Two players have been suspended from the team. They already have left school and have no plans to return.

One player has been put on probation, which allows him to remain in school and be on the team. Another player has received a warning.

A total of nine players were investigated, spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said Friday.

"Two of the cases have resulted in no action being taken," Jenkins said.

Three players are still under review, she said. They are allowed to remain on the team.

Provo police still are investigating an Aug. 8 incident in which a girl claims several BYU players raped her. Alcohol and pornography also were allegedly involved.

The Honor Code Office handed down the suspensions last month. Jenkins said the appeals process took longer than usual.

"Some of the students involved appealed their decision," she said. "However, after initiating the appeals process some of the students left the state, making it difficult to proceed. They have withdrawn their appeal, allowing the review to conclude."

Same stuff

A year out of football, Chad Barney can relate to BYU's situation.

Two years ago, Barney was a defensive back. With two games left, the Cougars needed to win one game to become bowl eligible.

At home, they lost to New Mexico. A week later Utah beat BYU in Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Sound familiar?

The Cougars entered last week's home game against New Mexico with a 5-4 record. Despite being the favorite, they lost.

Now BYU has to beat heavily favored Utah today to get bowl eligible.

"It's the hugest game of the year," said Barney, who is finishing his degree in public relations.

Like most BYU fans, Barney has grown frustrated watching the Cougars this season. Each hot streak leads to something bad.

The New Mexico loss came after BYU had won three consecutive games for the first time in three years.

"There's so much potential on the team," Barney said. "The last few games you saw it, and then a UNLV game or a New Mexico game you see a totally different team. Come Saturday you look at it as what team is going show - the great Cougar football team that we saw the last three weeks or is it going to be the one we saw last week."

Barney said BYU has enough ability to beat the Utes. Utah, which has a two-game winning streak against the Cougars, is undefeated and playing for a possible Fiesta Bowl bid.

"It doesn't mean that they have better talent," Barney said.

It's on you

Which team has more pressure on this game?

An argument can be made on both sides.

The Utes have an undefeated season at stake, along with a potential historic bowl bid. No team from a non-BCS conference has ever played in one of the four major bowl games.

BYU needs to win to get bowl eligible and avoid a third consecutive losing season. Coach Gary Crowton's BYU career is on the line.

Crowton's approach is to take it as another game.

"Rivalries are always fun," he said. "We feel the excitement. It's almost like it's the beginning of the season."

Typical of rivalry games, there has been some trash talking. Crowton downplayed comments by Austin Collie and Curtis Brown, saying their youthful remarks indicate confidence.