by By Lya Wodraska The Salt Lake Tribune , The Salt Lake Tribune

But what of a team's magical winning abilities in college football ? Do all good things have to come to an end?

For the No. 16 Utah Utes the answer to that question seems to be a resounding, 'No.'

The Utah Utes have been one of college football's most magical teams in recent years, losing only twice in the past 31 games.

During that stretch the Utes have used various tricks and stunts to keep their winning ways alive.

There was the pivotal win over Navy in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl, the surprising win in Ann Arbor to start the 2008 season then the miracle-like victories over Oregon State and TCU.

All of that momentum led to a swamping of the Tide in the Sugar Bowl.

While many of the key players have changed, the Utes have continued their successful ride into 2009. With it, they hope to have enough 'umph' to leap past the No. 4 Horned Frogs too when the teams play Saturday in Ft. Worth.

What is the secret for the Utes? There really isn't one, the players say. Every one seems to build confidence for another and every win instills more urgency to keep their tradition going.

"I grew up watching Utah football and I watched my cousin [Bo Nagahi] go to the Fiesta Bowl," backup running back Sausan Shakerin said. "It's definitely a motivator for us. We have a tradition we need to keep."

The Utes have something else, too -- the Mountain West Conference trophy. Winning the title last year has given the Utes a sense of entitlement, something Utah coach Kyle Whittingham can use to inspire his players.

"We are the defending champion," he said. "The championship trophy is in this building and somebody has to take that away from us. That is the first thing we tell our guys. TCU is a good football team, we respect them and they are hitting all phases but the bottom line is we have played some good football this year as well and we'll show up on Saturday night, line up and see what happens."

That the Utes have done so well can be waved aside in part because of their schedule. The MWC is as weak on the bottom as strong as it is at the top.

However, the Utes have done a remarkable job of something other programs have failed to do by not overlooking any opponent.

The last one to surprise the Utes was UNLV in 2007 with its 27-0 victory. Since then, the only teams to beat Utah was BYU at the end of the 2007 season with a 17-10 decision and Oregon this season which took a 31-24 win.

Even the nation's cream of elite teams have fallen in games it had no business losing in most opinions. Florida lost at home to Ole Miss in 2008, USC was stunned by Washington this season. Days such as last Saturday, when one favored team went down after another, are becoming more the norm than the oddity. Somehow, the Utes continue to avoid such mishaps.

Utah receiver John Peel said the best thing the Utes have going for them is the way they prepare.

"We go week to week and prepare for each opponent and we don't look ahead," he said.

The Utes don't have any need to look ahead this week with the advantage in the MWC race at stake against the Horned Frogs. They're playing for the potential the future might hold, as well as what they've already earned.

"You are on the throne until somebody dethrones you," receiver Jereme Brooks said. "We are the champions until somebody proves us otherwise."

lwodraska@sltrib.com 2008 (13-0, 8-0)

Aug. 30	at Michigan	25-23 - Utes travel to Ann Arbor and stun the No. 24 Wolverines, spoiling the debut of Rich Rodriguez as Michigan's coach
Sept. 6	UNLV	42-21
Sept. 13	at Utah State	58-10
Sept. 20	at Air Force	30-23
Sept. 27	Weber State	37-21
Oct. 2	Oregon State	31-28 - Louie Sakoda kicked a 37-yard field goal to lift the Utes past the Beavers
Oct. 11	at Wyoming	40-7
Oct. 18	Colorado State	49-16
Nov. 1	at New Mexico	13-10 - Brian Johnson became the winningest quarterback in Utah history by helping the Utes escape Albuquerque with a win
Nov. 6	TCU	13-10 - The Utes complete a last-minute drive to beat the Horned Frogs
Nov. 15	at San Diego State	63-14
Nov. 22	BYU	48-24
Jan. 2	vs Alabama	31-17 - Nick Saban's Tide gets swept away by the surging Utes

2009 (8-1, 5-0)

Sept. 3	Utah State	35-17
Sept. 12	at San Jose State	24-14
Sept. 19	at Oregon	31-24 - Oregon snaps Utah's 16-game winning streak
Sept. 26	Louisville	30-14
Oct. 10	at Colorado State	24-17
Oct. 17	at UNLV	35-15
Oct. 24	Air Force	23-16
Oct. 31	Wyoming	22-10 - Jordan Wynn starts the second half and rallies the Utes
Nov. 7	New Mexico	45-15

Teams with the best records past two seasons

2008 2009

Utah	13-0	8-1
Florida	13-1	9-0
Texas	12-1	9-0
Boise St.	12-1	9-0
Alabama	12-2	9-0
TCU	11-2	9-0
Cincinnati	11-3	9-0
USC	12-1	7-2

No. 16 Utah at No. 4 TCU

Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

TV ? CBS College Sports Nov. 15, 2008

Utah 63,

SDSU 14 Sept. 26, 2009

Utah 30, Louisville 14 Sept. 20, 2008

Utah 30, A. Force 23 Sept. 27, 2008

Utah 37, Weber St. 21 Sept. 13, 2008

Utah 58, Utah St. 10 Oct. 18, 2008

Utah 49, Colo. St. 16 Oct. 10, 2009

Utah 24, Colo. St. 17 Nov. 1, 2008

Utah 13, N. Mex. 10 Oct. 2, 2008

Utah 31, Ore. St. 28 Sept. 3, 2009

Utah 35, Utah St. 17 Nov. 7, 2009

Utah 45, N. Mex. 14 Jan. 2, 2009

Utah 31, Alabama 17 Sept. 19, 2009

Oregon 31, Utah 24 Dec. 20, 2007

Utah 35, Navy 32 Aug. 30, 2008

Utah 25, Mich. 23 Sept. 12, 2009

Utah 24, SJSU 14 Oct. 24, 2009

Utah 23, A.F. 16 Sept. 6, 2008

Utah 42, UNLV 21 Oct. 17, 2009

Utah 35, UNLV15 Oct. 31, 2009

Utah 22, Wyo. 10 Oct. 11, 2008

Utah 40, Wyo. 7 Nov. 22, 2008

Utah 48, BYU 24 Nov. 6, 2008

Utah 13, TCU 10

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