Don't throw dirt on the Holy War grave just yet

The Holy War is dead. Long live the Holy War.

It seems there is a growing perception that the rivalry between Utah & BYU is pretty much dead. I disagree. It's not dead and will continue, even if it doesn't on an annual basis. You know, a rivalry doesn't have to be a yearly effort to be considered a rivalry.

And Utah putting the rivalry on hiatus doesn't negate the passion and emotion this rivalry elicits. It will continue, even with its change, and we'll be here next year, and in 2016, to ready for that showdown just as we did every other year in our old Mountain West days. So, those in the media, and some fans who have convinced themselves the rivalry is essentially dead, need to step back a bit and calm down. It isn't dead. It hasn't been killed and it's not near the crisis they're making it.

I understand there are some fans who would like to keep the rivalry as a yearly event and to them, the idea of not playing BYU in 2014 and '15 is inconceivable. But it'll be all right. We'll be all right. This is one of the few downsides to conference realignment and we knew when Utah accepted a bid to the Pac-12 that things would radically change - some good, some bad. This is one of those changes.

But I can't stress enough that the rivalry is going nowhere. It will continue. Taking a break might not be the best thing from your perspective as a fan, but it no way ends the history of this series and certainly doesn't put it in doubt.

So, can we please step back for a second and relax? There is no need to write the rivalry's obituary because it's still very much alive. It might not be your father's Holy War, but then again, this ain't your father's Utah Utes.

In college football, you've got to adapt and evolve to stay ahead. Look at this new rivalry as doing just that.