PROVO -- After waiting for nearly two weeks to find out who its post-season opponent would be in Las Vegas, it became official on Sunday--BYU will play California in the 2005 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 22.
"The executive committee of the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl is thrilled that Coach Tedford and his players are coming to town to take on BYU in what just may be a full house," Executive Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy. "We look forward to two high-scoring teams with great fan followings battling it out at Sam Boyd Stadium on December 22."
Cal will enter the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl with a 7-4 record. After winning their first five games of the season, the Golden Bears have won two of their final six games. Following a heart-breaking overtime loss at Oregon on Nov. 5, and a hard-fought loss against top-ranked USC on Nov. 12, Cal finished the regular season with a decisive 27-3 win over Stanford. The Golden Bears finished fourth in the Pac-10 with a league 4-4 record.
"Cal is a well-coached football team," BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "They play in a tough conference and have a great football tradition. This will serve as an appropriate way to measure our program in relation to the goals that have been established. This is another positive step in that process. It's good to officially know who we are playing so we can get down to business."
The bowl game will mark the third time the two teams have met, dating back to the 1999 season when the then 24th ranked Cougars posted a 38-28 win in Provo. Two years later, BYU claimed a 44-16 win over Cal at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.
"The team is very excited about the opportunity to go to Las Vegas and play in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl," said Cal head coach Jeff Tedford. "We get to match up against one of the top teams in the Mountain West Conference. BYU has such a great tradition."
BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe served as the head football coach at Cal from 1997 through 2001. Holmoe, who is in his first year as the athletic director at BYU, said he is looking forward to the game.
"I have the utmost of respect for Cal--one of the greatest universities in the world," Holmoe said. "I look at this match-up as the opportunity for the Cougars to compete against a very fine Golden Bear team. Coach Tedford and his staff have done a wonderful job of establishing Cal as a top-20 program. During the bowl festivities, I will enjoy catching up with my Cal friends, including the players, coaches, staff, boosters, alums and the Cal band."
While it will be the first-ever appearance for both teams at the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl, both teams have been to a combined 38 bowl games. The Cougars will be making their 24th bowl appearance, while Cal will be playing in its 16th bowl game. BYU has posted a 7-15-1 bowl record, while the Golden Bears are 6-8-1 in post-season play. While the Cougars will be looking for their first bowl victory since 1996, Cal has won four of its last six bowl games, including a 52-49 win over Virginia Tech in the 2003 Insight.com Bowl. Cal lost to Texas Tech, 45-31, last season at the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl.
The Golden Bears have a 13-10 all-time record against current members of the Mountain West Conference, while the Cougars have a 27-52 record against teams from the Pac-10. Since beating Cal, 44-16, BYU has gone 0-4 against Pac-10 teams, including losses against Stanford and USC.
The game will mark the sixth time in the bowl's 14-year history a team from the Mountain West Conference will meet a team from the Pac-10. The Pac-10 has won three of the previous five games; however, the Mountain West won the last meeting with Wyoming beating UCLA, 24-21, last season.
The 2005 Pioneer PureVison Las Vegas Bowl, an ESPN Regional Television owned-and-operated event, will kickoff at 5 p.m. (PST) and will be televised nationally on ESPN. It will mark the first time the Cougars have played on ESPN since Sept. 18, 2004 (vs. USC).
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Interesting Facts:
- California Athletic Director Sandy Barbour served as the athletics director at Tulane University during the 1998 season when BYU played Tulane at the Liberty Bowl.
- BYU Athletics Director Tom Holmoe served as the head football coach at Cal for five seasons.
- BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall will be coaching his first game against Cal; however, it will actually be the fourth time Mendenhall has faced the Golden Bears. As a graduate assistant coach at Oregon State in 1989, Mendenhall and the Beavers recorded a 25-14 win over Cal. In 1995 and 1996, Mendenhall served as a full-time assistant coach at Oregon State. Cal won both the 1995 and '96 games, including a 48-42, triple-overtime game in 1996. In 1997, as the secondary coach at Louisiana Tech, Mendenhall and the Bulldogs defeated Cal, 41-34.
- The 2005 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl will mark the fifth time California Head Coach Jeff Tedford has faced the Cougars. As an assistant coach at Fresno State from 1992-1997, Tedford coached against BYU four different times. During his tenure at Fresno State, the Bulldogs posted a 1-3 record against BYU.
- Current BYU offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, served as the offensive line coach at Texas Tech last season. The Red Raiders defeated Cal in the 2004 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, 45-31.
- BYU is 1-1 against the Pac-10 in post-season bowl games. The Cougars defeated Washington State in 1981 Holiday Bowl, 38-36; however, BYU dropped a 31-10 decision against UCLA in the 1986 Freedom Bowl.