Shortly after Alabama lost its first game of the season -- and any chance to play for a national championship -- Nick Saban muttered something that might add a little spice to the next contest.
The Crimson Tide coach said his team was the only one "that plays in a real BCS conference that went 12-0."
Hmm, what do you think about that, Utah?
"We don't let it bother us," coach Kyle Whittingham insisted Sunday evening. "Our mantra this year is only control what we can control. Go out and play our best football week in and week out. Our fate is in the hands of voters and computers. We don't worry about that other stuff."
That philosophy worked out just fine for the Utes, who'll get a chance to show their 12-0 record is nothing to be scoffed at when they face Alabama in the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl at New Orleans.
The No. 4 Crimson Tide (12-1) was atop the rankings until a 31-20 loss to Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday. The defeat couldn't have come at a worse time, giving Alabama no chance to bounce back like other one-loss schools such as Florida and Oklahoma, which will meet in the BCS championship game at Miami.
Still, the Tide was one of the country's most compelling teams, returning to national prominence in Saban's second season. Before he arrived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama had gone through a rough decade: four coaches, four losing seasons, stifling NCAA sanctions and just one appearance in a major bowl.
"Our players are certainly disappointed," Saban said. "But this is an opportunity. If you're going to be a great team, when you lose, you want to come back and play your best the next time you play."
Four years ago, No. 7 Utah became the first non-BCS school to reach a major bowl since the format was created in 1998. The Urban Meyer-coached Utes defeated Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl to complete their first perfect season since 1930.
Now, they've got a shot at another in a year that began with an upset win at Michigan and will finish at the Superdome.
Twenty-four hours after the loss in Atlanta, Saban threw out plenty of compliments about Utah, even if they do play in the Mountain West Conference - not one of those "real" BCS leagues.
"It's not easy to win 12 games in a season and go undefeated," he said. "Their team has done an outstanding job and it's a fantastic opportunity for us. It's going to be a competitive game."
A competitive game is certainly at the top of the Sugar Bowl's agenda. Under the convoluted formula used to fill out the four major bowls after Nos. 1 and 2 are matched in the championship game, the Big Easy somehow wound up with a BCS Buster for the second year in a row.
