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On December 2, 2015, it was announced that BYU was invited to and accepted the bowl invitation to the Las Vegas Bowl. Cougar fans have speculated about the possible opponents since the announcement. The guess work to predict BYU's bowl game opponent has only be interrupted by further speculation about who the Cougars new head coach will be since the announcement of Bronco Mendenhall's departure to become head coach at the University of Virginia.
While a new head coach announcement is still coming, fans no longer have to wonder about who the next challenge will be.
On December 19, 2015, the Cougars will be playing their rivals, the University of Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. Utah went 9-3 this season and finished as co-champions of the Pac-12 South. This will be the first time BYU has played Utah in a bowl game.
This represents BYU's record-setting 6th appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl, while Utah will be playing in their 5th.
The Las Vegas Bowl will mark the 90th matchup between the two universities on the gridiron. Utah leads the all-time series 54-31-4. The Utes have also won 4 straight Holy War games.
Bronco Mendenhall will be on the sidelines for the Cougars in Las Vegas and will be seeking his 100th career/BYU victory. Mendenhall record against the University of Utah is 3-6.
College football should rejoice at this matchup as this is one of the best rivalries in the sport. Conference realignment led to the hiatus of the BYU-Utah football game last season and was going to rob fans of the matchup this season until today's announcement. Perhaps it is a sign. These two great programs are measured against each other and are destined to be forever linked.