In no particular order.

1. Utah's offense is broken. We've seen this, we know this. They haven't scored 20 points since September. They can't run, they can't throw.

2. Utah's defense is pretty good. But not good enough to shoulder the load.

3. Utah is amped up for the game, but it's all a façade. They've got about a quarter, quarter and a half of juice in them. If BYU just holds serve until the third quarter, eventually Utah's going to break down.

4. The only way Utah stays in this game is if we give them short fields and defensive TDs. Turnovers are going to decide this game. If BYU stays clean, there's no way Utah beats us.

5. The first two quarters might be ugly, boring football. Lots of three-and-outs, lots of stuffed runs, etc. This is good for BYU, in my opinion. Eventually Utah is going to break. We just can't add any fuel to their quick-burning flame.

6. If, however, we can come out with pistons firing and punch them in the mouth right away, then it'll be over real quick. Utah's offense is not going to beat us.

7. My sense is the fans feel the passion of this rivalry more than the players. Years of not playing each other, along with players who don't have a lot of personal investment, have taken a bit of energy out of this matchup. Again, referring to point 3 above, I think Utah players have tried to artificially inject some energy into this game (see "Cold War" comment by the one guy earlier this week), but it won't be enough to help them play above their abilities. This favors BYU. Utah won't be in Jake Retzlaff's head like they were with other BYU QBs.

8. BYU can win this game a lot of ways: It can win ugly, it can win big, etc. Utah's only path to victory is turnovers. They're going to go all out on defense. We need to stay super disciplined, and that might mean taking some sacks or throwing the ball away. Just don't try to be a hero.

Okay, I think that's it. I think BYU gets it done this weekend. BYU 31, Utah 10.