Media chime in on Fiesta

Here's a sample of what some media sources across the nation are saying about the Fiesta Bowl:

QB Alex Smith runs at you and throws over you. To further complicate matters, the Utes will run reverses with WRs Steve Savoy and Paris Warren. Pitt will go with underneath coverage and run-throughs from LBs H.B. Blades, Clint Session and Malcom Postell.

Utah wins but by less each day Pitt hears it doesn't belong. — Jim Donnan, ESPN The Magazine

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He set out hoping to keep his staring job and wound up leading a team into uncharted territory. In his first full season as a starter, junior quarterback Alex Smith guided Utah to an 11-0 record and the Fiesta Bowl, as the Utes became the first non-BCS school to earn a BCS berth. Smith was not only the NCAA's second-most-efficient passer, completing 66.1% of his throws for 2,624 yards and 24 touchdowns, but also a dangerous threat as a runner, piling up 563 yards and 10 TDs. . . . For his flawless leadership, exceptional play and uncommon scholarship (Smith entered Utah with 64 AP credits and earned an economics degree in two years, graduating with a 3.74 GPA last May), Alex Smith is SI's Player of the Year. . . .

With his bachelor's degree in hand and his coach off to Gainesville, the 6'4", 212-pound Smith is contemplating skipping his senior season and entering the NFL draft. Whenever he leaves Salt Lake City, a college game with too few true student-athletes will have lost a remarkable one. — Kelley King, Sports Illustrated

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PHOENIX — Utah and Pittsburgh arrived for their Fiesta Bowl matchup on Sunday, one team unbeaten and breaking the Bowl Championship Series barrier and the other stung by criticism that it doesn't deserve to be here.

The Utes (11-0) couldn't believe the reception, which included a red carpet, a mob of yellow-clad Fiesta Bowl volunteers and the event's trademark mariachi band.

"I guess this is why they call it the BCS, huh?" Utah senior defensive tackle Sione Pouha said. "In the Liberty Bowl, we had Elvis Presley out there by himself. Here we've got all those yellow jackets. This is the real deal. I didn't think it would be like this when we were practicing in Salt Lake City, but I guess this is the opening of things to come."

The game matches head coaches making their farewell appearances before moving on to new jobs. Utah coach Urban Meyer is headed for Florida, Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris to Stanford.

Both decided to coach their final games before taking over their new jobs.