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It's not just another game for Guy Holliday, he readily admits. But the former BYU-turned-Utah receivers coach — and thus a new focal point for the rivalry — doesn't feel like it's personal.
Yes, he left BYU in January to coach at Utah. Yes, he'll be across the sideline from a cadre of receivers he coached and recruited. It will be emotional, but he's pushing his personal business to the back of his mind, he said.
"I want to win the freaking game for the University of Utah, not for Guy Holliday," he said. "I'm going out to win. I wasn't fired there. I don't hold any grudges. Man, I love Kalani [Sitake] like a family member. But at the end of the day, I want to win the game. I want to win for these players here, I want to win for Coach [Kyle Whittingham], and I want to win for our fans at the University of Utah."
Holliday does have motivations to show well, and not just because he's facing his former employer.
The Utes receivers coach said he was pleased with the progress of his receiving corps in the last game, led by a two-score effort from senior Tim Patrick. But Utah's whole offense has higher expectations for BYU, and he would like to see continued improvement from the unit that was considered the team's biggest question mark heading into fall.
"We're on track, but we're nowhere close to where we need to be," he said.
Holliday's last game for BYU was against Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, a solid resume for his hire the next month. The Cougars racked up 315 passing yards against the Utes after going down 35-0 to make the final result a one-score game.
But there's a lot of new faces at BYU this year: Both Mitch Mathews and Devon Blackmon are gone. Nick Kurtz is still a starter, and junior college Jonah Trinnaman — whom Holliday helped recruit — plugged in opposite.
While Whittingham said Holliday had some knowledge that he shared, Holliday himself said he didn't have all that much to say.
"This is a whole different offense that they're running," he said. "If they asked me any personnel questions, you know, I gave my opinion. But not really. We haven't sat down in detail and talked. Everything they need to see is on tape."
The Utes themselves hope Holliday can continue to galvanize an area of the team that's been a weakness for the last few years. Both Tyrone Smith and Raelon Singleton caught multiple passes besides Patrick, but there's more to do.
He'd rather worry about that than being at the center of the rivalry discussion on Saturday.
"There's some people who don't like me for coming here," he said. "But at the end of the day, this is a business."
Pac-12 inks deal with Sling TV
The Pac-12 conference announced Thursday it had done a deal with Sling TV that will air its six regional networks on the over-the-top service provider.
The move gives an option to those who don't get the Pac-12 Network — most notably DirecTV subscribers — to receive the league's feeds as a part of the service's "Sports Extra" package. While the service costs, the deal figures to allow a workaround for the Pac-12 Networks, which has struggled for viewership since debuting four years ago.
The deal also gives a workaround for another critique of the Networks, which is that it is too regionally focused. By giving access to all six regional channels, Sling TV viewers can pick and choose what they want to watch at their leisure.
The league is in discussions with DirecTV, but not believed to be close to a distribution deal.
Quick hitters
Utah announced Tuesday that Tyler Cooperwood has received a scholarship. The senior receiver has played chiefly for the scout teams the last two seasons, and came to Utah from East L.A. College. … Asked about freshman running back Zack Moss, who missed last week, Whittingham said he would "hopefully" play against BYU.
Twitter: @kylegoon