According to the experts - the coaches who have faced BYU and Utah this season - Saturday's game stacks up as Ute quarterback Frank Dolce vs. BYU's running game.
"The big difference I see between BYU and Utah is the Dolce injury," said Fred Bleil, defensive coordinator at New Mexico. "Utah would be in the WAC race if Dolce had stayed healthy.""It's a toss-up," said Johnnie Mac Hollinger, UTEP offensive coordinator. "Utah has the edge at quarterback, but overall, BYU's running game gives it an offensive edge."
BYU quarterback Ryan Hancock has a better pass-efficiency rating than Dolce, but the experts say that's a reflection of the good job the Cougars have done in mixing the pass and run.
"BYU has taken the pressure off the quarterback with its running game," said Matt Simon, New Mexico offensive coordinator.
Comparing the scores of BYU's and Utah's games against common opponents has little value, because of the Dolce injury and the improvement in the Cougars' game as the season has progressed. But, taking that into consideration, the coaches offered some interesting insights.
Wyoming offensive coordinator Larry Korpitz, whose team lost by a field goal to BYU in Laramie but was walloped by the Utes last weekend, said the difference in the game was Utah's athleticism on defense.
"Utah's front four seemed to be faster than BYU, they caused us more problems than BYU," Korpitz said. "BYU is bigger and stronger, but they're not as athletic. Utah's ability to fight off blocks was exceptional."
Other coaches agreed with Korpitz's assessment that Utah has better athletes, while BYU is more physical.
"Utah probably has better speed on defense, especially with their front people, but BYU has better strength," Hollinger said.
"BYU is physically the strongest team in the league up front," Simon said. "They are as good against the run as any WAC team I've ever seen."
Coaches rated the teams' pass defenses a toss-up, saying Utah has a little more speed while BYU has safety Derwin Gray.
"Utah might have a little bit better athletes in the secondary," said Hollinger, "but Derwin Gray is in a class of his own. He covers up for a lot of things."
"Derwin Gray is the single most explosive secondary player in the league this season," Simon said. "He's really been a difference-maker."
The teams' offenses were a little harder for the coaches to evaluate, because of the factors mentioned earlier and the up-and-down play of Utah.
"After watching film of Utah, we came into the game asking ourselves, `Well, which Utah team are we going to play today?' " Korpitz said.
"We were very impressed with Utah on film," Simon said. "But they didn't come in as well-prepared as they did in some ballgames. They are a better team than they showed."
"We thought, going into those games, that BYU and Utah were very comparable," Bleil said. "We caught Utah on an off day. BYU beat the devil out of us."
Bleil said he was afraid of both teams' ability to run, but that Utah played into their hands by throwing the ball.
Simon predicted that if the Cougars' running game works, the Utes are in trouble. "Utah has to move the ball," he said. "If you can keep BYU's offense off the field, you can win. Their offense can get cold standing on the sidelines."
Robinson, whose Bulldogs trounced Utah but lost to BYU, said the Cougar offense was as good as it wanted to be against them. "That offensive line of BYU's is awesome. The way they vary their offense is awesome. They toyed with us, to be honest. They kind of pawed us; they could have eaten us anytime they wanted to."
If he were playing BYU today, Robinson said he'd change his game plan. "We'd play a lot more zone and give our defensive line time to get there," he said. Coincidentally, that's what Korpitz said the Utes did to Wyoming last week.
Utah State coach Charlie Weatherbie, taking a different tack, said the game might be decided in players' heads.
"Utah is going to have to overcome the mental part of not beating BYU," he said. "BYU knows it can beat Utah. Winning breeds winning. Once a team gets that tradition, that atmosphere of success, they expect to win."