Las Vegas Bowl, Boise State Vs. Utah: Two Teams Dumped In The Desert

The 2010 Las Vegas Bowl's proper name is actually the "Maaco Bowl Las Vegas," an important distinction serving to differentiate it from such other storied football contests as the Maaco Bowl London, Maaco Bowl Paris, and Maaco Bowl Dubai. Pixelly gaming enthusiasts will remember this as a successor to the short-lived Sega Sports Las Vegas Bowl, which at least had "sports" in the title. The game will be played in Sam Boyd Stadium, home of UNLV football.

Usually featuring combatants from the Mountain West and Pac-10, this year Vegas snags a plum WAC prize in the 11-1 Boise State Broncos to face the 10-2 Utah Utes out of the MWC. This will be the Utes' third appearance in this bowl; Boise State has never been afforded the honor before now.

If you're a fan of the game at all, you've already been well-exposed to the Broncos' trajectory. Gunning for yet another undefeated season and a shot at the BCS title game, the boys on blue instead fell in overtime to Nevada the day after Thanksgiving. Season highlights included an opening-week, prime-time win over then-No. 10 Virginia Tech, a 37-24 surmounting of then-No. 24 Oregon State, and a top-ten BCS ranking to close out the regular season.

Thought by many (most particularly themselves) to be a solid third member of the mid-majors triumvirate cruising for BCS berths, the Utes reeled off eight uninterrupted wins this season before performing two very embarrassing faceplants. One was marginally understandable (a 47-7 loss to a TCU team that's now headed to the Rose Bowl); one was very much not (a listless 28-3 loss to Notre Dame a week later). Despite being a mid-major with two very high-profile losses, the Utes somehow finished the season ranked 19th in the regular-season BCS standings.

The 2010 Las Vegas Bowl kicks off at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, December 22. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream right up through game time, as we review key unit matchups, odds, bowl history and more, and connect with Boise State and Utah fans at SB Nation's OBNUG and Block U. For a complete list of 2010 bowl games, browse our college football postseason schedule.