A-Z look at Las Vegas Bowl

Ron Kantowski and Brian Hilderbrand, Las Vegas Sun

Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007 | 7:28 a.m.

What: Las Vegas Bowl

What: Brigham Young vs. UCLA

When: 5 p.m. today

Where: Sam Boyd Stadium

Tickets: Sold out, but tickets sometimes can be procured (wink) near the stadium on game day

TV: ESPN

Thanks to BYU and its loyal legion of fans, the 16th edition of the Las Vegas Bowl was a sellout even before the Cougars faithful knew they'd be out for revenge against UCLA. The two teams will kick off today at 5 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium.

In honor of this year's acronym-friendly teams, the Sun presents its annual A-Z look at Las Vegas Bowls past and present:

A is for BYU's Aaron Attig, the closest thing to a local product on either team. Attig, a sophomore defensive back from Logandale, prepped at Moapa Valley High School.

B is for Ball State, David Letterman's favorite team, which lost 42-33 to Utah State in Las Vegas Bowl II and 18-15 to Nevada-Reno in Las Vegas Bowl V.

C is for cash. Both the Pac-10 Conference and the Mountain West Conference will receive $1 million from the Las Vegas Bowl as a result of their participation.

D is for defense ... or lack of it. There has never been a shutout in the Las Vegas Bowl.

E is for ESPN Regional, which owns the Las Vegas Bowl.

F is for four, as in the number of passes completed by North Carolina in its 20-13 victory over San Diego State in the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl. The mark stands as the fewest pass receptions by a team in the bowl's history. Blame it on the 50 mph winds.

G is for the Golden Bears of Cal, which beat BYU 35-28 in 2005 in front of the first sellout crowd in Las Vegas Bowl history.

H is for the Hogs of Arkansas, who cried wee, wee, wee - all the way home to Fayetteville after being sent to slaughter, 31-14, by UNLV in Las Vegas Bowl IX.

I is for interim. For the second time in six years, UCLA will be playing in the Las Vegas Bowl under the direction of an interim head coach. This year, Bruins defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker is filling in for the fired Karl Dorrell.

J is for Jason as in Thomas, the former UNLV quarterback who had his finest moment in Las Vegas Bowl IX, passing the Rebels to an easy win over heavily favored Arkansas.

K is for Katie as in Hnida, the New Mexico kicker who became the first female to appear in a bowl game when her extra-point attempt against UCLA was blocked in Las Vegas Bowl XI.

L is for LaVell as in Edwards, the former BYU coach who once said Cougars fans travel with the Ten Commandments and a $20 bill - and don't break either.

M is for Mendenhall, as in BYU head coach Bronco, who is 1-1 as a head coach in Las Vegas Bowl games.

N is for Nevada-Reno, which has appeared in three Las Vegas Bowls. The Wolf Pack is 1-2 in those games.

O is for overtime. Toledo and UNR played the first overtime game in NCAA Division I-A football history in Las Vegas Bowl IV.

P is for Pioneer and its sponsorship dollars.

Q is for quack, the sound all those Oregon fans made before getting plucked by BYU in last year's Las Vegas Bowl.

R is for rematch. UCLA and BYU met earlier this year, with the Bruins handing the Cougars a 27-17 defeat.

S is for sellout. BYU will be playing in front of a sold-out Sam Boyd Stadium crowd for the second time this year. In October, the Cougars beat UNLV 24-14 in front of 38,026 fans, most of whom were clad in blue and white.

T is for twins, as in UCLA linebacker Kyle Bosworth and defensive end Korey Bosworth. Their uncle, Brian Bosworth, also played a little football.

U is for Utah and upset, which the Utes did to Carson Palmer and USC in Las Vegas Bowl X.

V is for victorious, which is how UNLV emerged from Las Vegas Bowls III and IX.

W is for Wyoming and its rowdy fans, who whooped it up before, during and after the Cowboys' 27-24 upset of UCLA in Las Vegas Bowl XIII.

X is for X-mas and X-mas Eve, days on which the game used to have its stocking stuffed.

Y is for "The Y," the big letter on BYU's helmets. Y? Because we love sellouts.

Z is for zero, as in the number of Las Vegas players on the bowl rosters of UCLA and BYU.