.

Prior to that, the Utes had won three meetings in a row with the Cougars, including the regular-season finale in 2004. The Cougars did what few opponents could that year, keeping up for an entire half before eventually falling to the high-powered Utes, 52-21.

This weekend, the location and implications are the same, but the matchup is different. The 2004 Utes were an offensive juggernaut built on Meyer's spread offense - the attack that has resulted in a national championship and a Heisman Trophy winner at Florida.

This year's Utes, coaches by former defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham, can put plenty of points on the board but is built on the speed and athleticism of its defense. Utah is yielding just 16.6 points and 284.7 yards per game this season.

Offensively, the Utes are led by senior quarterback Brian Johnson, who tossed five touchdown passes in last week's 63-14 rout of conference doormat San Diego State. He has completed 66.6 percent of his passes this year with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

BYU is led by junior quarterback Max Hall, who set a Mountain West record last weekend with his 34th touchdown pass of the season.