Rivalry or not, Keanu Tanuvasa won’t cross the thin line between love and hate

There are two lines in play when it comes to the BYU-Utah rivalry — the line of scrimmage and the thin line between love and hate. Whichever team controls the first usually wins the game. Whoever can resist crossing the latter, keeps it a game.

Nose guard Keanu Tanuvasa believes the Cougars can do both Saturday when No. 15 BYU hosts No. 23 Utah at LaVell Edwards Stadium (6 p.m., Fox).

“I think recognizing what the main thing is (and) Kalani (Sitake) talks about it all the time. We keep the main thing the main thing. Football is an addition to the main thing, but it is not the main thing. My faith and my love for the people that are around me is the main thing,” said the 6-foot-4, 300-pound nose tackle. “So, I want (Utah) to give me their best and I’m going to give them my best, but at the end of the day, after that competition is done, they are going to get the real me.”

Last season, Utah’s version of Tanuvasa wanted to beat BYU so badly he could taste it on his tongue.

“As bad as I’ve ever wanted anything in my life,” he said of his desire to topple the Cougars. “A lot of people say, ‘It’s just another game,’ but with the deep connections we have, there is even more of a drive to win. It means everything.”

Tanuvasa fought hard, but watching Will Ferrin’s last-second field goal attempt elude his outstretched arms, sail 44 yards into the crisp November air and through the goal posts to win the game 22-21 was a nightmare of epic proportions.

“It was heartbreaking, to say the least,” he said.

Prompted by a need to improve his personal circumstances, Tanuvasa triggered a seismic shift from a 19-game starter on Utah’s defensive line to bolstering BYU’s front four. Transferring from north to south and from crimson-to-royal changed his loyalties, too. His lone goal on Saturday is to beat his former team.

“Just as bad as I wanted to beat BYU, if not more,” he said. “I think I’m lucky to have been at BYU for nine months now. I’m at the point where I recognize what I stand for, who I’m fighting for, and who’s with me in this battle.”

The competition drives him, and last week’s targeting penalty against Arizona is proof that he’s not perfect. But Tanuvasa has no time for the visceral feelings that can make a nice guy mean, a good game ugly and a rivalry hostile. He does, however, enjoy engaging in some friendly banter along the line of scrimmage.

“Absolutely! I know those guys. I’ve trained with those guys. I’ve worked with them for the past three years. They have been a huge part of my journey,” Tanuvasa said. “They’re like my brothers, and my brothers know that when we are competing in anything, there’s going to be a lot of fun, trash talk and joy. But at the end of the game, that’s family, you know? I’ll continue to love them off the field.”

Controlling the line of scrimmage will mean everything for BYU’s defense on Saturday. For Tanuvasa, staying on the right side of the thin line between love and hate while they do it — will mean even more.

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.