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PROVO — Finally, the BYU football team’s opponent for the Poinsettia Bowl has a name and a face.
And it’s a familiar one.
The Cougars will face Mountain West runner-up Wyoming in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 21, the schools announced Sunday in conjunction with the San Diego Bowl Game Association.
"The last time Wyoming played in a San Diego bowl game was 1988,” said Poinsettia Bowl executive director Mark Neville in a statement. “It’s been way too long. We can’t wait to roll out the red carpet for the Cowboys football team and all their fans.”
The game will kick off Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. MT at Qualcomm Stadium, the home of the NFL's San Diego Chargers and be broadcast on ESPN and KSL NewsRadio.
BYU (8-4) is 44-30-3 all-time against the Cowboys in a series that dates back to 1922. Wyoming finished the regular season 8-4 and lost to San Diego State 27-24 in Saturday night’s Mountain West championship game.
The two schools haven’t played since the Cougars departed the Mountain West for an independent schedule in football in 2010. The last time BYU and Wyoming played a football game, a Cougar defense led by a young Kyle Van Noy held the Cowboys to 18 yards of first-half offense en route a 25-20 win in Provo.
BYU finished 7-6 that season, including a 52-24 win over Texas-El Paso in the New Mexico Bowl.
"Our guys are excited to play in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. "Wyoming is a well-coached team that just played for the Mountain West championship. Coach Bohl and the Cowboys have had an impressive season and Brian Hill is a great running back. We look forward to the game."
The Pokes are led by Hill, who ranks sixth in the nation with 135.9 yards per game and has rushed for 1,797 yards and 21 touchdowns, as well as quarterback Josh Allen, a 56.3-percent passer who has 2,996 yards and 26 touchdowns.
The Cowboys’ 8-5 season has been inconsistent in 2016. Wyoming started the year just 2-2 with wins over Northern Illinois and UC Davis, but losses to Nebraska and Eastern Michigan. The Cowboys rallied with five-straight wins in Mountain West play, including a 30-28 win over Boise State on a late safety Oct. 29.
The Pokes then lost three of their last four, including a triple-overtime defeat to UNLV and a 56-35 thumping to New Mexico in the regular-season finale.
“This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by our players and our coaches,” said Wyoming coach Craig Bohl, who recently signed a seven-year contract extension to remain at the school until 2023. "Having the Poinsettia Bowl select us to play in their game is a true honor and a great reward for our team. We are appreciative to the Poinsettia Bowl Committee for this opportunity to represent the state of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference.
"For our players and coaches, I couldn’t be prouder of them. To all of our players, I want to thank them for staying the course with us these last three years. It was their never-say-die attitude that has brought us to this point of earning a bowl bid."
BYU last played in the Poinsettia Bowl in 2012, when Van Noy had two touchdowns en route to a 23-6 win over San Diego State. BYU is 5-6-1 all-time in bowl games played in San Diego, including its first postseason victory 46-45 over SMU in the 1980 Holiday Bowl.
The Cougars and Pokes have matched up one other time in postseason play: the 1996 Western Athletic Conference championship, which saw then-No. 6 BYU prevail over No. 20 Wyoming 28-25 in overtime.
Both teams are excited to renew the old WAC rivalry.
"BYU is a program that Wyoming has a long and rich tradition with, and I anticipate a great game between two very good football teams," Bohl said. "We can’t wait to see our Wyoming faithful in San Diego later this month."
