By BOB HUDSON
LAS VEGAS - One thing's certain about tonight's Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl. The winner will be wearing some shade of blue.
California's Golden Bears (7-4) wear blue-and-gold while BYU's Cougars (6-5) wear blue-and-white. The teams meet in Sam Boyd Stadium at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. "For the first time in the 14 years of the Las Vegas Bowl, it has been sold out," noted bowl director Tina Kunzer-Murphy during the Kickoff Luncheon at the Las Vegas Convention Center Wednesday. The big reason, of course, is BYU. The Cougars have a built-in fan base in Southern Nevada and Southern Utah Latter-day Saints.
"Every time we come down here, it's like a home game," said BYU linebacker Cameron Jensen. "It's great just being out here still playing football with your best friends. BYU hasn't been to a bowl game the last three seasons, so this is a great first step to re-establish that tradition."
Cal opened the season with five straight wins, then dropped 47-40 and 23-20 decisions to UCLA and Oregon State, respectively. The Bears also suffered an overtime loss to Oregon and a 35-10 decision to No. 1-ranked Southern Cal.
Among the Bears' offensive leaders are receivers DeSean Jackson and Robert Jordan, who both had over 30 catches. Jackson caught 32 balls for 471 yards and five touchdowns while Jordan caught 31 for 440 yards and four scores. Cal's leading rusher is Marshawn Lynch, who gained 1,052 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Quarterback Steve Levy, who is making his second career start. He led the Bears to a 27-3 win over Stanford in their final game of the regular season.
Leading the Cougars is quarterback John Beck, who was 296-of-460 for 3,357 yards and 24 touchdowns and receivers Jonny Harline, Curtis Brown and Todd Watkins, all of whom had over 40 catches. Harline had 56 for 780 yards and four scores while Brown, also the leading rusher, had 48 catches for 409 yards and one touchdown. Watkins had 44 catches for 585 yards and eight scores and Fahu Tahi had 39 catches for 366 yards and two touchdowns. Brown rushed for 1,095 yards and 14 touchdowns.
BYU's defensive leaders were Jensen, who had 74 tackles, including six for loss, and Justin Luettgerodt, who had 64 tackles, including 10 for loss. Cal's top defenders are Desmond Bishop, who had 81 tackles, including five for loss, and Donnie McCleskey, who had 62 tackles, including three quarterback sacks.
"We're at the bowl we deserve with our record, but not where our potential is," said McCleskey. "But half of the Pac-10 is sitting at home, preparing for next year. We're grateful to be in Vegas, and we're looking forward to coming out in an enemy stadium. Those are my favorite types of games, anyway."
While BYU and Cal have played just twice previously with the Cougars winning both games, the two teams have some common threads. BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe was head coach of the Bears in the late 1990s. Cal reserve quarterback Nate Longshore has a brother at BYU, Nick, a redshirt from College of the Canyons. And, California center Marvin Phillip is a returned LDS Church missionary who served in the Midwest.
ESPN's Lee Corso was keynote speaker at the luncheon. He testified of his genuine appreciation for former BYU coach LaVell Edwards and his accomplishments. Corso told the story of how his Indiana team beat the Cougars 38-37 in the 1979 Holiday Bowl when BYU's Brent Johnson missed a short field goal at the end of the game.
This is BYU's first bowl trip since the 2000 season. The Cougars haven't won a bowl game since the 1996 Cotton Bowl. Cal is making its third straight bowl trip. The Bears beat Virginia Tech in the 2003 Insight Bowl and lost to Texas Tech in last year's Holiday Bowl. BYU assistant coach Robert Anae was on the Red Raiders' staff for that game and was responsible for much of the team's offensive success.
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