PROVO — BYU earned bowl eligibility with a 37-7 win over FCS foe Southern Utah Saturday, and accepted an invitation to play in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.

Taysom Hill had the third 300-yard passing game of his career with 320 yards and two touchdowns and backup quarterback Tanner Mangum completed 11-of-13 passes for 121 yards while adding 42 yards on the ground.

Here are three quick thoughts on the Cougars’ postseason-clinching win.

The in-state series, even with FCS teams, matter

BYU’s crowd for a mid-afternoon November kickoff against an FCS foe was buoyed significantly by the Southern Utah fans who flooded the visitors’ corner of LaVell Edwards Stadium.

As long as FBS foes continue to offer guarantee games to opponents from the Football Championship Subdivision, BYU would do well to schedule those games with local connections like Southern Utah, Weber State, Idaho State and similar such foes — plus the recent headlines around former SUU coaches Ed Lamb and Jernaro Gilford.

“The guys were excited. I think it’s good for the state of Utah to play in-state opponents,” BYU football coach Kalani Sitake said. “It’s good for the state and good for football in the state. I thought the fans were great. The turnout was awesome. It’s nice to play a game during the day.”

Mangum gets his reps

It’s no secret that the sophomore who was BYU’s starting quarterback for most of 2015 is the future of the position for the Cougars, and Sitake and offensive coordinator Ty Detmer made good on their promise to get him plenty of reps against the Thunderbirds.

“It was a lot of fun to get out there and play in front of a crowd,” Mangum said. “It’s always fun playing at home. I had to shake the rust off a little bit. It’s been almost a year since the Las Vegas Bowl against Utah, so it was fun to be out there with the guys and get the blood pumping. There’s obviously a lot to improve on, but it was a good time.”

Mangum’s first pass in the second quarter went for 12 yards to Brayden El-Bakri, but the sophomore who had not attempted a pass in 2016 missed on his next two attempts and left the game until the middle of the third quarter.

When he returned, he found KJ Hall for a big completion and settled into the game. He also showed some rust, taking a 17-yard loss on Mitch Dalley’s third-quarter sack.

“We had quite a bit of reserve guys,” Sitake said. “When you do that, it’s going to be a little sloppy.”

In addition to Mangum, the Cougars gave significant time to players who don't always feature in games. Hall ran for a game-high 59 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and also caught three passes for 68 yards. El-Bakri caught four passes for 69 yards, and junior Colby Hansen ran for 8 yards on three carries.

BYU goes bowling — again

The Cougars accepted an invitation to the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, marking the 12th straight season with a postseason bowl berth. BYU has only played in San Diego one other time in its dozen-year streak, a 23-6 win over San Diego State in current New England Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy’s senior year.

Despite the limited overall quantity, the Cougars have a history of bowl games hosted in San Diego. They played in the first-ever postseason game in San Diego, the 1978 Holiday Bowl, and have been highly regarded by the bowl organizers ever since.

“It’s good to be bowl eligible and get it done early so we can make plans,” Sitake said. “I’ve never been in this position where we know this early where we’re going, so it’s a bit of a relief.”

BYU’s most likely opponent from the Mountain West Conference includes the Aztecs, Wyoming and Air Force among the leaders to represent the league in San Diego.

BYU is 6-5 during its most recent bowl streak, including a three-game losing streak capped by last year’s 35-28 loss to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Cougars are 13-20-1 all-time in the postseason.

BYU is one of eight teams to clinch 12 straight bowl appearances, a list that will grow to include LSU and Georgia with one more win later this year.

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