New Mexico better watch out.
If there is one thing we learned from the Wyoming game, it's that you don't really want to mess with Kyle Whittingham. The guy is one tough sonofabitch and he's not above not playing Mr. Nice Guy just for the sake of political correctness BS. What we saw Saturday was the awakening of a coach who, for whatever reason, had a difficult time defining who he was. Well wonder no longer, the new Kyle is a tough Kyle and if I'm New Mexico and BYU, I'd be quaking in my shoes.
It's not that I think Kyle is a jerk, he's just a competitor. In this game called football, in my mind, that's a positive attribute, rather than a negative one. What we saw Saturday was something we'd probably see from Steve Spurrier in his old Florida days. The Ol' Ball Coach always loved to run it up on Phil Fulmer and Tennessee. That's why he became the most hated -- and feared -- coach in the SEC. And though that hatred has tapered a bit due to his South Carolina teams sucking, you can't deny the shadow he cast on not only SEC football in the 90s, but college football in general.
It's taken nearly three years for Kyle Whittingham to find himself. But now, in his third year, he's done just that. I don't think it's a coincidence that this awaking has come just as the Utes are playing their best football in three years. Now he just needs to do it again next week. I don't think anyone forgets what happened at Albuquerque last year because I don't need to get into that game, but I expect Whittingham and his team will talk a lot about it this week. For that, they will come out fired up and hopefully they throw the gauntlet down early and often. Do to the Lobos what you did to Wyoming and then do it again the next week against BYU.