2008 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl Preview

Brigham Young (10-2, 6-2 MWC) vs. Arizona (7-5, 5-4 Pac Ten)

December 20th, 2008 @ 8:00 PM (EST) – ESPN – Las Vegas, Nevada - Buy Las Vegas Bowl tickets

For the 4th consecutive season, BYU faces off against a Pac Ten team in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Cougars are riding a two game winning streak in Sin City but are coming off of a loss to archrival Utah to finish the season. Riding in to face the Cougars are Mike Stoops’ Arizona Wildcats, qualifying for a bowl for the first time in a decade.

BYU is definitely the favorite coming into the game as they boast a high powered offense which scored over thirty points 8 times this season. Quarterback Max Hall has thrown for 34 Touchdowns against only 13 interceptions and is the focal point of the offense. In addition, tailback Harvey Unga rushed for over 1,000 yards this season and provides balance for the offense. However, the Cougars’ defense has been struggling: In the second half of the year they allowed over 32 points per game.

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Arizona’s season was a mixed bag as they seemed to play well on either offense or defense in any given game but could not combine the two with much consistency. Close losses to USC (17-10), Oregon State (19-17), and Oregon (55-45) show the disparity in their play. What must be gleaned from this is that the Wildcats were only a few plays away from a much better record and definitely have the capability to slow down the Cougars in this game. On offense, senior quarterback Willie Tuitama is a dangerous player and will definitely be able to move the ball against the Cougars.

Both teams have played against UCLA, Washington and New Mexico this year. BYU went 3-0 against that group while Arizona went 2-1, suffering an early season upset to New Mexico thanks to five turnovers. The two Pac Ten teams were both terrible this year, though BYU was a blocked extra point away from going into overtime against Washington.

The Battle of Sin City could easily turn into a shootout with two very good quarterbacks on hand. However, Arizona’s defense is definitely the superior of the two and I think that Arizona will be much more excited to be playing in their first bowl game. BYU has struggled against talented opposition (combining for only 31 points against TCU and Utah) but will definitely put up some points. In the end, I think that Arizona’s strong defensive play will lead to some turnovers and an inspired effort from their senior quarterback will put the Wildcats over the top.

Las Vegas Bowl Pick: Arizona 30 - BYU 28

by Matt Baxendell
CollegeSports-fans.com Staff Writer

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