Bowl game serves as reunion for coaches

When Brigham Young and San Diego State meet Dec. 20 in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, it will be a reunion of good friends and rivals.

Cougars coach Bronco Mendenhall worked for Aztecs coach Rocky Long for five years as defensive coordinator while both were rebuilding New Mexico. Mendenhall left the Lobos for the same job at BYU in 2003 and was named the Cougars' coach in 2005.

Long resigned in 2008 after 11 seasons with the Lobos and later was hired to coach the defense at San Diego State. He took over the head position before the 2011 season.

Mendenhall and Long remain true to their passion - coaching defense - and both also serve as defensive coordinators.

"A lot of what I learned coaching wise, especially on the defensive side, has come from (Long)," Mendenhall said. "It's a unique chance to play against a mentor and a friend."

BYU (7-5) is ranked No. 3 in the nation in total defense and No. 5 in scoring defense. San Diego State (9-3) is No. 43 in total defense. The Aztecs have the edge on offense, where they are ranked No. 28 in scoring (35 points per game) compared with No. 65 BYU (29 ppg).

Both coaches promise a physical game.

"If you are those kinds of people who like how football used to be played, it will be one of those games where there will be 22 kids on the field flying around and trying to get after each other," Long said. "To me, that's the way the game was meant to be played."

While the coaches will enjoy the reunion, the same cannot be said for everybody else. The Aztecs denounced BYU after it left the Mountain West Conference to become independent in football in 2011. Then-Aztecs coach Brady Hoke said he wouldn't schedule BYU.

Much has changed since then. The Aztecs also left the MWC and will join the Big East next year. And Hoke, now the coach at Michigan, scheduled BYU for a home game in 2015.

"There are a lot of reasons to either like or dislike BYU - not much middle ground," Mendenhall said. "Whatever kind of welcome we get is irrelevant. The chance to play a really good team is what we were hoping for, and that's what we got."

■ PRACTICE TO RESUME - The Cougars return to practice Monday to begin bowl preparations. BYU leads the all-time series with the Aztecs 27-7-1, including five straight victories. The Cougars will arrive in San Diego on Dec. 16.

■ ALL-AMERICA HONORS - Junior linebacker Kyle Van Noy and senior punter Riley Stephenson were named second-team All-America by CBSSports.com. Van Noy, from Reno, leads the Cougars with 11 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Stephenson, from St. George, Utah, is ranked second nationally with 47.3 yards per punt.

■ MAXIMUM EXPOSURE - The Poinsettia Bowl will be televised on ESPN. It will be the 23rd time in 17 months that the Cougars have appeared on national television. Before leaving the Mountain West to become independent, the Cougars averaged two national TV appearances in each of their 10 seasons in the MWC.

■ DECK THE HALL - Former quarterback Ty Detmer was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this week in New York City. He joined six other former Cougars with the honor, including Steve Young, Jim McMahon and coach LaVell Edwards. Detmer threw for more than 15,000 yards and 121 touchdowns during his career. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1990.

■ HOOPS VS. UTES - The men's basketball team will host rival Utah (6-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday on BYUtv (Cable 352). Coach Dave Rose is 11-3 against the Utes. BYU (5-3) is still trying to reschedule its home game with Utah State. The Wednesday game was postponed after Aggies starter Denny Berger collapsed in practice. He remains hospitalized.

■ SWEET SIXTEEN - The women's volleyball team is in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. BYU (28-3) will face Oregon (27-4) today at Omaha, Neb. The winner will meet the winner of the Nebraska-Washington match in the region final Saturday.

Dave McCann is a news anchor for KSL television in Salt Lake City and play-by-play voice for BYU sports on BYUtv. He is also the host of True Blue, which airs Mondays at 5:30 p.m. on BYUtv. He can be reached at dmccann@ksl.com or on Twitter @DaveMcCannKSL.