PROVO -- To hear San Diego State's Ted Tollner and Wyoming's Dana Dimel tell it, Saturday's BYU-Utah game might come down to a last-second field goal. Again. Just like last season.

Nobody knows the Cougars and Utes this year as well as coaches Tollner and Dimel. Both of their teams played Utah and BYU back-to-back within the last month. Both teams experienced very different results -- the Aztecs went 0-2 and the Cowboys 2-0.Neither coach would predict this week who will emerge victorious between the Utes and Cougars, but both agreed it will be close and competitive.

"I think they're very evenly matched," said Dimel, whose Cowboy team defeated Utah and BYU by 14 points. Wyoming won 43-29 in Salt Lake City and downed the Cougars 31-17 in Laramie. "They're very similar in talent level and other aspects. If they played six times, it would probably end up three wins for each team."

Though he doesn't show it, Dimel has a vested interest in the outcome of this year's battle. If the Utes win and if Wyoming is successful in its final two games, the Cowboys will finish in a tie for the Mountain West Conference championship. Wyoming's sweep of the Beehive State schools has given new life to the Cowboys.

Tollner, on the other hand, saw his team lose to Utah 38-16 in Salt Lake and fall to BYU 30-7 in San Diego. "They are the two most complete teams we've played this year," he said.

While Tollner follows the rivalry because he was an assistant coach at BYU under LaVell Edwards in 1981, the result of this year's contest won't affect his team one way or another.

In 1998, Tollner's Aztecs had a lot riding on the BYU-Utah game. He remembers listening to that one on the radio, knowing if the Utes won, San Diego State would have gone to the WAC Championship game.

As it turned out, Utah kicked a field goal that clanged off the right upright to preserve a Cougar triumph.

"It was disappointing," Tollner said. "But that's an example of the type of game it is between BYU and Utah."

Though his teams lost by 22 points and 23 points, respectively, to the Utes and Cougars, Tollner insists the games were closer than the final score indicates. Off the bat, he offers high praise of the teams' defenses.

"Both are very strong," said Tollner, whose team is tops in the MWC in total defense. "They're both very physical and have good cover people. We have a lot of respect for both defenses."

From an offensive standpoint, there is one major difference between the Utah offense that SDSU and Wyoming have faced and the Utah offense that will invade Cougar Stadium.

This Ute squad is led by quarterback T.D. Croshaw, a sometimes-starter who became the undisputed starter when Darnell Arceneaux suffered a serious concussion against the Cowboys.

Tollner says Arceneaux's mobility in the pocket gave his team trouble at times. "(Utah) was more effective with him in the game," he explained. "His broken-play ability is an extra ingredient." Croshow saw limited action against SDSU. But, he added, "Croshaw played well for Utah last week."

Prior to the season, conventional wisdom said that the Utes would need a healthy Arceneaux to have a chance against the Cougar defense. After all, two years ago as a freshman, he engineered an impressive 20-14 win at BYU.

But now, after Croshaw helped Utah to a 52-7 cakewalk over New Mexico last weekend, Arceneaux's absence seems to matter little. Considered a more effective passer than Arceneaux, Croshaw has thrown 12 touchdowns compared to five interceptions and has grown comfortable in the Ute offense.

So what about special teams, which spelled the difference in last season's BYU-Utah game?

"BYU's kicker (Owen Pochman) doesn't miss any," Tollner said. "But that is offset by Utah's return game."

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After struggling early in the season, Pochman has been nearly perfect in field goals, extra points and kickoffs. Meanwhile, Utah's Steve Smith is leading the country in punt returns, averaging 20 yards per attempt. This season, he has gained a school-record 441 return yards and has taken three punts into the end zone, including two last week.

What does that all mean? Who will win Saturday? Tollner and Dimel aren't hazarding guesses.

But Utah State coach Dave Arslanian, who lost to the Cougars 34-31 in overtime and 38-18 to the Utes, says he thinks Utah will win, but not necessarily due to anything on the field. He believes a curse is hovering over Provo, which explains why the Utes have not lost here since 1991.

Like Tollner and Dimel, Arslanian thinks it will be close. "It will be a whale of a ball game," he said.

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