We'll let you know, in about, oh, five weeks. The Utes' 31-28 win over the Beavers (2-3) was dramatic enough for fans to storm the field and for kicker Louie Sakoda to be carried off like a hero after his 37-yard field goal as time expired, but the Utes won't know how the win over the Pac-10 opponent will be reviewed nationally until the rankings come out Sunday.

They could be like BYU, which fell after a close win at Washington, or they could break into the top 10 if teams ahead of them lose. Already, one team went down with Pitt upsetting No. 10 South Florida 26-21 while Utah was orchestrating its comeback Thursday.

Unfortunately for the Utes (6-0), that upset garnered most of the national attention on highlight shows while national stories often played the Utes' close win over Oregon State as the Beavers nearly knocking off another ranked team.

ESPN's analysts spent part of Friday's broadcast discussing whether an undefeated BYU team could play for the national title (they decided it couldn't) with no mention that the Utes might stand in the Cougars' way. That analysis came from the same network that recently mistakenly referred to Boise State as the first BCS buster, not the Utes. Ouch.

Perhaps the computer rankings will be kinder to the Utes when the first BCS standings are released on Oct. 19. If Oregon State keeps winning, then Utah's win will help its strength of schedule tremendously. But if the Beavers go the way Louisville (6-6) or UCLA (6-7) did last season, the win won't give the Utes the boost they're looking for in the strength of schedule.

What the win did do for certain was keep the Utes (6-0) undefeated, making them just one of five undefeated teams from non-BCS conferences. The others are BYU (5-0), Ball State (5-0), Tulsa (4-0) and Boise State (3-0).

The Utes say they don't worry about the rankings because they can't control them. Staying undefeated is something they can control and is their top priority, starting on Monday when they begin preparing for Saturday's game at Wyoming.

The Utes didn't like having a short week to prepare for Oregon State, but now with the win behind them, the extra days off will work to their advantage, quarterback Brian Johnson said. It's Utah's longest break since fall camp started Aug. 4.

"It's almost like a bye week, we get a couple days just to rest and clear our minds," Johnson said. "We know we have a ton of important conference games ahead."

Utah's next three games are against Wyoming (2-3), Colorado State (2-2) and New Mexico (2-3) before the big matchup with TCU (4-1) on Nov. 6. Wyoming plays at New Mexico on Saturday.

Could the Cowboys catch the Utes being overconfident after their win over the Beavers, or possibly looking ahead to that game with the Horned Frogs? Not a chance, Johnson said.

"We know it's going to be a rowdy atmosphere," Johnson said. "It's becoming a rivalry with them the last couple years and we know we'll get their best shot."

The Utes know the Cowboys will be coming after them after what happened last season too. Word that Wyoming coach Joe Glenn guaranteed a Wyoming victory during a student function spread quickly over the Internet to the Utes, who responded with a 50-0 whipping that included an onside kick.

All Glenn could do in retaliation was flip off Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. Better revenge, the Cowboys are surely thinking now, would be to end Utah's BCS hopes just when it seems hope could be reality.

Johnson is intent to make sure that doesn't happen.

"This team responds well in tough situations," he said.

lwodraska@sltrib.com

Opponents' records

Result for Utah - opponents' final records

2004

W, Texas A&M - 7-5

W, Arizona - 3-8

W, North Carolina - 6-6

W, Pittsburgh - 8-4

2005

W, Arizona - 3-8

L, North Carolina - 5-6

W, Georgia Tech - 7-5

2006

L, UCLA - 7-6

2007

L, Oregon State - 9-4

W, UCLA - 6-7

W, Louisville - 6-6

2008

W, Michigan - 2-2*

W, Oregon State - 2-3*

*Record as of Friday