Utah coach knows who Urban Meyer is rooting for

When Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham's phone rang Monday, it was no surprise.

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was calling.

The two have been connected for a decade, since Whittingham was Meyer's defensive coordinator at Utah in 2003 and 2004. He succeeded Meyer as the Utes' head coach in 2005, when Meyer left for Florida.

This week, Utah hosts Meyer's archrival, Michigan, on Thursday (8:30 p.m., FS1).

So despite Meyer having good friends Greg Mattison and D.J. Durkin on Michigan's coaching staff, it's pretty clear he'll be rooting hard for Utah.

"I think that's a pretty good bet," Whittingham told WMGC-FM (105.1) host Matt Dery today.

When asked whether Meyer implored him to beat the Wolverines, Whittingham chuckled.

"Me and Urban talk all the time," he said. "He called me yesterday, and I have to return that call -- I was busy. But he is a great mentor to me and having the chance to work under him was a great experience. We've maintained a great friendship ever since."

As the game closes in and the Jim Harbaugh hype -- from the Harbus to Fox Sports 1's planned "khaki cam" during the game -- hits a fever pitch, Whittingham said he's not bothered at all. He is almost appreciative it's not him.

"I'll pass on that," he said when Dery suggested a "Whitting-cam." "They can have all the attention. Our players don't mind that a bit. We're just going through and preparing. The less distractions, the better."

He said the Popular Mechanics reference to Utah being a "cupcake" opener for Michigan, one that was posted in the Utah locker room, was not his doing. He respects what Harbaugh has done.

"We don't pay much attention to that (Harbaugh hype). We do our thing and we've been in several big games," he said. "Since we joined the Pac-12, virtually every week's a big game, so it's nothing new to our guys. I can tell you we're excited about the opportunity to play Michigan at our place."

The scene at Rice-Eccles Stadium figures to be electric, he said, as it might be the largest crowd in stadium history.

"I can tell you tickets are very scarce," Whittingham said. "Scalpers are having a field day."

Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder. Download our new Wolverines Xtra appon iTunesandAndroid!