BYU-Utah rivalry taking on a different feel

Editor's note: This is the fourth in an occasional series examining the BYU football program's move to independence and jump to the West Coast Conference in most other sports.

PROVO — Nobody knows exactly how surreal things might seem on Sept. 17 at LaVell Edwards Stadium when BYU and Utah play their annual rivalry football game.

And things might seem even more surreal come the fourth weekend in November, when the Cougars have a bye and the Utes host Colorado on a Friday afternoon.

Instead of playing their traditional end-of-the-regular-season showdown, BYU and Utah meet in the month of September, something that hasn't happened since 1958. Instead of potentially playing for a conference championship or bowl berth, it will simply be a game for bragging rights, televised on ESPN2.

This fall, the Cougars are going independent and the Utes are joining the Pac-12 Conference, forever altering the dynamics of this passionate rivalry.

"It will change," said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. "I don't know which way."

Some say the rivalry will become kinder and gentler because the two teams are playing earlier in the season. Others argue that it will only be more intense because now it will be a battle between a team from a BCS automatic qualifying school against a non-AQ.

Whatever the feelings surrounding the rivalry, both schools are committed to keeping the storied series going.

"We'll play them in all sports. We're not afraid of them and they're not afraid of us," Holmoe has said. "For the athletes and coaches, we have a very good respect for each other. When we get out onto the field, it's tough. But everyone who's played in that (rivalry) respects it. We need to continue that. Some people don't like it, don't think we should (play Utah). Some people want to play 11 games in a row against them.

"On the field, it's one of the best games or matches you'll ever see. Nobody will get more anxious, nervous, excited and have a chance to fall apart or excel than in that game. In the history of our tradition, some of the very best performances in the history of BYU have happened against Utah. Why in the world would we ever throw that away?"

BYU and Utah are scheduled to play in football through 2012, while Holmoe and Utah athletic director Chris Hill have spoken recently about future games.

The two schools have signed a four-year home-and-home series in basketball, with one game each season on the second Saturday in December. The first game will tip off Dec. 10, 2011, at the Huntsman Center.