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Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is best known as a defensive guru, the guy who took his father's defensive scheme and made it into a frustrating, virtually impenetrable wall.

He isn't doing too bad as a motivator and leader, either.

Utah's recent stretch against some of the worst teams in Division I football was a great opportunity for the Utes to lose their focus, overlook an opponent and suffer an embarrassing defeat. Or at least look bad in winning.

Instead the Utes, who host Colorado State on Saturday (4 p.m.), have logged one satisfying win after another to move up the national rankings.

The showing has arguably been one of Whittingham's most impressive coaching jobs when it comes to motivating a team.

It's easy to get a team excited to play a ranked opponent or one with a big reputation, such as the one the Utes will face when TCU visits Nov. 6. Getting a team up for a run of games against college football's bottom feeders is another matter.

Once a trait he may have overlooked, Whittingham now considers motivation one of his primary duties as a coach. He learned that lesson after watching his team fall apart at the hands of supposedly lesser UNLV, 27-0, in the 2007 season.

"The mindset of a football team is critical. I learned that about two and a half years ago," he said of the shutout loss to a seemingly inferior team. "You have to get them ready to play every week against every opponent."

It sounds like a simple philosophy, yet a quick glance around the college football world shows how difficult it can be.

Virginia Tech lost to James Madison, UCLA shocked Texas in Austin and Kentucky stunned South Carolina in just a few of the many upsets the 2010 season has delivered thus far.

Yet the Utes have been immune to such disasters, thanks in large part to Whittingham's approach, the players say.

"He has us rolling," corner Brandon Burton said. "He has taught us how to respect our opponents and to not let up and that every little thing matters."

The often-guarded Whittingham is hesitant to discuss his specific motivational tactics, other than to say he has some "core things" upon which he relies.

"We have ways to keep them motivated," he said. "We aren't a gimmick team or anything like that. We don't wear bracelets or anything like that; we just try to stress the things that are important."

Namely, that is respecting every opponent equally while keeping the focus on just the next opponent.

"He is the same guy every day, very consistent; so our players learn what to expect from him and the team reflects his personality," co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said. "He does a great job of talking about the process and winning certain things each week and the players have bought into that."

This week around the Utah locker room there is little talk of the BCS standings, the Pac-10 developments or anything else that might take energy away from preparing for the Rams.

"He has explained it to us really well and we realize the focus we need," lineman Zane Taylor said. "We realize all those other things can take time and energy away from what is at hand and what is important to us now. All that other stuff, we could care less."

Whittingham isn't one to wax poetic or delve into books for motivational pointers, but describes his ways of motivating players as a combination of what he has learned in his previous coaching experiences.

"I learned from my father [Fred Whittingham], coach [LaVell] Edwards, coach [Ron] McBride and Urban [Meyer], all the great coaches I've been around," he said. "I don't have just one philosophy and it's always something you improve on. You never arrive. There is always some deficiency you have that can be worked on."

His best tactic is getting to know his players and understanding what motivates each one of them, quarterback Jordan Wynn said.

"He definitely knows how to push our buttons," he said. "For me, any time he talks about us not being in a BCS conference and we still have to go prove ourselves, that definitely gets me fired up."

Taylor, now a star offensive lineman, remembers how Whittingham paid attention to him even when he was redshirting and a member of the scout team.

"He asked about me, my family and that lets you know he cares," Taylor said. "It makes you want to play hard for him."

It helps, too, that Whittingham doesn't mind putting in a little sweat of his own, Taylor said.

"He leads by example and knows what it means to be tired and still working hard," Taylor said. "The guy does crossword puzzles on the stair master going all out. He is a hard working guy and he demands that from everybody."

lwodraska@sltrib.com Twitter: @ sltributes, @lyawodraska —

Colorado St. at Utah

P Kickoff • 4 p.m. MT

TV • The Mtn

Radio • 700 AM

Records • Utah (6-0, 3-0); CSU (2-5, 1-2)

Series history • Utah leads 54-22-2

Last meeting • Utah won, 24-17, Oct. 10, 2009

About the Utes • The Utes have won six of the past seven games against the Rams … Tight end Kendrick Moeai, who missed the Wyoming game with a concussion, is expected to play while fellow tight end Brad Clifford (shoulder) is out … Running back Matt Asiata is coming off a season-high 109 rushing yards at Wyoming … The Utes have won their past 20 home games.

About the Rams • Coming off a 43-10 win over UNLV … QB Pete Thomas is second in league averaging 223.7 passing yards a game … Scoring defense ranks 101st nationally, giving up 32.3 points a game … Derek Good leads the nation averaging 37.4 yards per kick return. —

Whittingham year by year

Since losing at UNLV on Sept. 22, 2007, the Utes have dropped just three MWC games — to BYU in 2007 and to TCU and BYU in 2009. Here is how the Utes have done under Whittingham in his career.

Year Overall MWC

2004 1-0 (co-coach of Fiesta Bowl)

2005 7-5 4-4

2006 8-5 5-3

2007 9-4 5-3

2008 13-0 8-0

2009 10-3 6-2

2010 6-0 3-0 Whittingham vs. the Mountain West

Team Overall Since losing at UNLV in 2007

Air Force 4-1 2-0

BYU 2-3 1-2

CSU 4-1 3-0

New Mexico 3-2 4-0

San Diego St. 4-1 3-0

TCU 3-2 2-1

UNLV 4-1 3-0

Wyoming 4-1 4-0