Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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Coaches Bronco Mendenhall and Mike Stoops, along with players Max Hall, David Nixon, Mike Thomas and Ronnie Palmer met the media this morning at the annual Las Vegas Bowl Kickoff Press Conference.
You can hear the podium comments, and individual interviews with Bronco, Coach Stoops, Palmer and Thomas by clicking the individual audio links in the "Cougar Cuts" box to the lower right.
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There was nothing ground-breaking or bulletin board-worthy in this morning's session, but a couple of tidbits emerged:
Dennis Pitta set back his recovery timetable by playing in the Utah game, even though he was used sparingly and was comaratively ineffective in that game. Bronco says Pitta told him he was 80% for Utah, and is only "a couple of percentage points" better for the Las Vegas Bowl. The coach says the MCL sprain was a "significant injury" and that you "won't see a drastically different Dennis Pitta" than the one you saw versus Utah. As a result, he says BYU is game-planning accordingly.
In light of Oregon coach Mike Bellotti's comments regarding BYU's lack of Pac 10-like credentials a couple of seasons ago, I asked Mike Stoops where BYU would fit in he Pac 10. He says BYU, Utah and TCU are BCS-caliber programs which could compete week-in, week-out in the Pac 10.
Asked about the Pac 10's recent struggles with the MWC, Arizona WR/PR Mike Thomas invoked Appalachian State's upset of Michigan to illustrate that anyone can beat anyone. I know he didn't intend to insinuate that BYU is the App State to Arizona's Michigan, but it was interesting hearing an FCS team referenced when addressing the MWC's recent success against the Pac 10.
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While the game has been officially "sold out" for weeks, roughly 1,000 of BYU's 12,000 Las Vegas Bowl tickets remain unsold as of today. BYU is trying to get the availability word out through its alumni database, as school officials believe many fans assume there are no tickets to be had.
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Beautiful weather in Vegas today--the snow has cleared out, the sun is out, the winds are calm, and but for the slight chill, it's a perfect day.
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