CAL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Officials think the Cal-BYU matchup will be 2,000 tickets short of a sellout
In Las Vegas, a place where entertainment is king, a football game suddenly has become the hottest ticket in town. Las Vegas Bowl executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy, who has been involved with the 14-year-old bowl since "Day One," said on Tuesday that the Cal-BYU matchup on Dec. 22 has created the kind of excitement she always had envisioned for the game. "People are buying every ticket they can get," Kunzer-Murphy said. "I hope to get an exact count on Thursday, but by all accounts, I think we will be about 2,000 tickets short of a sellout, which would be about 40,000 people. We are anticipating our largest crowd ever. "The phone has not stopped ringing since Cal was announced officially on Monday and, from our end, we are so pleased by it. Of course, BYU had a two-week start and its fans were buying a ton of tickets. We have more than 136,000 LDS (Church of Latter-day Saints) members in the Las Vegas area and that has created a tremendous following. But we will find a way to jam them all in." The bowl has hosted teams such as Nevada (1992, 1995, 1996), UNLV (1994, 2000), Oregon (1997), Fresno State (1999), USC (2001) and UCLA (2002, 2004), yet Kunzer-Murphy has never seen this kind of interest. "This is the biggest and earliest response we have received," she said. Golden Bears athletic director Sandy Barbour said it is important that her team's fans show up. "I know that Cal fans won't want to be outdone by the BYU fans," Barbour said. "Of course, it's great that BYU already has sold so many tickets. But in the past two years (at the Insight Bowl and the Holiday Bowl) we've traveled very well and it's important that we do that."
Cal's ticket allotment was 8,000. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-462-3277. "We are facing a fantastic opponent with a great tradition," Barbour said. "It's a destination that is easy to get to. There will be a lot going on."
Getting his shot
As an LDS member who already has served his two-year Mormon mission, Cal center Marvin Philip said he always has had a connection with the BYU football team. "I've always wanted to play against BYU," he said. "I've always had relatives on the team and I've been connected to the team since I was young." Cal has played BYU twice, losing in 1999 and 2001. Philip was a true freshman in 2000, but he didn't play the 2001 season because he left on his mission. Current Cougars T.J. Sitake (defensive lineman), Naufahu Tahi (fullback) and Manase Tonga (running back) all are Philip's cousins. "It's kind of ironic, but there are a lot of Mormons around Las Vegas," Philip said. "They will have an advantage."
End run
Although Cal will leave for the Las Vegas Bowl during finals week, Barbour said any student-athletes who will miss a scheduled exam will have their situation resolved on a case-by-case basis. ... Cal will be training on the UNLV campus beginning Dec. 19. ... The Cougars average 463.9 yards per game of total offense and have scored 33.5 points a game. "I was thrilled with our point totals week in and week out," said first-year BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "I thought our spread offense came together faster than I expected." ... BYU has allowed 273.1 passing yards per game along with 23 touchdown passes. In comparison, Cal has allowed 11 passing touchdowns this season.
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