Just about everybody in Utah will be rooting for the University of Utah when the Runnin' Utes take on the Colorado State Rams on Saturday.

Utah fans, of course, would like to see their team remain unbeaten and take a giant step toward winning the Western Athletic Conference championship.And BYU fans have to hope that Utah can knock off CSU and put the Cougars back in the hunt for at least a piece of the WAC title.

About the only people in the Beehive State who might be feeling somewhat ambivalent about the game would be the folks at KUTV. A win by the Utes would make Nov. 19's battle between Utah and BYU considerably more attractive to ABC - and that network has the power to take that game, which is currently slated for Ch. 2.

Actually, KUTV was originally scheduled to broadcast the Utah vs. CSU game - arguably the Utes' biggest in decades. But under the terms of the College Football Association's contract with the network, ABC has the right to pick up any game it wants.

Thus, the Utah-CSU game will be seen Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on Utah's ABC affiliate, KTVX-Ch. 4.

(And don't think they're not happy about that at Ch. 4.)

Should Utah win on Saturday, the Utes would be 7-0 and stand a good chance of being 10-0 come Nov. 19. BYU, 6-1, should be favored in its next four games, and stands a good chance of being 10-1 going into its matchup with

Utah. None of that is certain, of course, and either or both teams could certainly suffer defeats before they meet in Rice Stadium. But it's also a good possibility that when they do meet, both will have 10 wins and both will be ranked in the top 15 - or higher.

And would a game like that be attractive to ABC?

"Oh sure. Absolutely," said a spokesman for ABC Sports. "It would definitely be a possibility for either us or ESPN."

(ESPN, which is 80 percent owned by ABC, also has a contract with the CFA that allows the cable network to pick and choose which games it wants to

broadcast.) The fact that BYU has a national following makes it even more likely that ABC would want the BYU-Utah game. ABC markets its regional games on pay-per-view - meaning that Cougar fans in areas where the game isn't broadcast would be able to fork out $9.95 to see the game on cable, putting more bucks in ABC's wallet.

Should the BYU-Utah game end up on either ABC or ESPN, KUTV would take a major hit to its wallet. The BYU-Utah game is always the highest-rated program locally during the November sweeps.

Ch. 2 would stand to lose in the neighborhood of $50,000 profit should it lose the broadcast rights to the game. And that's $50,000 that can't easily be replaced. KUTV certainly couldn't make up the loss by scheduling a few

infomercials. Even if Utah loses on Saturday, ABC still might be interested in the Utah-BYU game in November. But if Utah wins, ABC or ESPN would be that much more interested.

So there has to be at least a bit of ambivalence among KUTV staffers going into the Utes' big game this weekend.

REGIS THE WHINER: So, how did talk show host/Notre Dame fan Regis Philbin survive the Irish's 21-14 loss to BYU on Saturday?

At least he showed up for work on Monday, which he had vowed last week not to do if Notre Dame lost for the second week in a row.

"Where do I begin with this weekend?" Philbin said on "Live with Regis & Kathie Lee." "Yes, Notre Dame lost again."

From there, he tried to go on to other topics but his wife, Joy (sitting in for the vacationing Kathie Lee Gifford), wouldn't let him.

"This is, what, the third loss?" Joy asked.

"I should be used to it by now, is that what you're saying?" Regis

retorted. Actually, Joy said that Regis was considerably calmer following Notre Dame's loss to BYU than he had been a week earlier when Notre Dame lost to Boston College.

Regis, of course, couldn't resist making excuses for the Irish. They'd lost "20 or 21 players to the pros" in the past couple of years and "You just can't replace that kind of talent."

(Oh, yes. The entire college football world feels badly for Notre Dame, which has so much trouble recruiting every year.)

And, of course, Regis hauled out that line about how poor Notre Dame has to put up with teams that are out to beat them every week.

He did give the Cougars credit, though. "BYU is a good team," Regis said. "They're 6-1 now. They have a coach who's been around a long time."

He went on to talk about how stoic BYU coach LaVell Edwards is on the sidelines, but he added that even Edwards "came unglued" after BYU's win and "started to cry."

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Actually, Regis, what you saw pouring down Edwards' cheeks was the Gatorade his players dumped on him.

DUMPING DUDLEY: CBS has given up on Dudley Moore's "Daddy's Girls" after only three episodes. Officially, it's on hiatus, and the 10 remaining episodes will be seen at some point, but these days network are loathe to actual use the word "canceled" anymore.

"Girls" had been doing abominably in the ratings on Wednesday nights - so badly that CBS pulled it without knowing what to put in its place. This week, the Big Eye will insert an episode of "Dave's World," but no permanent replacement was named.

CBS is actually the last network to yank a series. Fox pulled "Fortune Hunter" and "Wild Oats," NBC dropped "Martin Short" and ABC dumped "McKenna."

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