One was that Joe Glenn has a big mouth.

"You open your mouth," Kyle Whittingham growled afterward, "and . . ."

His voice trailed off, but his anger was plain to see.

"Coach Glenn made a guarantee," said Whittingham. "I guess he knew something I didn't."

The Cowboys coach had the audacity to guarantee a Wyoming victory over Utah while speaking to a group of students last week. Horrors. What a dirtbag.

Utah's players were fully informed about the guarantee, and it annoyed them, but it shouldn't have been at the core of their near-flawless effort here.

Man, they played great, outgaining the Cowboys, 505 yards to 122. It was admirable.

But when the Utes attempted a double-pitch flea-flicker, up by 40, it only embarrassed them. A subsequent onside kick, at 43-zip in the third quarter, eliciting a raised middle finger from Glenn, and other attempted bombs, made it evident a certain Ute coach lacks class.

"You don't shut it down in the third [quarter]," Whittingham rationalized. "Only in the fourth."

Let's call B.S. on that.

Whittingham was crushing the Cowboys to punish their coach. That's OK at the pro level, but not college.

Utilizing that kind of direction, that bogus, trumped-up motivation, is laughable and sad. Its frequent usage is trite and overblown, although sometimes it works. Coaches look for any edge they can to push their athletes.

A noted sports psychologist once said: "It's an ancient ploy, the bulletin board, but it still works. Players are building to an emotional pitch and, when their ego is affected, it takes them higher. They take it personally. Even if it's not that big a deal, it becomes one. It gets them turned on to play. For athletes, pride is a potent thing to mess with."

Apparently, Glenn messed with it, big time, even though he was trying to stir his own players' pride. On the other hand, what was he supposed to say in that setting? Come on all you Cowboys, get excited because, you know, we just might win.

A quiet Glenn said after the game: "I got my big Irish mouth going."

It was Lou Holtz who said, "The best way to save face is to keep the lower part of it shut."

I say the best way to save face is to prevent an audible for a fake punt deep in your own territory on fourth-and-10, gaining only three yards, and setting up an easy touchdown for the Utes. And coaching your punt returner not to fall on his butt just as the ball arrives, allowing it to bounce off his leg and directly into the Utes' possession at the Cowboys 10-yard line, for another Utah score. And telling your return team not to fall asleep on a fake punt from the Utes, enabling a 175-pound punter to throw a dump-off to a 300-pound defensive tackle who rumbled 41 yards, facilitating another TD.

But that's just me.

If players need guarantees from opposing coaches - or any other form of more street-level trash talk - to fire their resolve, or, if any player or coach worries about the effects such talk could have, that strategy might work one week, but not every week.

"We don't ask you to love us, or hate us, just give us a little respect . . ." said Brian Johnson. "Coach Whit did a great job of having that point hit home."

Whatever.

Another empty claim of disrespect.

The other peripheral for the Utes was revenge.

That's a bit more understandable, considering the way Utah got punked by the Cowboys last year.

Still, what should have motivated Utah - and it did among those Utes without insecurity issues - in this game was a pursuit of fulfilling their own potential. It had little to do with Wyoming, and everything to do with slamming their own engine into its highest gear. That much was accomplished.

"This team realizes what it's capable of," said Johnson.

A lot.

The Utes have truly grasped how good they can be, and they put that clearly on display Saturday. Too bad the coaches revealed, alongside, their immaturity, when it was not necessary.

On talent and focus alone, the Utes won their sixth straight game, honing themselves for the next two weeks, especially the week after next, when boys will be boys, trash talk and bulletin-board material will be read, heard, and seen everywhere.

It's called a rivalry.

And, with any luck, the teams, led by self-assured men, will be driven by something more noble.

---

* GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com.