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PROVO — Thanks to a dramatic change in circumstances, what once was isn’t any longer in the heated rivalry between BYU and Utah.
For much of the last two decades, the rivalry’s intensity was equal for both sides. But that all changed when Texas and other Big 12 schools rejected the Pac-10’s request to go west, which triggered the conference to invite Utah.
The facelift began three years ago, when both schools bolted from the Mountain West Conference and went in different directions. Shortly after Utah joined a BCS conference, BYU decided to become an independent.
Now that the Utes are in the Pac-12, BYU has a bigger stake in the heated game. And please, BYU fans, don’t shoot this messenger.
“I think it means more to BYU,” said Brandon Doman, who played and coached at BYU and has had family members associated with the football program for the last 30 years.
Taking emotion out of it, there’s logic to the reasoning the game means more to BYU. In most cases, conference games are more important than non-conference games.
Utah’s next two conference games, which are both at home, come against No. 13 UCLA and No. 5 Stanford, respectively. Both games should matter more than any non-conference game.
The Utes also play at No. 2 Oregon and play host to No. 23 Arizona State in November. Any success against all those ranked teams would bring Utah far more recognition than beating unranked BYU.
“They’ve’ got some beasts in front of them, and that’s their season,” Doman said. “At least in the eyes of that conference and in the eyes of the country, they’re going to be measured based off their performance in the conference, not based on their performance against BYU. To the contrary, BYU and BYU fans may measure their season based off a win or a loss to Utah.”
Some would argue BYU stands to gain more by beating two future opponents — No. 22 Notre Dame and No. 24 Wisconsin — than doing the same against unranked Utah. But at least locally, it seems BYU fans would appreciate a win over a school that is only 45 miles away as opposed to the two Midwest programs.
Cougars don’t share an office or go to church with many Notre Dame or Wisconsin fans.
“This is like the Super Bowl,” BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. “There’s no lying — I’m 0-3 against them and I want to win. It’s plain and simple, we want to beat them. They don’t like us, and we don’t like them.”
Van Noy made those comments shortly after BYU hammered previously nationally ranked Texas on Sept. 7. Nine days later he clarified his remarks, saying he was speaking in general teams, not specifically about BYU.
“The whole state considers it the Super Bowl,” Van Noy said.
During his weekly press conference, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham refused to over-hype the rivalry. The former BYU player, who keeps the same media policy during the BYU week, goes to great lengths to publicly treat it as any other game.
He’s all about staying the course.
“You’ve just got to get in a routine and a process that you follow and not deviate from that routine,” Whittingham said.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who limits media access to only one time during the Utah week, is more apt to recognize the game's importance. He coined the phrase “state championship,” referring to the games with Utah and Utah State.
“I think the state championship is really important, being an independent especially,” Mendenhall said.
Mendenhall has repeatedly publicly stated his preference to annually play Utah and keep the game late in November, where it was when the two teams were in the same conference. But he didn’t get his wish completely, as Utah decided to take a two-year break starting next season to play Michigan.
BYU and Utah will play a home-and-home series starting in September 2017. The 2018 game will played Nov. 24 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“Rivalry games are unique and special,” Mendenhall said. “I’m opposed to the game stopping for any reason."
