How about them Utes

There's only one time a year when any self-respective Wyoming football fan can root for another team from the Mountain West Conference.

During the bowl season. It's all about respect for the conference.

Friday night was a time to root for Utah when it took on No. 4 Utah in the Sugar Bowl. Sorry, the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Wait, another correction. It was the 75th Allstate Sugar Bowl.

The MWC has yearly fought for recognition among the top conferences in the nation. The league took a giant leap in the right direction on Friday when the Utes shocked Alabama 31-17.

For that, all MWC football fans are indebted to the Utes -- for this game only, of course.

It was not only a great win for Utah, but a great game. The Utes opened with a mad rush, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. The mighty Tide, led by the great Nick Saban, did bounce back to make a game of it, cutting the lead to 21-17.

But the Utes answered with a dominating defense and the outstanding play of quarterback Brian Johnson, to score the final two touchdowns of the day for the victory.

The Utes finished 13-0 -- the only unbeaten team in the country. The winner of the Oklahoma-Florida game will be the national champion (unless the AP bucks the trend and votes for somebody else).

What about the Utes?

My guess is that they'll be voted fourth, although the loser of the title game will have two losses and USC will either be second or third. In case you're wondering, USC's lone loss was to Oregon State, a team Utah defeated this season.

But that's what we have with the BCS. Until a national playoff system is developed - and that won't be happening for a while -- we will never really have a true champion. Who is to say with the way the Utes played on Friday that they couldn't upset Oklahoma or Florida? After all, Alabama was he No. 1 team in the country for five weeks before losing to Florida in the SEC title game.

When asked on national television, Utah coach and Wyoming fan favorite Kyle Whittingham said he would vote for his Utes at No. 1.

Why not. If I had a vote (and I don't), I'd vote Utah No. 1 as well. If nothing else, just to screw the BCS.

The MWC finished with a 3-2 bowl mark -- Utah, Colorado State and TCU all winning, with BYU and Air Force losing. Thanks a lot Cougars, way to step up to the plate.

Something tells me that BYU and its fans are now seeing red. Serves them right.

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