BYU and Utah striving to use The Force in Las Vegas Bowl

Friday's news conference took an unusual turn at the end with those representing Brigham Young and Utah talking about their favorite Star Wars characters.

Utes coach Kyle Whittingham even revealed he planned to take his team to the newest Star Wars movie later that night.

For a moment, it was easy to forget about the animosity that exists between the Beehive State neighbors who reside just 48 miles apart.

But it won't be easy to forget when the teams take the Sam Boyd Stadium field today to face each other in what has been dubbed "The Holy War in Sin City," otherwise known as the Las Vegas Bowl. Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m., and ABC will televise the game.

Utah is a 2½-point favorite, so oddsmakers expect a close game between the 9-3 teams. The winner might be determined by which team best plays with emotion and energy, but also with a clear head.

Both coaches talked about the importance of doing just that and how personal fouls and other unnecessary actions don't increase the chance of accomplishing the primary goal of winning.

"Ultimately, it's the preparation you do collectively as a team and then what you execute in the timeframe of the game," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who seeks his 100th career victory before leaving to take over as Virginia's coach. "The rest of it really has no bearing. I think both teams would agree with that."

In case anyone doubted the intensity of this rivalry, Utah defensive tackle Viliseni Fauonuku added some heat at the welcome reception Wednesday. In what was supposed to be a lighthearted event, he took the microphone and called the Cougars "dirty."

Whittingham said he spoke with Fauonuku about his comments.

"Seni's heart's in the right place, but it wasn't a good choice," Whittingham said. "We all know that. I don't think anyone would dispute that. Seni's a great kid, and when he joined our program, he had come from some tough situations and circumstances. He's been nothing but a model kid ever since he joined.

"It's over, we'll move forward, and people make mistakes."

For the 20th-ranked Utes to win, they need to establish a strong running game. Joe Williams averaged 115 yards per game in November, taking the place of the injured Devontae Booker. Until suffering a knee injury on Nov. 14, Booker had gained 1,261 yards.

BYU's route to victory likely would be through the air. Tanner Mangum has thrown for 3,062 yards and 21 touchdowns, and the Utes give up 253.4 yards passing per game.

So many factors, however, go into determining the outcomes of bowls, such as which team has the greater motivation.

BYU has been noticeably excited about playing in this game, and that was clear even before Utah was invited.

"As funny as it is, Vegas has been the best place to focus and prepare," Cougars wide receiver Mitch Mathews said. "It's eliminated, for us, a lot of distractions, and we've been preparing extra hard for these guys. Because of who we're playing, that is the reason why we are preparing so hard."

It should have the feel of a BYU home game, though both sides plan to wear their dark colors, with the Cougars also going with the light-blue throwback look.

"Being in the Pac-12 and being on the road in hostile environments, we're kind of used to being in that," Utah linebacker Jared Norris said. "I think our team does a great job of rising to the occasion when we're being rooted against or when we're in a environment like that. So I don't think things are going to change very much for us."

— Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.