Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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If you've got a few minutes, you can check out the "Cougar Cuts" box and find interviews previewing both tomorrow night's BYU-Wagner basketball game, and the BYU-Oregon State Las Vegas Bowl meeting.
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Among the football-related tidbits:
Known as someone who rarely recalls specific plays from even recent games, Bronco Mendenhall actually did come up with a couple of particular memories from the 1986 Oregon State win over BYU, in which he started at safety.
McKay Jacobson pronounced himself fully recovered from his midseason hamstring injury, saying he's 100%.
Max Hall called next Tuesday's game a "bittersweet" moment, adding that he told Coach Brandon Doman that "I kind of don't want it to come." Hall predicts that he'll be "pretty emotional after the game."
Harvey Unga gave a really good and very thoughtful interview--I hope you listen to all of it. He appears refreshed and excited to play one more game. Of course, the question on everyone's mind is: will it be his last game at BYU? On the possibility of entering the NFL draft after the season, Harvey said "it's crossed my mind once or twice," but that thoughts of the draft are like a "needle in the haystack," in that he hasn't "bothered talking to, really, anybody about it." He said NFL prospects are "not... a priority right now." Unga said "when the time comes...I'll definitely have a better answer as to what I want to do."
Asked what the best reason would be for playing his senior season, he said "the love of the game, and the love of BYU that I have, the love for my teammates and my coaches." he added that "BYU is home for me... and it's not gonna happen again."
Unga acknowledged that he already has a substantial body of work for pro scouts to analyze, and that NFL decision makers "probably don't want another year of me getting beat up and bruised and battered before I get a chance to even think of the next level." Harvey concluded that "there's no place like BYU."
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Bowl Trivia:
Bronco Mendenhall is making his fifth consecutive Las Vegas Bowl bowl appearance. Only two other coaches have made more consecutive appearances in the same bowl: Darrell Royal coached in six straight Cotton Bowls, while Lavell Edwards was on the sidelines in seven consecutive Holiday Bowls.
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BYU will wear its royal blue uniforms against Oregon State. There are bound to be a few "By George... I Think He's Caught It" tee-shirts spotted in the crowd that night. Don't be left out--they'reavailable online; supplies are dwindling, but there are a few left, whether for the game or as a stocking stuffer.
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