Las Vegas Bowl 2015: Preview, Predictions for BYU vs. Utah

While the Las Vegas Bowl is not considered one of the major bowl games, it offers up one of the more emotional matchups of the postseason.

Brigham Young, currently an independent in the college football landscape, will take on traditional rival Utah in the Dec. 19 game.

Utah leads the all-time series by a 57-34-4 margin and has won the last four games of the series. The two teams have not played since the 2013 season.

Game: Las Vegas Bowl

Venue: Sam Boyd Stadium

Date: December 19

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Tickets: ScoreBig

Brigham Young (9-3) finished the season playing well, winning seven of its last eight games. The Cougars were just 2-2 after their first four games and were coming off a 31-0 defeat at Michigan.

However, head coach Bronco Mendenhall turned them around after that defeat, as the Cougars won five games in a row before they dropped a 20-16 decision to Missouri of the Big 12.

BYU has a high-powered passing attack led by freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum, who completed 242 of 390 passes for 3,062 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

"

A big congrats to Tanner Mangum for being named Freshman of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus! pic.twitter.com/aAmxBSpSek

— Tom Holmoe (@TomHolmoe) December 3, 2015"

Wide receivers Mitch Mathews and Devon Blackmon are Brigham Young's top receivers. Mathews caught 52 passes for 729 yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season, while Blackmon caught 43 passes for 572 yards.

Algernon Brown should not be overlooked in the running game. The 235-pound junior has carried the ball 122 times for 697 yards and pounded the ball into the end zone 11 times.

This will be the last game for Mendenhall as head coach of the Cougars. He is leaving BYU to take over as the head coach of the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers.

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Utah finished the season with a 9-3 record and was 6-3 in the Pac-12 South Division. It finished with the same conference record as USC, but the Trojans earned the right to play in the Pac-12 Championship Game because they beat the Utes in a head-to-head matchup.

Utah opened the season with six straight wins but went just 3-3 down the stretch.

The Utes have a balanced attack and probably would have earned a spot in a more prestigious bowl game if quarterback Travis Wilson had been a bit more efficient. He completed 186 of 294 passes for 2,024 yards, but his ratio of 13 touchdowns to 10 interceptions was not overly impressive.

Running back Devontae Booker has had an excellent season, rushing 268 times for 1,261 yards and 11 touchdowns. Britain Covey and Kenneth Scott have been the team's two most productive receivers. The two combined for 79 catches, 966 yards and eight touchdowns.

This is an emotional, in-state rivalry with a good amount of rancor between the two schools. While the Cougars are sure to give Mendenhall an emotional send-off, the Utes have been steeled by playing in the highly skilled and competitive Pac-12. That should give them a small but decisive edge.

Prediction: Utah 34, Brigham Young 31