Here are 26 reasons to watch this year’s Las Vegas Bowl
It’s Brigham Young vs. Utah, which is all the reason you need to watch the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl on TV — but only on TV, because the game is sold out, and it will cost a pretty penny to score a ticket on StubHub at this late hour.
Here are 26 more reasons to watch, one for every letter in the alphabet.
(Personal aside: This is where I am happy not to be employed by a Spanish-language newspaper, because the Spanish alphabet has 29 letters, and very few football players or coaches have names that start with “LL.”)
A — is for animosity. This is what Brigham Young and Utah have for one another when there is a Holy War on the football field. Or on other fields. It also is what Utah fans have for Las Vegas Bowl officials when BYU gets first dibs on tickets.
B — is for Brent as in Musburger, who will be looking, live, from the broadcast booth. Over/under on Musburger betting line references: 2½.
C — is for conference tie-ins. BYU is an independent; Utah represents the Pac-12. For the first time since 1999, the Mountain West will not have a horse in this race — a surprise development that almost caused MWC commissioner Craig Thompson’s hair to move. Almost.
D — is for disappointment. Earlier this season, Utah was being mentioned as a college football playoff contender. The Utes say they’re happy to be here, but the Las Vegas Bowl must seem like receiving the home game of Concentration as a lovely parting gift.
E — is for economic impact. Last year’s Las Vegas Bowl pumped $24.2 million into local coffers. It probably won’t pump quite as much into those coffers this year, because BYU fans don’t spend money on booze or blackjack). This is why local bar and casino owners are hoping that Wyoming can turn it around.
F — is for firsts. The Las Vegas Bowl was site of the first overtime game in college football history (Toledo 40, UNR 37 in 1995), and the first time a woman played in an FBS-level game (New Mexico kicker Katie Hnida in 2002). It also is believed that the first time the words “woo,” “pig” and “sooey” were used in the same sentence within a 20-mile radius of the Stratosphere Tower was at the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl (Arkansas vs. UNLV).
G — is for gift suite. Remember when just getting invited to play in a bowl game was reward enough for a good season? Now you also get a backpack, and a bowl game beanie, and a mesh trucker’s hat adorned with the bowl game logo. And some other stuff.
H — is for the “Hoff.” Before the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl (Arizona vs. BYU), TV’s David Hasselhoff sang the national anthem; his daughter, Taylor Ann, was attending the U of A at the time. Authorities said alcohol did not appear to be a factor.
I — is for independent. This is what BYU has become in football, which makes it difficult to schedule games, and almost impossible to make the all-conference team.
J — is for jumping up and down on third-and-short when the other side has the ball. The Utah student section, known as the MUSS (Mighty Utah Student Section), does this to cause false starts. The MUSS even keeps statistics on jumping up and down on third down — in 2011, it was said to have caused five illegal procedure penalties.
K — is for Kai. Kai Nacua is a BYU defensive back from Liberty High School who got into a fight after the 2014 Miami Beach Bowl that ESPN showed on a continuous loop. He has put that behind him to become the Cougars’ starter at free safety.
L — is for Latter Day Saints, the church with which BYU is affiliated. It’s sort of like Notre Dame and the Catholic church, except with the Latter Day Saints, you’re expected to give 10 percent of what you earn to the church. With the Catholics, giving 10 percent is optional. But sometimes when you don’t put money in the collection basket, the man holding it cops an attitude.
M — is for Mendenhall as in Bronco Mendenhall, BYU’s coach who will become Virginia’s coach when the final gun sounds. Mendenhall will make a lot more money at Virginia than he did at BYU, so the church still will make out on the deal.
N — is for Niumatalolo, as in Ken Niumatalolo, the Navy coach and a former UNLV assistant under John Robinson who coached in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl when all those people from Arkansas were chanting “Woo! Pig! Sooey!” Niumatalolo is a leading candidate to replace Bronco Mendenhall as BYU coach. Let’s hope they like the option up there.
O — is for offense. BYU averaged 34.2 points this season; Utah averaged 30.2. But most coaches still will tell you that defense wins championships, or at least will get you invited to a better bowl game.
P — is for Power 5. Utah is a Power 5 conference school; BYU is not. This has caused additional friction between the rivals. See “A” for animosity.
Q: is for Quarterback U., which is what a lot of people still call BYU. During one glorious stretch, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco and Ty Detmer played quarterback for the Cougars, and though Marc Wilson wasn’t mentioned among that group, he was pretty good, too.
R — is for Royal Purple, the Las Vegas Bowl’s title sponsor. Royal Purple is a brand of high performance lubricant. It is not to be confused with Mean Green, which is what the football team at North Texas is called. Or Screaming Yellow, which were zonkers.
S — is for sellout. All tickets for the BYU-Utah game were scarfed up in a matter of hours, making it eight Las Vegas Bowl sellouts in the past 11 years — which means you won’t see a lot of tight camera shots of the crowd, like you’ll probably see at the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, Ohio vs. Appalachian State.
T — is for Tanner and Travis. Tanner Mangum is BYU’s quarterback; Travis Wilson is Utah’s. One probably will get more credit than he is due should his team win. One probably will get more blame than is due should his team lose. It’s always that way with quarterbacks. It’s never that way with offensive tackles.
U — is for the “U” which is what they call Utah. The Utes are 3-1 in the Las Vegas Bowl. There has never been a four-time Las Vegas Bowl champion.
V — is for vicious hits. There’s bound to be a few, and I’m sure the tackling will be fierce once the game starts, too.
W — is for Whittingham. Kyle Whittingham is Utah’s coach; but he used to play linebacker for BYU; Whittingham was defensive MVP of the 1981 Holiday Bowl in which Tom Holmoe intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a TD. Holmoe is now BYU’s athletic director. He would have made a good “H,” but it takes a lot to trump the Hoff.
X — is for X-tra security. Las Vegas Bowl officials said they would consider hiring some this year, because when a Holy War breaks out, stuff is bound to happen.
Y — is for the “Y” which is what they call BYU. The Cougars are 3-2 in the Las Vegas Bowl. There has never been a four-time Las Vegas Bowl champion. But if you made it through “U,” you already knew that.
Z — is for Ziolkowski. Jake Ziolkowski wears No. 82 for BYU. He’s listed as a wide receiver. I think he’s pretty far down on the depth chart. But when it comes to “Z,” that’s all it takes.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski
