LAS VEGAS — BYU has played in the three previous postseason games here, has won 10 games this season and owns a No. 17 national ranking.

But the oddsmakers have made Arizona (7-5) a three-point favorite for tonight's showdown against the Cougars.

Perhaps that's because BYU is coming off a 48-24 loss at Utah and the Wildcats are coming off a 31-10 walloping of their arch-rival, Arizona State. Athletically, Arizona is reminiscent of the two teams that beat the Cougars this season, TCU and Utah.

"They're fast. They remind me of TCU," said BYU wide receiver Austin Collie. "They close on the ball quickly. They're very athletic."

The Cougars are taking the underdog role in stride.

"Anyone who knows me or our team, I don't acknowledge what anyone else says," said coach Bronco Mendenhall. "I know who we are and what direction we're going. To put value on it now would simply mean I value what anyone else says, which I don't."

"I think it's awesome," quarterback Max Hall said of being the underdog. "It gives us a chance to represent our program, play a good football game and demonstrate to everybody that we should be considered a top 15, top 20 team every year."

PITTA'S STATUS: BYU tight end Dennis Pitta suffered an MCL sprain in his knee against Air Force on Nov. 15 and was limited the following week against Utah.

Asked for an update on Pitta's injury situation, Mendenhall said Pitta is a little better than 80 percent for tonight's game.

"It was a significant injury and he did a great job to get back to the point he could for the Utah game," Mendenhall said. "Time is the only thing that's going to heal it. I don't think you'll see a drastically different Dennis Pitta than you saw against Utah. We've tried to game-plan appropriately."

BYU'S RUNNING GAME: Arizona is wary of the Cougars' big, physical running backs, Harvey Unga and Fui Vakapuna.

And for good reason.

The Wildcats have had some trouble stopping the run this season. New Mexico's Rodney Ferguson gained 158 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns; Stanford's Toby Gerhart rushed for 116, and UCLA's Chane Moline had 72 yards on 11 carries. Oregon and USC were also able to run the ball effectively against the Arizona defense.

Meanwhile, Unga is looking for a better showing than last year's Las Vegas Bowl. He rushed for just 16 yards on 17 carries against UCLA.