Utah Football: Utah Utes will take on the BYU Cougars in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl

The No. 22 Utah Utes (9-3) will take on the BYU Cougars (9-3) in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday Dec. 19 at 12:30 p.m. PT (1:30 p.m. MT). The game will be televised on ABC. This is the second straight trip to the Las Vegas Bowl for the Utes, who defeated Colorado State 45-10 in the 2014 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl last season.

"After being nationally ranked since the second week of the season and finishing as co-champion of the Pac-12 South Division, we are looking forward to our ninth bowl game in the last 11 seasons. Las Vegas is a great destination for our fans and the bowl organizers work hard to make it a memorable experience for the players," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.

This will be the the 96th meeting between the Utes and Cougars, and the first in a bowl game. They last met at LaVell Edwards Stadium in 2013, with Utah winning 20-13. Utah has won four-straight against BYU and nine of the last 12 meetings. The two teams were scheduled to take a two year hiatus from playing before resuming the rivalry next year, but the meeting in the bowl game changes that. Utah and BYU are scheduled to play Thursday Sep. 10 at Rice-Eccles Stadium next year, the second game of the season for each team. Whittingham has an 8-1 record in bowl games.

"This has been our best season as members of the Pac-12 and we are pleased at the opportunity to play one more game. Through our past experience, we know that the people involved with the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl will provide a wonderful experience for our student-athletes, coaches and fans," said Director of Athletics Dr. Chris Hill.