By Jeff Call
LAS VEGAS — When BYU accepted an invitation to the Las Vegas Bowl last month, coach Bronco Mendenhall said he wanted to see a "sea of blue" at Sam Boyd Stadium. He'll get his wish. Not only have tens of thousands of blue-clad Cougar fans purchased tickets to Thursday's game, so have thousands of blue-clad California fans. For the first time ever, the Las Vegas Bowl is a sellout and a crowd of at least 40,000 is expected. BYU is hoping that the droves of Cougar fans who will fill the seats at Sam Boyd Stadium will help make the bowl feel like a home game. "When you have over half the crowd that's going to be our fans — upwards of 25,000 — it's our responsibility to take advantage of that," Mendenhall said. "They're showing up to see us play well. That's what we intend to do." Besides that, history is on BYU's side. All-time, the Cougars own a 7-1 record at Sam Boyd Stadium, including a 55-14 victory over UNLV on Nov. 5. "We played pretty well last time we came here," said senior running back Fahu Tahi. "We just want to come out and play hard like we did then and try to pull it out so we go home happy." BYU has never lost to Mountain West Conference foe UNLV in Las Vegas (6-0). The Cougars also played two other games at Sam Boyd Stadium — they defeated Wyoming, 28-25, in the 1996 Western Athletic Conference championship game and they lost to Air Force, 20-13, in the 1998 WAC title game. Why has BYU been so successful at Sam Boyd Stadium?
Mendenhall said it's mostly a reflection of the Cougars' program "being further along" than UNLV's over the years. Senior linebacker Paul Walkenhorst cited a couple of other reasons for BYU's winning ways in Las Vegas. "Maybe it has something to do with the weather and that we get a lot of fans down there," he said. Most of BYU's players say they enjoy playing at Sam Boyd Stadium. "I love playing there," said safety Spencer White. "I like the turf and the weather is warm. It feels great compared to Utah. We get a lot of fans here. It feels like a home game with how loud the fans are. That helps us be more successful here." Senior wide receiver Todd Watkins said he doesn't like the playing surface at Sam Boyd Stadium. "The turf is not very nice," he explained. "It's real flat. It's like carpet. There's no cushion to it. It's slippery. It's hard to get traction. We probably have an advantage because we've played there. When we were running routes, a lot of guys were slipping. We were having a hard time planting. Some guys actually wore turf shoes instead of cleats. It's just something you have to get used to." The only one associated with BYU's program that has participated in the Las Vegas Bowl before is Mendenhall. He was New Mexico's defensive coordinator in 2002 when the Lobos lost in the Las Vegas Bowl to UCLA, 27-13. "I was absolutely elated to be (at the Las Vegas Bowl)," he remembered. "It was the first bowl for New Mexico in four years. We were excited to reach that point in our program." One of the tough things about the game, though, was the fact that it was played on Christmas Day. "That was difficult," he said. "I remember coach (Rocky) Long and the coaching staff putting small Christmas trees in the rooms of those coaches that had families there. I remember the explanations we were trying to come up with for our children regarding Santa Claus and how he'd work that unique element. And he showed up." Now, Mendenhall's hoping all of his players show up, and play well, against Cal.
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