The impact of the annual BYU-Utah football game lasts a year -- or much longer, in many cases. Yet somehow, a loss never carries over into the Utes' bowl game.
"That's good," Kyle Whittingham said wryly when that subject was presented to him recently, with his team coming off an overtime defeat in the rivalry.
It's true, though. Regardless of the circumstances, the Utes have played their best football in bowl games over 10 seasons, covering eight postseason contests. It is an impressive run, considering all the variables of involved. Inevitably, opponents and their apologists cite motivation as an explanation for those teams' shortcomings and Utah's success, but that's their own fault.
The Utes always care, and they always deliver. Nobody expects anything different Wednesday, when they play California in the Poinsettia Bowl.
"Overall, we just take these bowl games very seriously," said offensive tackle Zane Beadles, a fifth-year senior. "We always talk about how we're not going to remember Sea World or whatever we do down in San Diego, we're going to remember the outcome of the game --10, 20, 30 years from now. We want it to be a good memory."
The Utes and their followers have a bunch of happy recollections. They've won eight straight games, against eight different opponents, in seven bowls, in six states, with five starting quarterbacks and three coaches -- including "co-head coaches," during the transition from Urban Meyer to Whittingham. They've played before, during and after Christmas, in two NFL stadiums and a baseball park, indoors and outdoors, in front of huge crowds and in half-empty venues.
They've opposed teams from four Bowl Championship Series conferences, faced famous coaches Pete Carroll and Nick Saban and taken on future Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer and other high NFL draft picks. They've won when they were unbeaten and when they were barely bowl-eligible. None of that stuff has ever mattered. They've responded from three devastating losses to BYU and five thrilling victories with equal determination.
The rewards may vary, but the Utes have traditionally approached a Poinsettia Bowl with the same fervor as a BCS showcase.
"This program is geared to not taking a day off," said offensive coordinator Dave Schramm. "When it comes to bowl time, we don't really treat it like a vacation. ... We get our work done."
Cal offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, who spent the previous four seasons at Utah, credits Whittingham with a perfect formula of allowing his players to enjoy activities but demanding full attention to practice and preparation.
The Utes have displayed their some of their best material in bowl games: Mike Anderson's 254-yard rushing effort against Fresno State, Brett Ratliff's passing and Travis LaTendresse's receiving against Georgia Tech, the relentless rush led by Tommy Hackenbruck and Stevenson Sylvester against Pittsburgh and Alabama in BCS games, Louie Sakoda's kicking and Eric Weddle's all-around play against Tulsa and generally outstanding defense against everybody.
Name an opposing star, and the Utes have shut him down: USC's Palmer, Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson and Alabama running back Glen Coffee and receiver Julio Jones.
Ludwig was there at the start of Utah's streak, directing Fresno State's offense in a 17-16 loss in the 1999 Las Vegas Bowl. Ten years later, he's facing the Utes again.
"It's impressive to watch, and be a part of," Ludwig said. "I'm a part of it again; we'll see how it goes."
