BYU-Arizona: Wildcats Could Provide Problems For The Cougars

Now that the bowl picture has settled the BYU Cougars will face a fairly familiar face, the Arizona Wildcats, in this year's Las Vegas Bowl.

Sam Boyde Stadium might as well be renamed Lavell Edwards Stadium South because the BYU Cougars just never seem to lose there and they always seem to end up there in the post season.

It has been three years since the Cougars have lost at Sam Boyde and that was to Cal-Berkeley in the Las Vegas Bowl in head coach Bronco Mendenhal's first year.

Not many people remember that bowl game because it was the last game of the "rebuilding" period for BYU football finishing 6-7. Since then the Cougars have turned out three straight 10 win seasons and two bowl victories with a possible third on the horizon.

This year BYU has had a very up and down season. Looking completely dominant for most if the year but then sad and pathetic in short spurts.

For the Las Vegas Bowl, however, expect to see a lot of the dominant side of the Cougars as they look to avenge their last loss in Sam Boyde and another loss to the Wildcats in 2006.

Arizona is no pushover though and if BYU is smart they will put them away early. The Wildcats, in the pre-season, were picked to contend for the Pac-10 title and have shown glimpses of what kind of talent they have throughout the year. And they are only a few plays away from being an 11 win team with close losses to New Mexico (who played BYU very tough), Stanford, USC, and Oregon St.

Earlier in the year I wouldn't have worried so much because BYU poured on points like chocolate syrup on ice cream. But as of the New Mexico game the Cougars have struggled to put teams away and as a result have been involved in much closer games.

If BYU doesn't put Arizona away early then the Wildcats have the weapons to grind out a win in the fourth quarter with two running backs with 10 plus touchdowns on the year.