NEW ORLEANS — They're here.

The Utah Utes have arrived at their second Bowl Championship Series destination in five seasons. They'll face Alabama in the 75th anniversary Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2.

"We are pleased to be here in New Orleans. We are in a BCS game. What is not to like? It is a great opportunity for our players," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said at a press conference Saturday night. "They have had a terrific season, and there were several times they had their backs against the wall and fought their way out of tough situations. They really deserve to be there. I don't think there is any doubt about that."

After arriving in the Big Easy, Utah headed to Tulane for practice. The session, which Whittingham described as "a good, hard practice," ended under the lights.

A team meeting and dinner followed before the first of several press conferences.

In the initial gathering, Whittingham was asked about a variety of topics.

The first, however, centered around the opposition.

"Alabama is a formidable opponent with one of the most storied programs in all of college football, if not the most storied," he said.

"Alabama is steeped in tradition. They are a tremendous opponent for us," Whittingham said. "You look at tape and the first thing that jumps out at you is the physicality of their football team. We have our hands full. Our guys are excited about the opportunity to go up against a football team like the Crimson Tide."

Another inquiry focused on Utah's long break since the 48-24 win over BYU on Nov. 22.

"We had a lot of time between games. We finished up before Thanksgiving and lot of teams went a week or even two weeks beyond that," said Whittingham, who noted how the Utes worked to maintain their conditioning and mix in some moderate practices around Thanksgiving, finals and Christmas. "... Ideally, you'd rather not have that much time off, but I think we handled it as well as we could."

The Utes are using a preparation model that proved successful in their trip to the Fiesta Bowl after the 2004 season.

Phoenix, however, isn't New Orleans.

"There's a lot of distractions. You've got to be smart," Whittingham said. "Obviously there's a lot going on."

As such, the Utes won't have a lot of time to be completely idle while preparing for the game.

"We've got a lot of activities for them, a lot of things to keep them busy. (But) they are still going to have a lot of free time," Whittingham said. "What you try to do is instill some values and a sense of responsibility in guys and then hope they adhere to that."

The Utes plan to take Sunday off and attend an NFL game in the Superdome featuring the Saints and the Panthers. Both teams have Utah alums. Steve Smith, Jordan Gross and Ma'ake Kemoeatu play for Carolina, and Josh Savage is on the New Orleans roster.

All four players made an appearance at Utah's first practice in Louisiana. In turn, the Utes plan to show their support today.

"It's good opportunity for some guys who have maybe never had a chance to go to an NFL game," said Whittingham, who has some special NFL memories of his own in Louisiana. His father, Fred, played for New Orleans from 1967-69.

"I've always followed the Saints because of the history that he had with them," Whittingham said.

Like his father, the coach also has some professional football ties to the city. He played for the now-defunct New Orleans Breakers of the USFL back in 1984.

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E-mail: dirk@desnews.com