No longer members of the Mountain West Conference, a couple of teams that have gone their separate ways rekindle their rivalry on the gridiron this weekend, as the BYU Cougars entertain the Utah Runnin’ Utes at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Utes, who opened the 2011 campaign with a modest 27-10 victory over Montana State, began life as members of the Pac-12 Conference last weekend as they matched up with USC, losing to the Trojans in a 23-14 final. The game actually took a wild turn in the waning moments as Utah set up for a possible game-tying field goal, only to have the attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown to finish off the team’s first foray into Pac-12 action.

As for the Cougars, now recognized as an Independent for football, they too were involved in a tight matchup last weekend and nearly pulled off a spectacular win over Texas, but instead bowed in a 17-16 final in front of the largest crowd ever to witness a BYU football games (100,995). With the narrow loss in Austin the Cougars dropped to 1-1 on the young season. These two programs have been clashing with each other since 1896 when Utah posted a 12-4 win. Last season Utah slipped by with a 17-16 victory in Salt Lake City, boosting its overall series advantage to 54-34-4.

Good spot and good number for the Utes here members. Take Utah to not only keep this close but possibly even win outright without the points.