Ron McBride will be coaching in a college football playoff game -- imagine that -- more than 2,000 miles from Provo, but his lasting impact will be evident today in a stadium named for his friend and old-time rival.

Before those coaches could have fun promoting the BYU-Utah series, LaVell Edwards made a mockery of it and then McBride restored it to a genuine competition.

This is LaVell's and Mac's legacy, being played out in a meeting of Top 25 teams, continuing a rivalry that has produced a 10-10 record over the past 20 games -- with more close games and wild finishes than even those numbers suggest.

Even with no realistic opportunity for the winner to claim a Mountain West Conference championship, today's game means everything to everybody involved in a rivalry that now registers nationally because of its intensity and competitiveness and the quality of the programs.

And for that, everybody can thank the guy who used to joke around with Edwards in bank commercials.

"Coach Mac got that thing turned around to where it was a true rivalry again," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, "and it's stayed that way ever since."

Edwards initially made the series meaningful, but he went too far. BYU's record against Utah was 5-37-4 before Edwards took over in 1972. He won 19 of his first 21 games against the Utes -- beating six different coaches, including McBride three times.

Then everything changed. A former Ute assistant,

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McBride had been motivated to come back as Utah's head coach by a desire to rebuild the rivalry.

"One of my goals in life, if I ever had the opportunity, was to get this BYU thing off Utah's back," said McBride, now Weber State's coach. "In Utah's football history, that was one of the things that had to be done."

Beginning in 1993, McBride went 6-4 in his last 10 games against BYU. Since then, Urban Meyer and Whittingham are 4-2.

"People talk about Urban Meyer, but I've always said that it was Ron McBride who got that whole thing changed around," Edwards said. "He brought in a toughness and a defense and just a whole different way of thinking."

The result was a foundation for Utah's success that Meyer and Whittingham have consistently cited and a rivalry that has produced 12 games decided by seven points or fewer among the last 16. Even last November's 48-24 win for Utah was a three-point game late in the third quarter, with BYU in possession. For three straight years before that, the outcome was determined only after a last-play pass into the end zone -- one complete, the others incomplete.

It has become a rivalry built by "layers" of factors, as described by former BYU player Chad Lewis, citing the proximity of the schools, the growing prominence of the programs, coaches with ties to the opponent, and the religious element.

It all reminds Lewis of his NFL experience, the difference being that the Philadelphia Eagles play two annual games with each of their NFC East rivals. BYU-Utah is one game a year -- for everything. "Three hours of effort and 365 [days] of the joy and the sorrows," Lewis said.

Lewis observed how national broadcasters who come to town largely unfamiliar with the rivalry are stunned by its intensity. BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe, also a former NFL player who coached at rival schools California and Stanford, said Utahns tend to inflate the rivalry's status nationally. But having played under Edwards in the days of BYU's domination, Holmoe was struck by the effect of Utah's improvement. "When I came back, I could tell that it was heated up a little bit," he said. "Right now, I think the rivalry -- not just the football one -- is as good as it's been in a long time.

"Generally, both teams are really good when you come to this game," Holmoe added. "That's how a rivalry should be. You look around the country right now, and it's as good as any. It's really good for both schools."

Not just for Utah, as it was before Edwards came along. Not just for BYU, after Edwards was hired. The rivalry is healthy and strong, and McBride is proud of his impact.

When the Utes broke through in the early '90s, BYU people "had a hard time getting used to it at first," McBride said.

Lately, both sides are accustomed to losing -- and winning.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com