Bronco Mendenhall had his weekly press conference yesterday, and with UNLV on the schedule he was asked about future games with the Rebels:
"I would like to have a game with our Mountain West opponents hopefully on a yearly basis, as far as filling in our schedule. Whether they feel the same way, I am not certain. But I think that would be nice to be able to, if not on a yearly basis, at least continue some of those natural rivalries.
One of the things, as far as our future scheduling, is I am really working hard to make sure that we play in all different parts of the country where the LDS faith is gathered so there can be a connection between our team and the members of the church."
It makes sense on BYU's end to play in a place where there are a good amount of fans, and is a close drive from Provo, Utah for local fans to go to a road trip. It also might be a way to keep ties with the Las Vegas Bowl, because to date BYU has not publicly announced any bowl tie-ins. I think there might a short term agreement with the WAC bowls, but I could be wrong on that.
The real question is: Will UNLV want to play BYU since they are leaving the Mountain West? Who knows, but San Diego State, Wyoming and now Colorado State have expressed interest in not playing BYU in the near future. This would be a good business move for UNLV to guarantee a sell out when BYU comes to town, and the way the two current teams are playing UNLV might be in line for a win.