BYU football: Cougars going back to Vegas

PROVO — While BYU is making its fifth consecutive trip to Las Vegas, this time there's something new — the No. 15 Cougars will take on a ranked team, No. 16 Oregon State.

BYU and OSU will meet in the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas on Dec. 22 (6 p.m., ESPN).

Bowl officials made the announcement official Sunday night, extolling the fact that it's the game's first-ever showdown between two ranked teams. The Cougars are the highest ranked team ever to play in the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas.

"Our committee is thrilled to be offering the best matchup we've seen in nearly two decades of putting on this game," said the bowl's executive director, Tina Kunzer-Murphy.

The Cougars (10-2), who finished No. 2 in the Mountain West Conference, defeated arch-rival Utah, 26-23, in overtime, in their regular-season finale on Nov. 28. The Beavers (8-4), one of three teams tied for second place in the Pac-10, were playing for a Rose Bowl berth last Thursday at arch-rival Oregon, but fell short, 37-33.

Oregon State's other three losses have come to undefeated Cincinnati, 28-18; Arizona, 37-32; and USC, 42-36. OSU had won four straight games before losing to the Ducks.

BYU and Oregon State have one common opponent — UNLV. The Beavers beat the Rebels, 23-21, on Sept. 12 while the Cougars pummeled UNLV, 59-21, on Oct. 10. Both games were played at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas.

"We look forward to the opportunity to play in the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas and face Oregon State," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "I'm proud of what our seniors and our team have accomplished this year. I have a lot of respect and admiration for (OSU coach) Mike Riley and his wife Dee and the job Mike has done at Oregon State."

Mendenhall has strong ties to OSU, having played for the Beavers in 1986 and 1987 as a starting safety and linebacker. In 1986, he helped Oregon State knock off BYU in Provo, 10-7, in what was the most recent meeting between the two schools. Mendenhall was a team captain in 1987 and earned the Leo Gribkoff Memorial award given to the team's most inspirational player.

Later, Mendenhall served as an OSU graduate assistant, working with the defensive line from 1989-90. He returned to Corvallis in 1995 to serve as the Beavers' defensive line coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1996, becoming, at age 29, the youngest defensive coordinator in Pac-10 history. Mendenhall received a Masters of Education in exercise physiology from Oregon State in 1990.