Editor’s Note: The Daily Herald sports department is honored to introduce contributing columnist Sunny Mahe. Every week she will share stories and experiences from the viewpoint of the wives of coaches, including her own perspective as the wife of BYU football running backs coach Reno Mahe.

I don’t know if I have ever experienced a longer Saturday than this past weekend.

Aside from coaching my daughter’s volleyball game early in the afternoon, I had nothing to do but anxiously wait and wait and wait for that late game. (One could argue that I could have spent the day hunting for discarded apple cores in the couch, but that’s neither here nor there.)

It was so strange to watch Reno coach.

He was surprisingly cool and collected. Typically he is the high energy, emotional guy, but I suppose he could sense that this was not what his players needed from him since they bring their own high energy and emotion.

I thought I would be less nervous after getting the first game out of the way, but then I double-checked the schedule. Unfortunately for me, no one cared about my nerves when creating the 2016 BYU football schedule.

I’m no dummy. I know that in the minds of many Cougar fans, we could win ONLY this game against the Utes and they would consider the season a success.

I am a true blue BYU Cougar and I will forever be indebted to BYU for shaping my life in countless ways.

That being said, I also feel I should add that I do not hate the University of Utah. Having grown up outside of the state, I was ill-prepared for how bitter the rivalry can be and the way that it can bring out the absolute worst in people.

My sister, Kalani, was a freshman All-American for the Utah volleyball team. I took a recruiting trip to the U and Coach Mac (former University of Utah head football coach Ron McBride) was so nice to me. He went out of his way to come introduce himself and make me feel special as an 18-year-old kid. My brother, Westlee, was a tight end for the U and I proudly sported his jersey to his games to cheer him on.

I hope that Utah wins every game this season — except for the one on September 10th. I hope they lose that one.

So just to mix things up a little bit, I contacted Jamie Whittingham, wife of Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, to see if she might be willing to let me interview her for this column. She graciously accepted and her comments have given me so much to think about this past week.

Remember last week when I cheekily asked if the woman that has it all together even exists?

It turns out at least one does — and she wears red.

Jamie Whittingham is impressive, even though she tries to convince you that she is not. She learned about complications with her last pregnancy just days before the BYU game and opted to delay telling Coach Whittingham until after the game so that he would be able to focus.

She is a nurse, but has not worked since her husband became the head coach. She makes time to go see him at work and would bring the kids to see him there, too, when things got really busy.

They count the bowl games as family vacations. We commiserated about feeling a bit like a single parent at times, but she was quick to add how very blessed they have been by all they have been able to see and do and the people they have met through football.

She describes herself as a naturally shy, quiet person, but credits her husband’s demanding job for allowing her to stretch herself to become more outgoing.

I found it very telling that she attends every single game, home and away. Coach Whittingham wants her to be there. She is very independent and okay being by herself, so she doesn’t “bug him,” but she also mentioned several times in our relatively short conversation that she sees herself as a support to him.

I believe that Coach Whittingham landed his best recruit in Jamie as she is apparently the ultimate team player.

Jamie, thank you for the wonderful advice and insights. I feel confident that the feeling is mutual when I say I like you, but I still hope we win on Saturday.

Go Cougs!