You gotta hand it to Utah. They know how to get it done. And their coach knows how to get inside the mind of his players week by week - understands that at its core it's an emotional game.

Coach Whittingham says, after their thrashing of USC:

"We definitely got the message that a lot of people were underestimating us and not giving us much of a chance in this game. That's the wrong group of players to do that to. Historically, we've been a chip-on-the-shoulder type of a program...(we were) feeling a little bit disrespected. It shook up a bit of a hornet's nest when that happened."

Cam Rising (and a ferocious defensive front seven) apparently got the memo: "I felt we took it a little personal, saw all that...just wanted to go out and prove a point."

You did.

And your leadership drew a sharp contrast with some motivation-lite, some disappointing BYU-speak of late: "I think our players are too tight, want em' to relax and have fun..." or "I just want our guys to have fun...and learn."

Also telling - amidst all the euphoria after last night's big win - Coach Whit still didn't pull punches and couldn't resist a postscript, pointing to a reality to keep his players grounded: "...I was more disappointed with the missed tackles. The tackling wasn't real sharp at the beginning of the game."

Rising summed it up: "We talked about imposing our will tonight. That's really what we wanted to go out and do."