Utah Utes notebook: It's too soon to talk about Utes' BCS bid

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Three letters: BCS.

That's all it took for Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's demeanor to change after Saturday's 25-23 victory over Michigan at the Big House.

The season-opening victory drew an expected media inquiry.

Are the Utes thinking about the Bowl Championship Series?

"Absolutely not. That's not even in our vocabulary," Whittingham said. "That is absurd to talk in those terms right now. We've played one good football team and got a win on the road, which is nice. There's 11 games left."

Utah is taking things one game at a time, he added, with next week's conference opener against UNLV topping the list.

Whittingham did concede, however, that the Utes have a shot of cracking the national rankings this week. They entered the game No. 28 in the coaches poll and 29th in the AP Top 25.

"We were just knocking at the door, I guess," Whittingham said.

"We'll find out."

While noting they can only "control what you can control," he turned his attention back to Saturday's game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"Our focus is our conference-opener," Whittingham said. "We've got to get a good start out of the gate in conference play."

The Utes haven't been ranked in the Top 25 since finishing the 2004 season at No. 4

IN THE FUTURE: It may be several years, if ever, before the Utes and the Wolverines meet again.

Saturday's contest was a one-time deal, an agreement that paid Utah $800,000.

Utah athletics director Chris Hill said so many variables are involved and it may take a lot longer than people think to set up another game with Michigan.

"We're pretty well scheduled out and they're scheduled out," he explained. "So we'll just have to see, in the next couple of years, if it's something that makes sense for us."

Hill acknowledged, however, that the two games Utah and Michigan have played since 2002 (both in Ann Arbor) have helped build a relationship between the schools.