Maaco Bowl Preview: BYU vs. Oregon St.

The first ranked vs. ranked match-up of the bowl season takes place Tuesday in the Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas. The 18th ranked Oregon St Beavers take on the 14th ranked BYU Cougars in what will be a battle of two under-rated squads.

HC Mike Riley has rejuvenated this Beavers program over the past 7 seasons. They are now one of the top teams in a competitive Pac-10 conference. Three consecutive 8 win seasons is unheard of for a program that was considered mediocre at best just a decade ago. However, Oregon St is now on the verge of taking their program to the “next level” with another bowl victory and a solid recruiting class.

In order to win their 4th bowl game in a row, they will have to take down a storied program in Brigham Young. The Cougars had been a perennial powerhouse in the 70’s and 80’s, but have fallen short over the past decade. Bronco Mendenhall has certainly brought back some of the luster that this program had in the past with double-digit win totals in 3 of the last 4 seasons. Now that the Mountain West conference has regained some of its power, it has been harder to navigate a brutally tough schedule against teams like Utah and Texas Christian.

The key match-up in this game will be the Cougars dynamic offense against Oregon St’s defense. The Beavers have done a great job of holding opponents well below their season averages this season, and that’s against solid Pac-10 teams. They will have their hands full against the pass happy attack of BYU. Expect a close game that is decided in the fourth quarter.

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2. St. Petersburg Bowl Preview
3. Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Preview: Boise St vs. TCU
4. Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Preview: Nebraska vs. Arizona
5. Despite Dirty Bush USC Still Smells Like a Rose Bowl

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