BYU-Utah rivalry resounds far, wide

Who knows if bickering Beehive State residents need counseling, condolences or congratulations, but just so you know, Utahns, your little in-state argument over a simple game is so loud it can be heard outside state borders.

And we're not just talking about being overheard by exported alumni from Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, whose colors and colleges will collide on the gridiron today in Provo. Nope, word about this vitriolic and vociferous rocky relationship has traveled all the way from the Wasatch Front to Wall Street, where one of the nation's top newspapers is listing the Utes and Cougars as being "the best of enemies."

When it comes to rating rivalries — which is precisely what The Wall Street Journal has done — there couldn't be a better compliment, of course.

This weekend, The Wall Street Journal concocted a formula to try to "figure out which rivalry delivers the best football." They evaluated rivalries over the past nine seasons, looking at lead changes, margins of victory, teams' records, box scores, numbers of upsets and quality of the overall rivalry.

The "Holy War" — as some are wont to call the annual BYU-Utah contest, which starts today at 1 p.m. in LaVell Edwards Stadium — finished in a tie for fourth among riveting rivalries with the annual Michigan-Ohio State brouhaha.

That ranking isn't quite as high as the Florida-Florida State feud (No. 1), but Utah's red-versus-blue bout finished well ahead of the annual Lafayette-Lehigh shootout and edged out more-highly publicized rivalries in California (USC-UCLA and Cal-Stanford), the Midwest (Nebraska-Colorado and Oklahoma-Oklahoma State), Arizona, Washington and Oregon.

Ute fans might claim this high ranking is a result of last year's dream season, during which Urban Meyer and Alex Smith helped Utah become the national Cinderella BCS-busting darlings.

BYU fans could counter by saying this recognition is due to a Cougar tradition that includes Hall of Fame and Heisman quarterbacks, a coaching legend and a 1984 national championship.

In neither red nor blue print, the Journal report simply called it "an unexpectedly good matchup," which has been decided by a touchdown or less in seven of the past nine years. The Journal was enticed by the fact that the 6-4 Cougars and 5-5 Utes "produced an unprecedented five thrillers in a row ending in 2001" and had an average scoring margin at halftime of just over six points.

In other words, the paper loves something that gives rivals heartburn and heartache: close games.