While the talk is all respectful, you wouldn't know it by checking the media or public opinion polls. In that area it looks more like tiny Hickory High vs. ginormous South Bend Central. An ESPN quick-poll last week had a whopping 90 percent of voters picking Alabama. Five of six experts at Scout.com have the Tide rolling. Eight of nine Foxsports.com panelists are taking the Tide — the only dissenter being WhatIfSports.com, a site that feeds data into a computer and churns out a result (you mean like the BCS?).

There's a reason for this. Until early December, Alabama was ranked No. 1. It has been to more bowl games (56) than any other team.

Utah is sixth in the BCS ranking — just two behind 'Bama — but that apparently isn't enough to convince many people the Utes have a prayer.

You have to wonder whether Alabama is actually taking the Utes all that seriously. Saban says it is.

"It will be a challenging game for us and we understand that. I think we will focus on what we can control, which is to play our best football," added Saban.

Clearly, the Tide has an advantage, from its punishing running game to its huge lines to its "home-field" setting. You know that old saying about acting like you've been there? The Tide has. Thirteen times, in fact, to the Sugar Bowl.

All of which makes it difficult for anyone who doesn't follow the Mountain West — which amounts to, what, 280 million people? — to pick the Utes.

Yet Whittingham says he is feeling the love, nonetheless. Sort of. Asked if he felt his team is respected on a national scale, he said, "I think so. You know you can't worry about what you can't control. Just coming as far as we have — a lot of teams would like to be here. We're excited about the opportunity."

That, of course, is coach talk. But even if it weren't, players sometimes see things differently. For instance, asked if he thought Alabama respects the Utes, cornerback Sean Smith said, "I don't know. It's kind of funny. Seeing that they're a former No. 1 team and they're in a BCS conference, I guess in the sense that they just played Florida and now they're playing Utah... maybe. You can't really say, because I'm not over there. But we're not really worried about that."

Added receiver Jereme Brooks, "I don't think they do, personally, from the comments I hear, with the radio shows and things. That's a chip on our shoulder. But it's about their players and our players, and not about talking."

So there you have it. The first day's results are in. Alabama is saying it really, REALLY respects Utah. At least some of the Utes are saying it doesn't.

But when you get down to it, isn't that the way it works in the Handbook of Bowl Etiquette?

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E-mail: rock@desnews.com