Let’s look at the upside for the cougars to play in the Vegas Bowl for this years.

Opponent:

Let’s face it, this years version of the Cougars is not quite ready for prime time.  As much as i would like to be of attending a BCS bowl with all the hype, exposure, and $$$, the truth is, this cougar team would probably have not fared much better than last years Hawaii team.

Arizona is, right now, one of the better Pac-10 teams.  So this gives BYU, a chance to beat 3 pac-10 teams in the same year.  While beating Arizona won’t stir talk that you should have been in the title game, it will garner respect, and allow this cougar team to finish, probably in the top 15

Location:

Now that the word Recession, is officially out of the bag, the location of the Vegas bowl is affordable for most cougar fans.  It’s close, it’s cheap, and it fits the bill.

Date:

I know many who feel like any bowl not close to New Years Day is a waste of Space, But I also think that there may be an advantage to play at a time when you are one of the few games available.  The Cougars will occupy a prominent place on Sportscenter for the next 24 hours.  Many of those other bowl games will be lines on a ticker, or quick blurbs every so often.

What They Can Do:

This years Cougars still have some benchmarks they can meet to push the program forward.  they can beat their 4th straight Pac-10 team (and a victory would give them 6 out the last 7).  They can finish the season 11-2 for the third straight year, and could finish in the top 15.  So I, for one, am happy to cheer the Cougs to one more Vegas Bowl victory.

Dec 20th by Jim