The set-up: Bronco Mendenhall left for Virginia but BYU went 8-4 under Kalani Sitake in his first-ever year as a head coach. He played fullback at BYU in the late 90s and became the first Tongan to become a collegiate football head coach. BYU will meet an old Mountain West Conference rival in Wyoming on Dec. 21 at the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, as the Cowboys enter 8-5 after a 27-24 loss in the MWC championship game to San Diego State.

BYU: The Cougars opened 2-3 in 2016 with not a single one of their first five games being decided by more than three points. BYU then went 6-1 over its final seven games (5-2 ATS). QB Taysom Hill when down in the last game with a season-ending injury for the fourth time in five years, so the Cougars will turn to sophomore Tanner Mangum. However, the good news is, he's an experienced backup. Mangum completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 3,377 yards with 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a freshman while replacing Hill, who missed all but the first half of last season's opener with a fractured foot. Mangum saw action in the last three games, completing 14-of-18 pass for 145 yards and two touchdowns, and appears to be less of a running threat than Hill (603 yards, eight TDs this season). One of CFB's great storylines this year was BYU senior RB Jamaal Williams, who rushed for 1,165 and 11 TDs despite missing three of the last five games with an ankle injury. Williams rushed for 618 yards and nine scores in a three-game stretch versus West Virginia, Toledo and Michigan State this season, including a school-record five TDs and a career-high 286 yards against Toledo. BYU comes in averaging 30.0 PPG (61st) but the BYU defense has led the way in 2016, allowing 19.4 PPG (15th) on 364.3 YPG (33rd).

Wyoming: Head coach Craig Bohl made a name for himself by coaching North Dakota State to three consecutive FCS titles from 2011-13 before taking on the challenge of bringing the Cowboys back to respectability. Bohl was 6-18 in his first two seasons before nearly leading Wyoming to an MWC championship, losing to San Diego State 27-24 in the conference title game Dec. 3. Bohl was named MWC Coach of the Year on Nov. 30 and the Cowboys didn't waste much time extending his contract through 2023 on Dec. 2, with athletic director Tom Burman explaining in a release: "When I hired Craig three years ago, I believed he was the best coach to turn around our football program. He has certainly delivered and the turnaround is evident in the performance of our team this season." Sophomore QB Josh Allen (2,996 yards, 26 TD passes / 13 INTs) leads an offense which relies heavily on RB Brian Hill, who ran for 1,767 yards on 5.5 YPC with 21 TDs. Wyoming averages 37.1 PPG (22nd) and it needs to score, as the defense allows 34.8 YPG (105th) on 464.0 YPG (112th).

The pick: BYU is appearing in its 12th straight bowl but hasn't won one since a 23-6 victory over San Diego State in the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl. Let's also note that only one of the Cougars' eight victories came against a winning FBS team (9-3 Toledo), while the four-game winning streak they ride saw them outscore clubs with a combined 15-32 record 136-29, including 37-7 over FCS member Southern Utah (6-5). There is a fear that Wyoming may be somewhat drained after a tough finish. It began with a draining triple overtime loss at UNLV, then the first go-round vs. the Aztecs that went to the final play, and before the San Diego State rematch in the MWC championship game, there was an ugly 56-35 loss at New Mexico. The other side of that coin is that Wyoming has been tested and played well in that stretch, while BYU ended its season with three home games vs. Southern Utah, UMass and Utah St. Remember, BYU has played a ton of close games this season (six decided by three points or less and a seventh in OT) and this is a lot of points. Make Wyoming an 8* play