The Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl is scheduled for December 20, 2008 at 8:00 PM EST. This year, the No. 16 Brigham Young Cougars (10-2 overall, 6-2 Mountain West Conference) are facing off with the Arizona Wildcats (7-5 overall, 5-4 Pac-10 conference). BYU is going for its fourth consecutive Las Vegas Bowl victory, while Arizona is playing in its first bowl game since 1998. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN & ESPN HD from Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV.

While BYU and Arizona will face each other in a bowl game for the first time, it marks the 22nd meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1936. Arizona leads 11-9-1 all-time but the teams split a recent home-and-home series. Despite BYU being a ranked team and going for their fourth consecutive bowl win, the odds makers have Arizona favored by 3 points.

Neither team has a strong defense, in fact, BYU has given up 32 or more points in four of its past six games. I think we’ll see a score approaching 40s by both teams. If neither team can stop the other, it may come down to whoever has the ball last will win.

Some key players to keep an eye on: BYU’s Jan Jorgensen, a junior defensive end who is already his league’s all-time leader in QB sacks with 22.5, and Arizona’s Willie Tuitama, a senior all-conference performer that is his school’s career passing leader. Both players should have solid careers at the next level.