The great game…and Lavell Edwards

The great game…and Lavell Edwards

It’s hard to think of a weekend in the state where more people will either be overjoyed or down in the dumps. The BYU Utah football game is truly a great thing, that is unless of course your team losses. Then it’s a year of painful memories and jabs from friends who happen to cheer for that other team.

I had the opportunity today to sit down with former BYU football coach Lavell Edwards and get his thoughts on the rivalry game. He’s a gracious man for putting up with all the phone calls from reporters I’m sure he gets this time of year.

He says other than the year the Cougars won the national championship it’s hard to think of a game between the schools with bigger implications. As for it being the biggest game ever, he says he never likes to use the word “ever.”

I also asked him about the BCS. He made it pretty clear he didn’t like the BCS system and the way it controls the money in college football. But to my surprise he also isn’t a fan of a playoff system. He prefers the bowl system, only not in its current state.

As for the game Edwards told me he’d be at Rice-Eccles. But he’s going to be in a loge so he’s not surrounded by “too many red shirts.” I’m sure that’s probably a wise move. Although he says the hostilities we often see from fans aren’t the same between most players. He says the players like to talk smack, but many from the two schools are friends once their off the field.

As far as the coaches go, Edwards had plenty of praise for both Mendenhall and Whittingham. And he mentioned how Kyle when he played at the Y had a real instinct for the game. So he’s not surprised how successful the Ute coach has become.

I tried to get Lavell to make a score prediction on the game. He just sat back and laughed saying he leaves that to the experts. I wonder if the score 34 to 31 still goes through his head when people ask him that question.