BYU vs. San Diego State - San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

BYU will travel south for the winter to play against San Diego State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 20 at Qualcomm Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Radio, KSL Radio 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and ksl.com

Visit the Poinsettia Bowl Central page for information on traveling to the game, tickets and more.

Fans should tune into the live Countdown to Kickoff pregame show at 4:00 p.m. PT on BYUtv and BYUtvsports.com. Also tune in to BYUtv and BYUtvsports.com for the live postgame show following conclusion of the game. Pregame radio coverage will begin at 3 p.m. PT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM and BYU Radio (SiriusXM channel 143).

BYU (7-5) vs. San Diego State (9-3, 7-1)
Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012
5 p.m. PT
Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, Calif.

Complete BYU vs. SDSU game notes

SERIES INFORMATION
This is 36th meeting between former conference foes BYU and San Diego State. The Cougars hold a 27-7-1 advantage over the Aztecs. BYU won the last meeting, a 24-21 thriller in Provo in 2010 and also won the last trip to San Diego 38-28. In the 35 previous matchups the Cougars have outscored the Aztecs by an average of 33.5-19.3. In 2005, Bronco Mendenhall’s first year, San Diego State won 31-10 in San Diego and since BYU has won five in a row against SDSU. Mendenhall is 5-1 vs. the Aztecs.

BOWL GAME STREAK
BYU is playing in its eighth consecutive bowl game, the longest streak since a string of 17 straight from 1978-94. The Cougars have the opportunity to extend their bowl win streak to four, building on their current school record of three. BYU has won five of its last six bowl games and this will mark its 31st bowl appearance. San Diego State is heading to a program-best third consecutive bowl game and eighth overall.

HEAD COACHES WITH A HISTORY
Head coach Bronco Mendenhall and SDSU head coach Rocky Long go way back. Mendenhall served as Long’s defensive coordinator when Long was head coach at New Mexico from 1998-2002. He also worked with Long at Oregon State in 1995 as a defensive line coach when Long was the Beavers’ defensive coordinator.

FAMILIAR WITH BOWLS IN SAN DIEGO
While this is the first Poinsettia Bowl for BYU, the Cougars have a rich bowl history in San Diego. BYU has played in 11 Holiday Bowls in San Diego, more than any other team. The Cougars won four of them and tied for another. Among the great BYU wins was the 1980 game, nicknamed the Miracle Bowl. Jim McMahon led the team from down 20 points with four minutes left in the game to win 46-45 over SMU.

STRENGTH VS. STRENGTH
San Diego State features the No. 16 rushing offense, pitted against BYU’s No. 2 rushing defense. The Aztecs average 229.2 yards per game while the Cougars allow just 84.3 yards per game. SDSU ranks No. 28 in scoring offense at 35.1 points per game while BYU yields just 14.7 points, No. 5 nationally.