All Utah coach Kyle Whittingham had to do was mention three little words if his team ever found itself dragging through spring practice.

"The Big House."

The Utes' Aug. 30 season opener at Michigan loomed in the background of the spring session. Fortunately for Whittingham, he didn't need to utter those words often.

"We had 14 good days of practice and one not-so-good day of practice," he says. "I think their focus and work ethic is very good. This is a football team that gets along with each other. They seem to be very compatible. I've been around teams in the past that get into fights every other play. This team is very businesslike."

In almost any other year, Utah might be pegged as the team to beat with the experience it has coming back in 2008. ...More