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Here is a quick breakdown and preview of the essentials about the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl.
BOWL MATCHUP: San Diego St. Aztecs vs. BYU Cougars
WHEN: Thursday Dec. 20, 2012
WHERE: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
TV: ESPN & ESPN3D
WEB STREAMING: WatchESPN
RADIO: ESPN Radio, KSL Radio (BYU) and KGB 101.5 FM & AM 600/ESPN Radio (San Diego State)
CONFERENCES: BYU (Independent), San Diego State (Mountain West)
2012 SEASON RECORD: BYU (7-5), San Diego State (9-3)
COACHES: Bronco Mendenhall has been at BYU for eight years and has a record of 73-29, and won back-to-back conference titles in 2006-07 when they were in the Mountain West. Mendenhall has won 10 or more games five times.
Rocky Long is in his second season as San Diego State head coach, and in has a 17-8 record, including winning a share of the 2012 Mountain West title, his first as a head coach. Prior to San Diego State, Long previously was at New Mexico where he coached for 11 years, had a 65-68 record and took them to five bowl games.
SERIES RECORD: BYU leads 7-27-1.
LAST MEETING: 2010, BYU won 24-21. This game featured a replay official from BYU getting suspended for missing a call.
KEY PLAYERS: The best player for BYU is either wide receiver Cody Hoffman or linebacker Kyle Van Noy. Hoffman has a great season with 90 reception, 1,134 yards and 11 touchdowns; that is with a supbar quarterback in Riley Nelson slinging the rock around. If Hoffman had a legit quarterback he could have had an even more amazing year.
Van Noy is going to be a future NFL player. He has just 44 tackles but 18.5 of those were for a loss; Van Noy also has an interception and 11.5 sacks. He is in on nearly every play and is often double-teamed.
As for San Diego State their key player on offense is running back Adam Mueam who led the team in rushing with 1,355 yards and 16 touchdowns. Those yards were good enough to be fourth in the Mountain West, and the touchdowns for second.
The best defensive player is defensive back Leon McFadden, and he is a playmaker. He had three interceptions with two of them being returned for touchdowns. McFadden also broke up 10 passes and had 52 total tackles. Plus, he is a three-time selection to the first-team All-Mountain West squad.