The Utah Utes face the BYU Cougars at Sam Boyd Stadium in the anticipated Las Vegas Bowl Saturday afternoon. Utah finished in second place in the Pac-12 South division and finished the year with a 9-3 record under head coach Kyle Whittingham. The Cougars finished their season strong with a big win over Utah State, and head coach Bronco Mendenhall is going for his 100th win as BYU's head coach and is set to take over as the Virginia Cavaliers head coach in 2016.
The Cougars are led by strong-arm freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum, who has had an incredible season including two comeback victories over Nebraska and Boise State. The Cougars freshman quarterback has thrown over 3,000 yards with 21 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. Mendenhall will look to alleviate pressure on his freshman quarterback Saturday by creating a strong ground game for the Cougars.
Junior running back Algernon Brown leads the Cougars in rushing this season and has a scored a touchdown in every game for BYU dating back to early October. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound running back can break through tackles, is averaging 5.7 yards per carry and has scored 11 rushing touchdowns. Brown is a dual threat out of the backfield and has caught two touchdown receptions as well in his junior year.
The Cougars have a difficult matchup against the Utes defense that has been dominant at times this season. Utah's defense has 19 interceptions on the year tied for seventh-most in the nation and will look to put Mangum in difficult positions Saturday afternoon.
On offense, the Utes are heavily reliant on quarterback Travis Wilson, as they have lost their star running back in Devontae Booker for year with a torn MCL. The Utes senior quarterback struggled in his last outing in a win over Colorado, as he was only 10 for 26 passing with a touchdown and interception. The 6-foot-7, 233-pound quarterback keeps opposing defenses on their heels as he has thrown over 2,000 yards and has rushed for 467 yards with six rushing touchdowns.
Running back Joe Williams has taken over the lead running back position with Booker out and is coming off his best game of the year. Against Colorado, the junior running back rushed for a season-high 187 yards with a touchdown. In the past two games, Williams has carried the ball 60 times, and expect Whittingham to get him plenty of touches on Saturday, as he can open holes in the passing game for Wilson.
The Las Vegas Bowl sets an exciting matchup between two winning programs, and with BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall coaching his last game with the Cougars, it will be interesting to see how his players come out Saturday afternoon. The game starts at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to the Utes' radio-broadcast, click here, and for the Cougars' radio broadcast, go here.