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Utah Eager To Test Unblemished Mark

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By BRETT MARTEL The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 2, 2009

NEW ORLEANS - Unwittingly, Nick Saban added some spice to the 75th Sugar Bowl.

Saban's intention - after his club fell out of the national title chase with a loss to Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game - was to remind his players of their exceptional 2008 campaign. He noted the Crimson Tide was the only team to have an undefeated regular season in a "real BCS conference."

Then No. 4 Alabama (12-1) was paired with seventh-ranked and unbeaten Utah (12-0) of the Mountain West Conference, which doesn't have an automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series.

So not all 12-0s are created equal, right?

Suffice it to say the Utes intend to prove that idea wrong, and while Utah coach Kyle Whittingham would rather not make a big deal out of it, he couldn't deny his players were aware of what Saban said.

"They're not oblivious to things," Whittingham said Thursday. "They hear things; they read things.

"They're very motivated to go out and play well," Whittingham continued, pointing out that his team has won 20 of 21 games dating to last season and rides a 13-game winning streak. "If my assumption is correct, they'll come with that same mind-set tonight and play well. Whether that's going to be good enough to win, we'll find out."

Ever since this intriguing Sugar Bowl pairing was announced, Saban and his players have been going out of their way to applaud Utah's accomplishments.

Alabama linebacker Corey Reamer even gave a nod to Boise State's Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma two years ago.

"Boise State proved non-BCS schools cannot be overlooked a few years ago. Utah is 12-0 and that's not easy in college football today," Reamer said. "They are a good, talented team who earned their place here."

Normally, the Sugar Bowl plays host to the SEC champion, unless that team has earned a berth to the BCS title game. In a testament to the strength of the SEC, that has happened two years in a row. Last year, LSU qualified for the BCS title game, which it won, opening the door for Georgia to go to the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs routed 12-0 BCS buster Hawaii, 41-10.

One year later, it's up to Utah to redeem the non-BCS conferences on that same Louisiana Superdome field.

Utah has won a BCS Bowl before, soundly beating Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl following the 2003 season.

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