BYU football: It'll be like an Unga family reunion in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Officially, this is the Las Vegas Bowl. But really, it's just an excuse to hold a big Unga family reunion.

BYU running back Harvey Unga and his second cousins — Oregon State reserve freshmen linebackers Devin and Kevin Unga — are eager to face each other in Tuesday's game (6 p.m., ESPN) at Sam Boyd Stadium.

For them, and their families, it's an early — and unexpected — Christmas gift.

"I never thought I'd get the chance to play against BYU and go up against my second cousin," said Kevin, who is Devin's twin brother. "It's pretty cool. Growing up, we'd meet up with Harvey at family reunions. We're from California and he's from Utah, so we really wouldn't see each other except for family reunions.

"Being on the battlefield against each other will be a great experience. It's great to have three of us on the field together."

"It's going to be fun to see them and reunite with them," said Harvey. "We never thought we'd meet up and play in college. It's funny that we'll meet up for the first time, and probably the only time, in Las Vegas."

The past couple of weeks, the Ungas have been teasing each other.

"(Kevin and Devin) are jokesters. They love giving my family in Provo a hard time," Harvey said. "I asked both of them, when they're in there, to fall down or get blocked by somebody so I can look good. I told them to take it easy on me."

It's a showdown the entire Unga clan is excited about.

"Everyone's talking about it on Facebook, and calling each other. We get text messages all the time about what it's going to be like to go against Harvey," Kevin said. "To us, it's a regular game, but the special thing about it is we're going against a family member. He's wearing a different color so it doesn't matter if we're blood or not. I'm pretty sure Harvey's thinking the same thing. He's going to play his game and I hope he does good, but everybody's going for their team.

"In my family, everybody's going for Oregon State, but then they have blue signs that say 'No. 45' (Harvey's number). I'm sure his family will go for BYU while having respect for me and my brother. It's going to be a good game and I wish the best for him. It's going to be a fight. It's going to be a battle."

A big part of Oregon State's defensive game plan involves keying on Harvey, Devin said.