Prior to shutting down any question specifically about the Cougars during his Monday press conference, Whittingham laid out just how similar both teams appear to be heading into Saturday’s matchup at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“Between the two teams there’s a lot of similarities, statistically,” Whittingham said. “Both are rushing for roughly the same amount, throwing for roughly the same amount, scoring the same amount. Defensively there’s a lot of similarities, as well. Both are in the upper third in the conference in key stats, so it should make for a great matchup and away we go.”

No, Whittingham didn’t mention BYU specifically, as has been his schtick since becoming Utah’s head coach. It’s how he chooses to approach the rivalry, at least outwards to the media, and doing as much has brought him a lot of success, at least initially and certainly during Utah’s recent nine game winning streak during BYU’s independent era.

So yeah, this year’s game presents two teams that have seen a lot of the same success in their respective abilities to both produce and prevent yards and points so far this season. Most fans typically expect a close contest, sure, although this year’s game should put that expectation into overdrive.

“Watching Utah on film, they’re a team a lot of different weapons in all three phases,” observed BYU Coach Kalani Sitake, who did care to mention his team’s opponent by name, during his Monday press conference. “They’re well-coached. You know when you’re going up against Kyle Whittingham, and his staff, that they’ll be well-coached and they’ll be physical. So it’s going to be a great matchup…It’s taking our best focus and has every bit of our attention.”

Sitake went on to mention the many unique connections BYU’s staff has with Utah. Indeed the Utes present a staff comprised of five coaches who played for BYU while the Cougars present a similar number of members of their staff who have either played for or coached at Utah.

It breeds a lot of familiarity.

“It’s a tricky thing because both of us know each other so well,” said BYU Offensive Coordinator Aaron Roderick, who played receiver for BYU before coaching at Utah prior returning to Provo. “I compare it to a game seven of an NBA playoff series where you know each other so well. That game is sort of the we-know-that-they-know-they-we-know-that-they-know … It’s one of those type of things and you can out-smart yourself sometimes. The players just have to go out and make plays and execute.”

As far as the familiarity goes, it also engenders a lot of respect, at least for BYU Defensive Coordinator Jay Hill, who got noticeably emotional when discussing the impact Whittingham has had on him during his time coaching at Utah and since then. Hill played at Utah for two years before joining the Ute coaching staff for 13 years prior to becoming Weber State’s head coach.

“I love the guy. That’s not a secret,” Hill said of Whittingham. “He’s been so influential in my life and in my playing career and my coaching career…This is a weird game because we’re super competitive, and we want to win like crazy, but we also have tons of respect for the coaches up there and their players.”

Sitake would agree with Hill in every regard. Sitake coached at Utah for 10 years before moving on to coach at Oregon State as its defensive coordinator prior to becoming BYU’s head coach.

“I learned a lot from him and watched him grow in the industry and his position,” Sitake said. “I watched him go from being a coordinator to head coach, and then going from the Mountain West (Conference) to the Pac-12 (Conference), and I had a front row seat to all of it. So, there’s a lot of things that he’s helped me with, as a coach in the profession, and I know that he’s had a huge impact on our staff, too … I’ll always have a lot of love and admiration with Kyle.”

All that friendship and good feelings will go on hold during the approximately three hours of game time on Saturday, in what looks to be as competitive of a matchup as we’ve seen in recent years. But as for the feelings both staffs have for one another, they’ll persist for a long time, which adds richly to just how great and truly unique the BYU-Utah rivalry has become.

Big Noon Kickoff

Although Saturday’s game doesn’t kick off until 8 p.m. EST, the FOX Network is hosting its Big Noon pregame show at LaVell Edwards Stadium, which will begin at 8 a.m. local time.

From BYU Athletics Department:

Making its second trip to BYU in consecutive seasons, the two-hour Big Noon Kickoff pregame show and tailgate party will be held in the west parking lot of LaVell Edwards Stadium. Set at the base of the Wasatch Mountains, Edwards Stadium is one of the most picturesque settings in college football.

Big Noon Kickoff is hosted by Rob Stone along with analysts Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart, Urban Meyer and Brady Quinn. The show provides a preview of the day’s top college football games from across the country. Saturday’s show will also include detailed analysis and coverage of the Big 12 matchup between BYU (6-0, 3-0) and Utah (5-1, 2-1).

“We are excited to welcome FOX Big Noon Kickoff to Provo,” said Brian Santiago, BYU director of athletics. “It’s a great opportunity for BYU to showcase our football program and LaVell Edwards Stadium, one of the best game-day environments in all of college football. Our football team, The ROC and Cougar Nation are ready to welcome the world to our campus. On behalf of BYU, I would like to thank FOX Sports and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and his staff for this opportunity. We look forward to an exciting day of football.”