Utah Utes now turn focus on 'unfinished business'

SAN DIEGO — Eleven down, one to go.

As No. 8 Utah took care of business against San Diego State Saturday night, the inevitable showdown with No. 16 BYU is now less than a week away.

"One to go," said free safety Robert Johnson. "That's it."

The 63-14 victory over the Aztecs has launched the Utes into prime poll position for the much-desired Bowl Championship Series berth that all non-BCS conference teams covet.

While BYU, now 10-1, escaped Colorado Springs with a notable road victory against Air Force, this may play out to be one of the best matchups between the two schools in the history of their rivalry.

"We've got BYU next week," said Utah defensive back R.J. Rice. "We've got to finish it off right. We're both really good teams. It's going to be a really good game."

Utah's style of preparation this season that has been instilled by head coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff is to go one game at a time, one week at a time.

It certainly seems to have worked out well for the Utes up to this point.

"(The team) has done it for 11 straight weeks now, 11 straight games, and a lot of that has to do with senior leadership," Whittingham said.

With the one mammoth game left looming on the schedule, the Utes must be prepared to finish off the job they started nearly three months ago in Ann Arbor, Mich.

"We focus from week-to-week," Whittingham said. "We take them one at a time, and (BYU) just happens to be up this week."

Fifth-year senior Brian Johnson, who had a career-best game against the Aztecs, has been at the U. since 2004 and has yet to be the winning quarterback emerging against the Cougars.

"We'll be ready to play," Johnson said. "The atmosphere all week will be unlike anything that any of us has seen in this rivalry to this date."

When asked how much will be riding on the BYU game, Johnson said, "That's what you want in a rivalry game. That's what makes rivalries so much fun is when you get to play for everything."

Utah has made the most significant jump of the season in terms of the polls ... Starting out the season unranked, the Utes were picked by many to lose their season-opener at Michigan. But as the wins began to pile up, so did the quality of play for Whittingham's team.

Utah beat upstart Air Force early in the season and orchestrated improbable, last-minute drives that have left Rice-Eccles Stadium fans in full euphoria against No. 23 Oregon State and most recently No. 15 TCU.

Utah has exorcised all demons from last year's 9-4 campaign so far this season, except for BYU. After beating UNLV, Air Force and Oregon State, the Cougars are the final hurdle to clear for the Utes.

"It's finally here," said wide receiver Bradon Godfrey, referring to the showdown with the Cougars. "No more miracles for them."

Utah's head coach echoed the thoughts of his wide receiver.

"We've got unfinished business," Whittingham said.