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Show 4 November 2010 DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 1— THE GREAT DEBATE —I Will conference realignment change the rivalry? Early-season game won't hold same weight Tradition will keep Holy War alive onference realignment has caused quite a stir for Utah during the past year. AlJAKE 1 though Utah's Pac-io BULLINGER move and BYU's decision to go independent will likely benefit Staff both teams, the rivalry will lose significance. The formula is simple. to the teams' postseason The bad blood between the destinies, especially for the two schools will still remain, Utes. However, if Utah loses Wasatch Front bragging rights to BYU, it will still have the will be on the line, but the opportunity to make the Rose game means nothing aside Bowl by winning the Pac-12. from that. The rivalry will continue to Unless either team is lookbe entertaining, but the coning to break into the National ference affiliation was a major Championship game, the Holy ingredient in its significance. War will hold no Rather than having a conferimportance ence championship on the line C Writer 16 at the last game of the season, Ute and Cougar fans will simply get a meaningless game early in the season. The question will be raised whether the teams themselves will even view the rivalry as important. Utah's main goal will not be to defeat BYU—the Utes will be more concerned about the Arizonas and USCs on their schedule. If BYU defeats Utah, so what? No postseason hopes will be dashed, and the team can still accomplish the goal of a conference championship. Because independence places a higher value on gameby-game success, BYU will ii's weekend will not be the conclusion of the Holy War—merely the end of a chapter. Whatever the outcome of Saturday's game, there will be another crusade to fight, another quote about "classless fans" to go down in infamy and another season to earn bragging rights. Undeniably, the dynamic of the Utah-BYU rivalry will change drastically next year, when the Utes take off to the Pac-io and the Cougars come into their newfound independence. However, the change of conference venues doesn't V S. See BULLINGER Page 10 Vote on who won this week Tradition and the emotional investment of fans will keep the Holy War alive. Despite the tendency to define the annual football meeting between Utah and BYU as a battle for the conference title, the rivalry has been defined by one school dominating the other. If you look at the football series, which dates back to 1898, the Utes led the Cougars by a mark of 53-34-3. BYU didn't even win a game until 1942. The rivalry remained strong from 1972-1992, during which Utah won only twice. It'd be foolhardy to look at the rivalry then, when it was just as big as today, and argue the StaffWriter change the longevity of the series, nor does it end the emotional ties the schools' fans have associated with the game. Rivalries are usually defined by geographic location and tradition more than any other factor. Despite Utah's move to the Pac-io and BYU's independence, there's no need for fans to panic over a rivalry apocalypse. See www.dailyutahchronicle.corn PRICE Page 6 _ 21! W4* , . JORDAN WYNN Hopes ride on underclassmen Jake Bullinger STAFF WRITER In the final year the Holy War will be played in the Mountain West Conference, both BYU and Utah will turn to underclassmen with little experience in the rivalry to secure bragging rights in what is one of the youngest quarterback matchups in the rivalry's history. One of these two young players will win his first and last Holy War with conference implications and the other will be left with a bad taste in his mouth, winless against his school's arch rival. 40' Jordan Wynn: Sophomore Jordan Wynn has already had a taste of the rivalry between the in-state rivals, but he's still hungry for a win. It was a heartbreaking 26-23 overtime loss to the Cougars in 2009 that left Wynn with a record in the Holy War. Completing 21of-41 passes for 198 yards, Wynn failed to throw for a touchdown and threw one interception. The Oceanside, Calif, native went on to win the MVP performance in the Poinsettia Bowl. Last year, Wynn also became just the third true freshman to start for Utah and had the best season ever by a first-year quarterback in school history. A strong performance from Wynn in Saturday's game would give him his signature win as well as further secure his spot as the team's leader on offense heading into the Pac-io next year. Jake Heaps: Jake Heaps will receive his baptism into the rivalry's rich history Saturday. The true freshman out of Issaquah, Wash., was regarded as the top quarterback recruit heading into 2010. After sharing time with fellow quarterback Riley Nelson, Heaps has taken over the full reins of the offense and become the Cougars' field general after Nelson went down with an injury earlier this season. At home against Nevada in BYU's fourth game of the year, Heaps became the first freshman since 1997 to start at the position for BYU, going 24-of-45 for 229 yards. A win Saturday for Heaps would not only solidify his name as the youngest quarterback to win the rivalry, but also give the Cougars their fifth straight win to end the year on a high note heading into conference independence in 2011. j.bullinger@chronicle.utah.edu I JAKE HEAPS nioncente olunteer Serve Your Community Make New Friends • Build Your Resume Each year more than 8,600 volunteers provide nearly 150,000 hours of service through the Bennion Center—from Alternative Spring Break to our 50+ Student Directed Programs, there is something for everyone! Upcoming Events: Nov. 23 • Hunger Banquet • 6-8pm • Union Saltair Room Dec. 4 • Saturday Service Project • 9am-noon • Globus Relief Jan. 17. MLK Day of Service • 9am-noon • TBA Feb. 19 • Saturday Service Project • 9am-noon • TBA Mar. 19 • Saturday Service Project • 9am-noon • TBA Mar. 17-25 • International Service Trip to Costa Rica Mar. 19-26. Alternative Spring Break Trips to Various Cities Apr. 23 • Bend-in-the-River Earth Day Planting • 9am-noon 801.581.4811 • www.bennioncenter.org • Union 101 Education Social Justice Tue. Nov. 23 7PM mw Amr41 7 ■■ Hosted by Frank Layden AMP It's a rivalry so powerful that office brawls erupt and crowds in church pews split. KUED takes a light-hearted look at an age-old rivalry. Die-hard red-blooded Utes vs. true-blue-blooded Cougars. LABORATORIES @omcast, Robert D. Eel it, Jr. Charitable Inbt GEORGE S. AND DOLORES DORE, ECCLES F O U N D AT ION Z‘GG • kued.org KUED7 The University of Utah |