Nov 12, 2016; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Tanner Mangum (12) runs the ball up the field against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds during the fourth quarter at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Brigham Young Cougars won the game 37 to 7. Photo Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Most college football players are winding down their season in mid-December, but Tanner Mangum is just starting his campaign.
The sophomore is back as Brigham Young’s starting quarterback after senior Taysom Hill was lost with a left elbow injury in the regular-season finale. Hill’s misfortune places Mangum squarely into the action when the Cougars face Wyoming in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN).
It was another injury to Hill that opened the door for Mangum to be a starter in 2015 and he was more than up to the task. Mangum passed for 3,337 yards and 23 touchdowns — both school records for a freshman — and developed cult status by throwing winning last-minute touchdown passes in both his first appearance (against Nebraska) and first start (Boise State).
Yet despite the solid campaign, Mangum found himself watching from the sidelines this season after Hill regained his starting job in a tightly contested competition.
“It was a test for me to keep that long-term perspective,” Mangum recently told reporters. “While you’re going through that, it can be tough to see that. It can be tough as a competitor wanting to compete. But you have to learn how to be a teammate and learn how to support your teammates and be there for them through the ups and the downs.”
Mangum tossed only 18 passes this season — completing 14 — so there is the matter of shaking off the rust.
He said he doesn’t foresee that to be an issue as the Cougars (8-4) have had ample time to prepare for the Cowboys (8-5).
“I feel good. I feel confident,” Mangum said. “It’ll also be good to have a couple weeks of practice to get all the reps, be able to sharpen up and get polished before the game. I’m feeling strong, confident and healthy.”
The Cougars are feeling good about themselves in general as they enter the contest with four straight victories and seven of their past eight games.
They will see a familiar sight in Wyoming, a program that was always in the same conference as the Cougars from 1922-2010 before BYU departed the Mountain West to become an independent.
It will be the 78th all-time meeting — BYU leads 44-30-3 — and the Cowboys are learning that their fan base would relish a victory over their former conference rivals.
“Obviously, we know it is a very good opponent,” senior center Chase Roullier said. “You can see that in film and through the record as well. You hear about the history between these two teams, whether it be teammates from Wyoming that seen it in the past or just things that you read.
“… We understand the importance of who this opponent is. But when it comes down to it, it is just another opponent for us that is in our way and we need to take them down.”
Wyoming is playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2011 and is a revitalized program under third-year coach Craig Bohl.
Sophomore quarterback Josh Allen passed for 2,996 yards and 26 touchdowns — he was intercepted 13 times — but the player who makes the offense go is junior running back Brian Hill.
Hill ranks fourth in the nation with 1,767 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns and could be playing in his final game for the school. He is considering applying for the NFL draft but won’t make a decision until after the bowl game.
“Anything that has to do with it, it gets pushed back to someone else,” Hill told reporters. “Agents contacting me, I sent them to my mom. I just don’t feel like it’s fair to focus on the future while I have business to take care of here right now.”
BYU has a solid running back of its own in senior Jamaal Williams, who rushed for 1,165 yards and 11 touchdowns. Williams rushed for 131 yards in the regular-season finale against Utah State after missing three of the previous four games with an ankle injury.
The Cougars’ defense is led by senior safety Kai Nacua, who has five interceptions this season and 13 in his career. Senior outside linebacker Sae Tautu posted a team-best six sacks.
Sophomore free safety Andrew Wingard heads the Cowboys’ defense and recorded a team-high 128 tackles.
