BYU football: Cougars hungry as they prepare for Vegas

PROVO — Arizona figures to be highly motivated for the Las Vegas Bowl, considering the 7-5 Wildcats haven't been bowling in a decade and they have a shot at knocking off a nationally ranked opponent.

But BYU has a lot to play for, too, when the two teams meet Dec. 20 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"I think that you'll see two hungry teams," said Cougar coach Bronco Mendenhall.

For starters, No. 17 BYU (10-2) has an opportunity to do something that has never accomplished in the history of the program — three consecutive bowl victories. The past two seasons, the Cougars have beaten Oregon (38-8) and UCLA (17-16) in the Las Vegas Bowl.

"When you're talking about the success of this program and something that's never been done, that to me is a pretty substantial feat," said Mendenhall. "We're two straight at this point and our goal is to play well and finish with three straight ... We're anxious to keep checking off things that have never been done. We're anxious to add that to the list."

With a victory, the Cougars can also post their third straight 11-win season. Only twice in school history has

BYU enjoyed three campaigns in a row with 11 or more victories (1979-81; 1983-85).

Also, the bowl game can serve as a springboard for the 2009 season.

"I think we're going to have a very good team again next year. It's important for us to start high in the rankings next year and this game can definitely help us," said quarterback Max Hall. "We want to win that game, finish the season right and also start next year on the right note. U of A is a good team, and I think they're better than their record shows. We've got to be ready to go."

Mendenhall called the matchup with Arizona "the next chance to improve our team."

"There's a lot riding on this game for BYU," said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. "This game is the future."

And don't forget a chance for the Cougars to get the bad taste out of their mouths after losing in the regular-season finale to arch-rival, BCS-bound Utah.

Defensive end Jan Jorgensen said the past two weeks since falling to the Utes have been a roller coaster.

"After a loss like we had against Utah, it takes a toll on you. Not only physically, but emotionally. It's something that we've steadily climbed our way out of. We're using it to work harder with our workouts to motivate ourselves to do better. If we can carry some momentum into the offseason ... it will do wonders for us."