The BYU-Utah Las Vegas Bowl sold out in under 22 hours

This will be the the 96th meeting between the Utes and Cougars, and the first in a bowl game. And if anything, Mendenhall’s presence should make the game more interesting.

In other words, if the Utes had played the Cougars’ schedule, and BYU had played Utah’s schedule, I’m betting the Utes would have won more than nine games, and the Cougars would have lost more than three games. “Through our past experience, we know that the people involved with the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl will provide a wonderful experience for our student-athletes, coaches and fans”. This is the second straight trip to the Las Vegas Bowl for the Utes, who defeated Colorado State 45-10 in the 2014 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl last season.

“What a matchup we have for Las Vegas this year”, said Las Vegas Bowl executive director John Saccenti in the official press release. “The storyline is phenomenal”.

College football’s Holy War is coming to Las Vegas for the first time.

“It took me by surprise, but we’re just approaching it as ‘next opponent up, ‘ ” Utah linebacker Gionni Paul said. Utah finished the season tied for first-place in the Pac-12 South division, losing a head-to-head tiebreaker to USC for the right to appear in the conference championship game.

The Las Vegas Bowl will mark the 90th matchup between the two universities on the gridiron.

In the end, however, both teams get to go to one of the closest bowl games, which makes it easy for fans to get to. One Utah fan poll expressed they would rather not attend a bowl at all. The Utes have better headline wins against teams like top-ranked MI and OR, but the Cougars certainly haven’t lacked in excitement with last-minute Hail Mary wins against Nebraska and Boise State.

The longstanding rivalry has not been scheduled in the past two regular seasons. BYU’s schedule included a single team that ended the season in the Top 25 – No. 14 MI (which pummeled the Cougars 31-0). “I’ve never played in the rivalry, but it’s big around here, and we’ll be ready to play”. And unsurprisingly, the Las Vegas Bowl announced that it has sold out its 38,500-seat stadium.

Utah and BYU have a fierce rivalry dating back decades.