Regardless of whathappens in today's big rivalry game, the Utes and Cougars are on to something.

And it isn't going away any time soon.

Both have made Top 10 appearances in the polls. They're playing for championships. In the case of Utah, today is a crack at a BCS berth for the second time in four years.

Today's BYU-Utah face-off is one more piece of evidence to smack down the current state of college football and the BCS.

Utah has won 19 of the last 20, the only setback to BYU; the Cougars have won 20 of their last 21, a loss at ranked TCU. Going 39 in the last 41 is a substantial trend for these two teams. It is a graph line that Wall Street would kill for.

The facilities, recruiting, coaching and national recognition these two programs have achieved of late were significant elements in why the Mountain West's longest-tenured coach, New Mexico's Rocky Long, decided to step down this week. It shocked everyone.

The move by Long was stunning, as was one of his reasons. At his press conference, Long explained he could not compete with Utah, BYU and TCU.

This success by these two in-state teams is a huge boost to the Mountain West Conference, a league that dominated the Pac-10 in 2008 and is finally drawing long-awaited credibility. It's been a league that's cried out for some respect in an arena dominated by the BCS cartel.

The success of Utah and BYU, along with Boise State, is huge for this region. That fortune is also a prime reason President-elect Barack Obama should follow through on his designs to push for a college football playoff.

If Utah wins today, why shouldn't the Utes be given a chance in the next six weeks to play several other top-ranked teams and make it to a national title game? That such a road is unavailable is idiotic and stupid.

And if Utah lost to BYU, how dumb is it that the Utes and Cougars, both with 11-1 records, would only return to Las Vegas and San Diego, end of the lines from 2007?

Some wonder how in the world could Obama trigger a national playoff when the BCS is bent on keeping its grubby money deal for as long as it can.

I say it's simple. Obama should send out an executive order Feb. 1, 2009, stating that any major university president who does not vote at the 2009 NCAA convention for a football playoff will not be eligible for federal funding.

That'll get it done. One signature with the golden pen and the entire house of cards would fall down.

Well, maybe it's not that simple. But it would be nice to see.