PROVO — Matt Payne, BYU's combo kicker/punter/tackler/TD thrower, has some sage advice for Cougar players entering Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday.

You see, there are a ton of Cougar players who've never played a rivalry game in Utah's bailiwick. These include quarterback John Beck, receivers Todd Watkins and Austin Collie and tight ends Daniel Coats and Dennis Pitta.

Payne, on the other hand, has been there before. He's an old, long-toothed Coug, a Cougar veteran. Besides being a five-time Mountain West Conference player of the week this year, he's married, is a father, served an LDS mission and is currently in a LDS ward bishopric. In other words, he's a "mature" BYU player critics like to point as a huge BYU advantage — except when the Cougars go 5-5.

Payne may know something about the rivalry and how to deal with it, once bullets fly in Salt Lake City come Saturday. Payne's grandfather on his mother's side, Bernard McGarry, was an All-American tackle for Utah in 1938. "If he was still alive, he'd for sure be in my ear," Payne said.

"It's something I don't know if you can do justice just talking about it." Payne said. "It's something you've got to feel and be a part of it. Those of us who have been a part of it know what it is going to be like. It's going to be crazy, the fans are going to be wild and yelling at you.

"It's something, if you haven't been a part of it before, it will be hard, but if you've been a part of it, which most of us have been a part of it, we're going to ready for it."

If Payne had to give one suggestion to the rookies on his roster, what would it be?

"You've got to have your mind right. Stay focused, don't get involved with the fans and the other team."

If the Cougars stay close with the favored No. 5 Utes, Payne could prove to be a crucial role player in Saturday's game.

Through 10 games, Payne is ranked 13th in the NCAA in field goal kicking per game and is fourth nationally in punting. He leads the conference in both categories. Payne set a record for consecutive field goals made from 40 to 49 yards with 14. He set a BYU record for consecutive PATs, connecting on 67 straight before a miss against San Diego State this season.

COUGAR NOTES: QB John Beck on his long ball target Todd Watkins: "He is doing well after practicing just one time last week. He has been out there all weeklong, he was able to run routes and do it with people in his face unlike last week, getting his timing down. I'm confident he'll be OK for the game. . . . Head coach Gary Crowton said the major difference between his squad today and the one that lost 3-0 loss to the Utes last year in Provo is 31 new faces on the Cougar roster, plus a healthy starting quarterback. . . . The following Cougar freshmen have announced they'll leave the squad after the season for missionary service: WR Austin Collie, OL Nick Alletto, LB Matt Bauman, LB Grant Nelson, LB Richard Nehring and DL Isley Filiaga. . . . The Cougars are using mobile quarterbacks Travis Epperson (also a kicker) and Jackson Brown to be Ute Alex Smith in practice. "They did a great job preparing us for the mobility QB and option before the Air Force game," Crowton said.

HEANEY SIGHTING: Sixth-year senior corner Brandon Heaney, who broke his right arm in the UNLV game, sneaked into practice Monday and lasted 30 minutes before head trainer Kevin Morris noticed, pulled him and took away his helmet. "I was doing back peddling drills and catching balls with the jugs machine when it happened," Heaney said.

BYU doctors have not cleared Heaney to practice.

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E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com