Numbers, history on Cougars’ side

I'm no expert on football. At Provo High School I played in the orchestra and wrote for the school paper. The flag-football team I captained during PE class lost every game. But what I lack in sports knowledge, I make up for in loyalty. I grew up in the shadow of "Y" Mountain and have been a solid BYU fan as long as I can remember.

As a teenager, I sat with my dad on the 50-yard line many Saturday afternoons at Cougar Stadium. When we weren't at the games, we could still hear at our home the roar of the crowd each time BYU scored a touchdown. And they scored a lot of touchdowns! Also echoing in my ears, though, are the epithets my father shouted on those rare occasions when the Cougars came up short.

Dad will have no reason for angry shouts when Brigham Young faces Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl. Although I don't know a lot about football, I can read the numbers and appreciate the history. The Cougars will win Saturday.

Here's why.

The Cougars showcase four of the most explosive athletes in the Mountain West Conference. Quarterback Max Hall threw for 3,629 yards and 34 touchdowns during BYU's 11-2 regular season.

Receiver Austin Collie has 1,419 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Tight end Dennis Pitta has 1,025 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Both Pitta and Collie were named to the first-team all-conference squad.

Running back Harvey Unga rushed for 1,061 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also caught four touchdowns.

Unga, Pitta and Collie combined for 3,882 yards of offense and 35 touchdowns. Add Hall's numbers to that threesome and you have some star power unmatched by Arizona.

Defensively, BYU is anchored by Jan Jorgensen. The senior lineman holds the Mountain West Conference's all-time record with 221/2 sacks.

Also working to the Cougars' advantage Saturday is the bad taste left in their mouths following their loss to Utah to end the regular season.

Hall vows to redeem himself after throwing five interceptions.

The Cougars, who are playing in their 27th bowl game, also enjoy an advantage in experience. This is their fourth consecutive trip to the Las Vegas Bowl, whereas Arizona hasn't played in the postseason in 10 years.

Hall is 21-4 as a starter for BYU. The junior is 1-0 in bowl games, has a conference championship and has beaten Pacific-10 Conference teams UCLA (twice), Washington and Arizona.

BYU's defense has adjusted nicely to bowl season as well. Despite spotty play during the past two years, the Cougars have allowed just 24 points in the last eight quarters at the Las Vegas Bowl.

Home-field advantage will again be on the side of the Blue and White. The bowl is projecting its fourth consecutive sellout, and most of those fans will be cheering for the team from Provo. The previous three sellouts also involved BYU. In fact, prior to the Cougars, the Las Vegas Bowl had never had a sellout in 10 games.

BYU is 7-1 in games played at Sam Boyd Stadium since 1999.

The cold weather could help the Cougars as well. They come from cold country, while Arizona spends most of its days under the sun. That could be a factor as the temperature drops Saturday night.

There's no question BYU hoped to play in a Bowl Championship Series game. However, rather than sulk about it, they will use this game as a springboard for 2009.

A win will boost the Cougars' preseason ranking for next season, and with home games scheduled against Utah, Texas Christian and Florida State, BYU, like Utah this year, will position itself for a much stronger run at the BCS.

Hall, Collie, Pitta and Unga all will be back next season.

Granted, Arizona is a pretty good team with a lot of great athletes, but the Wildcats have lost three of their last five games and have just one victory against a team with a winning record.

With BYU's star power, motivation, experience, home-field advantage and future postseason ambitions, the Cougars have too much to play for to lose to Arizona.

And just as they did when I was a kid in Provo, they will score a lot of touchdowns Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium. Prediction: BYU 38-24.

Charles Zobell, a graduate of Brigham Young University, is managing editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Contact him at czobell@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0293.