Locals know all about this uncivil war, which splits some families, neighborhoods and church congregations and pits state- and church-owned schools, staff and supporters against each other — not to forget football players and fans. The Journal mentioned Melinda Dawson of Lehi as a prime example of that. Things got a bit uncomfortable at her house during last season's lopsided Ute victory. The reason? Her dad is a U. fan, but her husband is a Y. guy.

"It nearly started a family war," she said.

Former BYU defensive tackle Jim Hermann, who played in Provo during the early 1980s, told the Morning News that his team experienced some incoming bombs — verbal and physical — when they made the trek to Salt Lake City. The Cougars were bombarded in and outside of the U. stadium with, imagine this, "profanity and people throwing things at us." Coach Fred Whittingham, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's late father who was then with BYU, was smacked in the head by a banana.

During the game, Kyle Morrell made a hit out of bounds, which Hermann said sparked "a fight, with coaches throwing fists and everything. Yes, this is a rivalry and it is intense. The four years I played, no matter what the records were, players came out to play, and it was the biggest game of the year."

That's why Reno Mahe, the former BYU running back who's now playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, loves the rivalry.

"It's like a championship game every year, no matter what the situation was, a season could be made on this game," he told the News. "No matter what is going on with the standings, something can be salvaged from this. It's bragging rights, man, whether you go over the Point of the Mountain with your head up or head down."

Matt Thomas, the radio voice of the Utes, is a relative newcomer to the rivalry, but he's liked what he's seen so far. And that's not just because Utah stomped BYU in the first game he covered as Bill Marcroft's replacement.

"Growing up in Texas and watching the intensity of the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry, this rivalry is every bit as good as that," Thomas said. "The reason I say that is because it's a 52-week, 365-day-a-year competition between the two schools. Not only about the football teams, the heritage and families — it goes beyond that. That's why I equate it to the Texas rivalry."

Believe it or not, BYU-Utah is considered even bigger than the Texas-Texas A&M "thermonuclear rivalry," which didn't make the Journal's Top 15 because it's been so lopsided in the Longhorns' favor for so long.

Marcroft, a fixture in the U. booth for decades in the rivalry opposite Cougar broadcaster Paul James, called the Utah-BYU game "the best week of the year" and the most fun part of his work.

"I don't think there's anything like it in all of college sports because of the way religion creeps into it," he said. "Utah-BYU . . . there's nothing like it."

Even rivals — and The Wall Street Journal — won't argue that.

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Contributing: Deseret Morning News sports staff

E-mail: jody@desnews.com