I went to both BYU and the University of Utah. I've also gone to Westminster College and Western Governors University. For a while I felt I was circling through all the Utah-based universities. So when I talk about BYU and Utah, I don't really have a horse in the race. If I had to choose a side to root for, I'd pick Utah. Why? Their colors are red, closer to my Buckeyes. I went there longer, more important events happened there. But mostly because I find a lot more BYU fans are just annoying. I get it because Ohio State fans can be really annoying, too. That's why I understand why a lot of people hate us.
Utah has decided to cancel the 2016 basketball game against BYU in the upcoming season. The football game is still on the schedule...for now. Utah also was responsible for not renewing the contract for the 2014 and 2015 season football games. Coach Krystkowiak (sorry Ute fans, there's only one true Coach K) and Chris Hill decided to cancel the upcoming basketball game due to the "rough play and escalated emotions" that have recently occurred. BYU fans are pretty up in arms.
I think most people who have followed this rivalry know exactly what's going on but no one wants to admit it. I can: Utah has outgrown BYU. The Utes no longer need or want to play BYU in things. Why? There's a big downside and very little upside. Utah is now in a power 5 conference playing against really good teams in both basketball and especially football. They are starting to feel what the SEC has felt for years. Why do you need a stronger out-of-conference schedule when your conference schedule is so tough? That's why Alabama plays South West Jacksonville State Technical Institute of the Poor every year. They'll play one really good team a year, two max. But it just makes sense that they are saving their tougher games for the ones already on the schedule each year: USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Oregon, and Stanford. They play in arguably the toughest division in college football.
Back when both teams were in the mountain west, fighting for respectability, they needed each other more. They didn't have a choice on playing each other, but if either one would've gone to a non-BCS conference, they probably would've kept their rivalry going. But Utah bolted for the Pac-12 as they should have, and BYU made the move towards independence which made them a lot of money but is still a questionable decision. Even the BYU head coach publicly expressed his desire to align the university with a power 5 conference, which the Cougars really should do. But BYU has stuck to their guns and is counting their ESPN money.
Utah's recruits have now seen an immediate upgrade. Given their success in the conference, despite not having won their division yet, the recruiting will continue to be at a higher level than it has been. BYU's recruiting is still where it was before, getting 2 and 3-star players with an occasional 4-star guy in there. They should be really excited that a 5-star player like Mangum is there to take the reigns.
I said this when Utah was first moving to the conference because all the Ute fans thought they would just go into the then third-best BCS conference and run the tables, especially with Oregon and Stanford in the other division and USC having a down period: Utah doesn't know the grind of the week-to-week playing a really good to great team like the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 conferences all have grown accustomed. They, like BYU, were used to playing a really good TCU team somewhere in their schedule and then having their rivalry game, which was a good game, at the end of the year. They didn't have to worry about facing LSU, then Alabama, then Auburn (all who won the national title) with crossover games at Georgia and Florida. They didn't have to worry about Michigan, then Michigan State, then Wisconsin, then take a bye week and prepare for Ohio State. Coach Whittingham even said that in a press conference. It was something to the effect of "now we have to really prepare every week for the teams we face." What a slap in the face to the Mountain West Conference! But even moreso, it told the story that BYU has yet to go through: playing in a power 5 conference gives you the benefit of the doubt because it's a lot harder than you think.
So BYU fans, don't be discouraged by Utah's dismissal of the rivalry. It was never as big as you thought it was. I had a friend who was born and raised in Utah go to Michigan for a few years and came back to Utah. She told me how she thought the BYU-Utah rivalry was so much bigger than Michigan-Ohio State and she couldn't understand why the Holy War didn't get nearly as much credit. That's ridiculous. Because if Michigan and Ohio State suddenly found themselves in different conferences, they wouldn't stop playing each other. USC and Notre Dame never stop playing each other despite the distance and the different conferences. Same with Clemson and South Carolina. Auburn and Alabama wouldn't, either. It's a real rivalry. The Holy War, as we've come to find out, may have been more one-sided than people have wanted to admit. Especially some of those annoying BYU fans.
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