BYU-Utah rivalry looks a little chummy

PULLMAN — For a game that stakeholders have christened “The Holy War,” the rivalry between BYU and Utah is starting to feel awfully chummy.

OK, so last year’s Holy War in Sin City for the Las Vegas Bowl was as good as rivalry games get, but consider the following.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is a BYU alum, and BYU coach Kilani Sitake may have played for the Cougars back in the day, but he was Whittingham’s defensive coordinator in Salt Lake City just two years ago.

On Tuesday Whittingham said, “I have a great relationship with Kilani Sitake and we’re the best of friends.”

Not exactly words to prepare the spirit for religious battle.

The familial feel of this year’s rivalry game does not end with the head coaches, although they are the hearts of their respective program. The assistant coaches, the veins of this body politic, are also intersecting hues of red and blue.

In total, 13 coaches or staff members have a connection to the rival school, per Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune. The coaches attended each other’ schools, go on family vacation together, golf together.

Here we have a holy war between people who have gone to church together. Can the coaching crossover bring about peace?

Hardly.

“I don’t know if it will have a major impact with the fanbases – I don’t see that happening,” Whittingham said.

Freshmen QBs are ready

Texas freshman Shane Buechele’s debut could have hardly gone better. The teenager celebrated his first week or so of college classes by knocking off No. 10 Notre Dame in front of seemingly the entire UT student body on Sunday night, in what will be one of the most-watched games this year.

Buechele showed off a strong, accurate arm and an impressive command of the Longhorns’ newly implemented fast-paced offense. He’s hardly the first teenager to come in ready to lead a complex offensive system, however; in the Pac-12 alone Jake Browning (Washington) and Josh Rosen (UCLA) were very successful as first-year quarterbacks in 2015.

Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez has scouted a passer or two in his day, and he says the high school players he scouts now are better prepared for what they see in college.

“I think a part of it is the game has become a shotgun game,” Rodriguez explained. “Young guys are learning in the shotgun, I think they see the field better and get rid of the ball quicker and have a chance to make some plays.”

USC was prepared?

Clay Helton’s team may have looked like it had no idea what it was up against during its 52-6 thrashing at the hands of perennial power Alabama, but the USC coach faced the media on Tuesday and declared himself proud of the Trojans’ preparation.

“Like I told the kids, I just thought our performance didn’t equal the preparation we did, and that’s what’s sad about it,” Helton said. “We’re a good football team that beat itself with mistakes.”