College football preview: BYU's Bronco or Utah's Kyle? We'll know soon

I've never been the patient type. When I suggest to someone that we go for fast food, I find the "fast" more appealing than the food. I order fast, eat fast and leave fast. Likewise, waiting at stoplights gives me a rash. I won't even mention what irrational things go through my mind when I'm in a checkout line.

So it's not surprising to realize I'm already considering this football season the one that will tell us right now which school, Utah or BYU, ended up with the best coach.

These first two years have mostly been a dress rehearsal.

This year, let the comparisons begin.

Coaches, of course, hate this stuff. They like newspaper comparisons as much as a soggy playing field. And while it may seem premature to even be talking about this, in just their third seasons, this is actually the perfect time. Not too soon, not too late. Both BYU's Bronco Mendenhall and Utah's Kyle Whittingham have lost starters for the season due to injury. Both are still in the shadows of coaching giants, Mendenhall following the incomparable LaVell Edwards (two coaches ago) and Whittingham following the rock star-famous Urban Meyer.

Each has defeated the other on his rival's home field.

And each is entering the season with his best player from 2006 in the NFL. Utah is missing Eric Weddle, last year's top defensive player in the Mountain West Conference, and BYU is without quarterback John Beck, the league's offensive player of the year.

So as Season 3 begins for both coaches, may they touch gloves and come out swinging.

Both have something to prove. Whittingham, whose two-year coaching record is 15-10, hasn't won a championship and, honestly, hasn't come close. The Utes finished in a tie for fourth place in 2005, a tie for third last year. That's the sort of record that got Ron McBride (13-10 in his last two seasons) fired.

Meanwhile, Mendenhall had a great season last year, going 8-0 in conference and 11-2 overall. But his two-year 17-8 mark is virtually identical to Gary Crowton (17-9).

Whittingham is 2-0 in bowl games, Mendenhall 1-1.

Things started off roughly for BYU this year, at least in the sense that two starters — nose tackle Russell Tialavea and safety Dustin Gabriel — were sidelined for the season with injuries. Utah's all-conference offensive tackle Jason Boone also went down for the count.