There was a time when I loved to hate the Utes: When the Holy War was something I could count on as being a great battle of two rival schools year in, year out.

Then a few things happened on both sides that has brought about a change of heart, and I'm not sure it has been for the better.

Max Hall boiled over. Anae's departure happened. Brandon Doman's promotion happened. The rise of Riley and the fall of Heaps happened. The Utes took the money to party on the West Coast with their doped-up cousin from the other side of the Rockies, only to discover a hung over life of misery and cellar dwelling.

The Holy War was moved to September (once even on my birthday), but it wasn't the same. Instead of being the game looked forward to, it was the preview to the rest of the season, with poorly executed football on both sides. Neither team -blue or red- had the entire season to build up to what should always be the biggest game of the year (sorry USU). By week six, it has devolved into almost an afterthought, as the Y would try to forget the pain, while the U hopelessly drowned in the Pac.

Sure, the U has been able to join the ranks of a P5 conference. Good for them, as they stand with the other 11 teams and thump their chest. They even beat us 4 years in a row. But it is not the same.

Sure, the Y has been able to make Independence work, and with the ESPN partnership has been able to play new teams, visit strange places, and pull off .500+ seasons. Sure, we've lost 4 years in a row to Utah. But it is not the same.

In other words, I am not sure that the split has been for the better. Differences are not settled easily -if at all- between two opponents when they are not competing at all. Thusfar, the oncoming hiatus has been something I've tried to justify as a good thing, or at least not a bad thing.

But the truth is this: At best, if we were to go undefeated this year, or next, it wouldn't be enough for me. A national title, lofty as a goal it may be, that does not run through the Utes is incomplete.

I am excited for the oncoming season. I love our BYU football team. I love how they play, what they represent, everything. I just wish we had the chance to take on a legitimate Utah team, not this Pac-12 bottom-feeder they have become.

Disclaimer: I am in NO way advocating a return to the MWC, nor am I proposing that we sell our soul to join the Pac-12. The only solution I see as worth while is a guaranteed Home and Home (not a 2-1), every November. Not September, not October. And for yewt-sakes, dump the ridiculous "Deseret First Duel" in the same pile as the BYU Bibs and those hideous Utah Jazz Mountain Sleeve UA jerseys, and let it be called what it is: The Holy War.