No. 21 BYU (9-2, 7-0)

at Utah (7-4, 5-2)

Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

Rice-Eccles Stadium

TV: CSTV and The mtn.

Radio: 1160AM, 102.7FM, 700AM

Countdown 5 days away

Fast fact

Last season's 41-34 overtime win by Utah in LaVell Edwards Stadium was a return to form of sorts for this rivalry. Since 1997, all of the Utah-BYU games except one have been decided by a single score. Over that stretch, Utah is 6-3 against the Cougars, with the margin of victory in two of those wins (1999, 2003) being a field goal. The only game that wasn't decided by seven points or fewer was in 2004, when the undefeated Utes won, 52-21.

Number of note: 37

Number of conference wins both teams have since beginning Mountain West Conference play in 1999.

Matchup

BYU'S RUN OFFENSE VS. UTAH'S RUN DEFENSE: The Cougar running game is not among the nation's elite in terms of production. Through 10 games, BYU averaged 142.9 yards per game on the ground, which ranked 54th nationally and fourth in the MWC. But a number of Mountain West coaches have credited much of BYU's success on offense to its physical rushing attack, and the Cougars lead in the conference in rushing TDs (23). Curtis Brown, Fui Vakapuna and Manase Tonga have effectively shared the workload. Utah once again presents a physical front that has played well against the run (111.8 ypg, ranked 32nd nationally heading into the Air force game). The Utes have yet to allow a running back to rush for more than 100 yards in a game this year. Utah will need to prevent the Cougars from controlling the tempo with long scoring drives and short third-down situations, making this one of the best matchups of the game. Even