both teams(admittedly I know much more about the Utes just like it seems Rise Against knows much more about the Cougs than the Utes).

QB: Mangum > Williams

I give the a decent edge to Mangum, but not to the degree I see this site give him. Mangum still has a lot to prove as a QB and he has shown flashes, but hasnt been consistent enough against top programs for me to say he is a great QB. He does have a good arm, but Im not impressed with a lot of the decisions me makes under pressure. Williams on the other hand struggled last year against weaker opponents, but really showed well against USC. He almost lost the BYU game with the dumb INTs. I cant say he will be night and day better this year under Taylor, but just like you guys were excited for Detmer, we are for Taylor(I know Taylor isnt a Heisman winner, thank you).

RB: Canada, Burt, Tolutau < Shyne, Moss, Henry-Cole

This one is hard to compare. Canada hasnt played much and wasnt nearly as effective as Williams when in the game, but he was highly touted and recruited so Im guessing there is some talent there. Shyne looked great before going down with an ACL last year so we really havent seen enough of him yet to really know what kind of back he will be. Moss was a freshman and also dealt with quite a few injuries last season, but had some really good runs throughout the season. I expect Henry-Cole to take over the RB job at some point during the season though. He has speed, power, and quickness. I dont know enough about Burt or Tolutau outside of reports here and there to really say much on them.

WR: BYU < Utah

The addition of Carrington gives Utah the advantage, IMO. Regardless of your thoughts on him, he is the best WR in the state. I love our young players at the position and we also have a decent amount of experience from Singleton, Wilson, Simpkins, Fulks, and McCormick. Add in Hampton, Thompson, Nurse and Boyd and I like our stable from top to bottom. BYU always finds some sneaky good smaller WRs. I will be interested to see who jumps into the Pearson, Juergens type role. Trinnaman should be the 2nd best WR in the state, but he wasnt as impressive last year as I thought he would be. I think his production will increase dramatically with Mangum at QB. Ive heard good things about Shumway, Simon, and Hifo so Ill be watching to see which of those guys takes over the #2 spot for BYU. Obviously QB play will be a huge factor into what team looks better at the position and you guys have the advantage at QB so I wouldnt be surprised to see your WRs take a huge jump this season.

TE: Balderee, Laulu-Pututau, Sampson? > Handley, Fakailoatonga

I expect this one to be pretty close based on BYUs history of using TEs compared to Utah. I havent seen enough of BYUs TEs to be able to say I would take them over Handley or Siale, whom both have shown can be very effective TEs. Siale missed last season with an injury, but had a solid Jr year. I give the slight edge to BYU based on Pututau and BYUs history of using TEs, but I wouldnt be surprised to see Utahs TEs have just as good of seasons.

OL: BYU < Utah

This is where I dont think we are going to agree at all. I would take Koroma, but I dont think I would start any other BYU Olineman over Utahs. Jackson Barton will be a starter at LT and had a bunch of solid playing time last year with all of our injuries we had. Uhatafe will move over to RT and my guess is he will be drafted into the NFL next spring. Lo Falamaka was penciled in as the starting Center last year before going down with a season ending injury. Darren Paulo I would guess wins the LG position with highly recruited JC transfer Jordan Agasiva winning the RG position. BYU returns more starters on the Oline, but outside of Koroma they were pretty bad last year. I dont see them becoming great just because they have more experience now. I would assume they would be better than last year, but that isnt very difficult considering they werent good.

Dline: BYU < Utah

I dont see this one being close at all. Utah has arguably their best Dline in program history. Fitts, Lotulelei, Mokofisi, Anae, Tupai, Fotu, Hart, Havili-Katoa, Repp etc. Next spring there is a good chance we will see Fitts, Lowell, and Mokofisi all drafted. With that said I believe BYUs Dline gets much better. There is a lot of hype for Takitaki and I will be watching to see what type of QB rushing impact he has. I also expect Handsome to have a bigger impact in the middle this year. BYUs Dline will be solid(especially with all the new freshman for depth) and I expect them to be better this year than last. Saleapaga is huge and will be able to disrupt the pocket. Kafusi is also huge and will be tough to defend coming off the edge with his height and length.

LB: BYU>Utah

This position is BYUs biggest strength and I would take any one of Pau'u, Warner, or Bernard to start on Utah over anyone, but Luafatasaga. Pau'u is as hard of a hitter as anyone in the nation, and Warner is about as athletic as any LB in the nation. They will be the glue to BYUs defense this year. Im guessing Folau will be a big contributor as a rotation player at the position. I would guess that 2 or 3 of BYUs LBs get drafted at some point. For Utah Luafatasaga will get drafted, but the others are serviceable, but not great. Tauteoli is good, but we havent seen enough from him to see what kind of an impact he will have. Ippolito should be a good rotation piece and was a transfer from Arizona..

CB: BYU > Utah

Warner, Ghonwoloku(Lake was easier to spell), Hannemann all have good experience. Warner and Dayan are only going to be sophomores and were pretty impressive as freshman and I expect them to get better and better. So based on what we know and have seen up to this point I think you have to go with BYUs CBs. I am very excited about Utahs future at the position though. Burgess, King, Blackmon, Johnson, Guidry, Hughes and Lewis all the ability to start so it will be interesting to see who gets each job. Johnson was very highly recruited and expect him to see the field quite a bit as true freshman this year. Lewis is a JUCO transfer that has very good tape and I would guess he will see the field a decent amount as well. BYU will have the edge at this position until Utah players show what they can do.

S: BYU<utah />
Chase Hansen, Corrion Ballard, Philip Afia, Marquise Blair will all play quite a bit at the position for Utah this year. I expect Blair to take Hansens spot until he gets back from surgery. Ballard was a huge get for us as a JUCO transfer to take over Marcus Williams spot. Afia will be solid rotation piece and should see a decent amount of playing time this year. McChesney is going to be a very solid player for BYU, he showed a lot of promise last year as a freshman. I dont know who will start at your other Safety position so its hard for me to really compare. Stewart? I give Utah the edge because Hansen is the best S from either team and I like our depth overall.

K: BYU > Utah

I dont know who will be our Kicker yet. Almond may not be great, but he has more experience than whoever will get the job for us

P: BYU < Utah

Wishnowsky is better than Linehan but they are both two of the top Punters in the nation.

Obviously this is just a small look at each position for comparison sake. Until BYU shows they can beat Utah I will continue to believe we will win the game. This year I am less confident as BYU has a pretty strong team. I dont think there will be a blowout by either team, but I do think we will edge BYU out for the win.

Utah 27 BYU 21