For the first time in 100 years of the Beehive State's heated Holy War rivalry, BYU and Utah will share the field, each ranked as a top-10 team.
An unprecedented position for both programs in the CFP era, they face one another on Saturday with the eyes of the nation on America's 45th state as the result could hold massive playoff implications for both the winner and the loser.
Utah is ranked third in the first batch of College Football Playoff rankings, hot fresh out of the oven before being forcefully thrown back into the inferno by the college football community. The latest rankings are a hot mess of inconsistent logic, unequal evaluation, and baffling pro-SEC propoganda -- the standard of the sport these days -- but one thing we can all agree on is that Morgan Scalley's Utes are entirely deserving of a top-three ranking.
One of just three undefeated programs in the nation, Utah has admittedly faced what is far and away the easiest schedule of any team currently projected as a CFP participant (with Notre Dame as the only exception). But you can only play the games you're given as a conference member, and the Utes have made the most of their situation.
A dominant force in the Big 12 Conference, the Utes stand atop the league standings as the only remaining unbeaten and branded the Cincinnati Bearcats with a 42-6 advantage by halftime last weekend.
Utah is on fire. BYU, on the opposite sideline, has seemingly peaked and is on the decline.
After largely dominating the first five games of the schedule (one awkward road game against TCU aside), Kalani Sitake's program faced one of the grandest games in the history of LaVell Edwards Stadium as the top-10 Cougars hosted the 2nd-ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. BYU entered this game as double-digit home underdogs and won the game outright.
They were publicly handed their first loss of the season the following week in a double-overtime thriller on the road against a mediocre-at-best UCF team.
The following week, the Cougars scraped by an unsteady Arizona State team at home, needing to recover an onside kick and hurling a pass out of bounds as time expired on fourth down. The Big 12 Conference is madness, and the Cougars are crawling into their road meeting with a red-hot Utah team.
Both teams enter this game with pride on the line, but the winner of this clash will likewise gain the respect of the College Football Playoff committee.
What's at stake for Utah in the Holy War
Obviously, a win over a top-10 BYU team would be a landmark moment for the series's leader.
And the chance to snap a 3-game losing streak against the Cougars would make victory taste all the more sweet. Technically speaking, Utah hasn't beaten BYU on the field since 2019 when they pushed their winning streak to nine consecutive. A few gap years sprinkled between that season and today giving the rivalry time to marinate.
But since joining the Big 12 Conference, BYU has gotten the better of their northern neighbors.
Morgan Scalley, first-year head coach but former Ute player and longtime assistant under Kyle Whittingham, knows what it means to beat BYU.
Raising the stakes even higher, Utah is still searching for a marquee win to earn the respect of the Big 12-antagonizing CFP committee. Beat BYU, and the Utes have a breezy path to the Big 12 Championship game and likely earn a bid regardless of that game's result with a 12-0 regular season. Beyond that, the Utes would have a very strong case to be ranked number-one overall with a win over the ninth-ranked team in the nation, with only Miami left to clear at the top.
But the Utes can likely afford to lose this game and still reach the CFP through several avenues. BYU, at 7-1 doesn't have that luxury.
What's at stake for BYU in the Holy War
Whether fair or not, BYU's loss to UCF has turned this contest into a do-or-die proposition for Kalani Sitake's postseason hopes. The committee has made that much very clear by dropping the Cougars to the 9th spot in the rankings -- one loss away from falling out entirely, no matter the opponent.
Of course, external factors could play into BYU's playoff chances. Should Notre Dame beat Miami this weekend, the Cougars' strength of schedule becomes much higher as the perceived value of their win against Notre Dame rockets upward. The Irish are ranked 11th due to their weak strength of schedule today, but a win against the nation's top team could launch Notre Dame firmly into the playoff field.
But BYU would be foolish to rely on the committee's judgment and hope Notre Dame's life post-Provo can elevate the Cougars by extension.
A second loss could keep BYU out of the Big 12 Championship game, assuming Utah and Texas Tech continue to win. We learned last season that an 11-1 regular season and a conference championship appearance wasn't enough to punch BYU's postseason ticket; they would stand no chance as a 10-2 wild card.
Beat a top-three Utah team, and BYU can essentially erase the stain left by their loss in Orlando. Two top-three wins would be the best resume of any team in the nation. SEC bias or not, the Cougars would be a top-five team and in the driver's seat to represent the Big 12 and make a repeat appearance in Arlington.
Should Utah lose this weekend, it's hard to imagine a top-three team falling from the top-12, even in a blowout (which will not happen, for the record). They'll also remain tied for first place in the Big 12 Conference, and may have an even better chance at an at-large bid if they miss the conference championship and avoid a loss entirely.
Of course, neither team cares about what's at stake for the other -- this is winner-take-all.
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