This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • To absolutely no one's surprise, BYU accepted on Saturday an invitation to play in the 2011 Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl.
Having been contracted months ago to play in the Dec. 30 bowl game if they became bowl eligible and were not selected by the Bowl Championship Series, the Cougars have long known they were destined for the bowl, which will be played at SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.
Kickoff is at 10 a.m. MST
The Cougars will play a school from Conference USA, but exactly which team is far from known with Houston, Tulsa and Southern Mississippi all having outstanding seasons. A lot depends on whether undefeated Houston receives a BCS berth.
"With the great year that Conference USA is having, the [bowl] should be a terrific matchup," said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. "BYU is excited to return to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to face a tough C-USA team."
Brant B. Ringler, executive director of the bowl, said BYU is a "great fit as it is a nationally recognized institution with an outstanding fanbase."
BYU has five Texans on its roster, including senior receiver McKay Jacobson, junior linebacker Brandon Ogletree and freshman receiver Ross Apo.
Honoring Pendleton
Linebacker Kyle Van Noy said last week that he has more respect for injured linebacker Jordan Pendleton than any other player on BYU's team. Van Noy displayed that respect Saturday night, wearing Pendleton's No. 1 jersey instead of his traditional No. 3.
"All I want to do is play for someone like that because I know he would die to be [out there]," Van Noy said last week. "I want to play for my teammates, because you never know when your last play is."
Briefly
Former BYU tight end Doug Jolley (1998-2001) carried the alumni flag onto the field at the start of the game. Braden Brown brought out the team flag and David Foote brought out the special teams flag. … BYU's 19 seniors were introduced individually before the game and received their Y blankets after the game.
Twitter: @drewjay