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San Diego

There allegedly were various points of interest in Wednesday night's Poinsettia Bowl, a game that, on a large scale, had no deep meaning for either participant. It was a postseason bowl and all, thrown into the mix of 39 others, and BYU and Wyoming each had reasons to want to win, but … there was no great prize here, either way.

And, plainly put, the teams, at times, played like it.

Some observers dialed in on the heated rivalry of the past among these programs, Wyoming fans chucking urine bombs at BYU players and such back in the day. But that was a bit of a stretch since these schools hadn't played since 2010.

The main story for BYU centered on its quarterback, Tanner Mangum, and whether the sophomore could come out of cold storage — having been put there for the entire season, forced to acquiesce to the now injured Taysom Hill — to give the Cougars an offensive lift heading into next season.

That didn't happen.

Mangum completed just eight of 15 passes for 96 yards in his first start since 2015, a start that turned into a 24-21 win for BYU. A Kai Nacua interception at the end saved the victory for the Cougars.

Even as much of the offensive work here at Qualcomm Stadium was done by senior running back Jamaal Williams, who everybody already knew was great, rushing for 210 yards in his final college game, including a 36-yard TD scamper, folks were looking for proof — or reassurance — that Mangum would spark Ty Detmer's attack — proof that was almost nonexistent early and only briefly existent later.

That aforementioned fan base, much of which wanted to see Mangum get more playing time over the past few months, rather than getting almost none, not until Hill was hurt in the regular-season finale, and its complaints weren't justified here.

That was too tall an order, considering how idle Mangum had been.

Hill was kind of OK this past season, showing his toughness and his prowess running the football, but his passing was skittish, sometimes impressive, usually something south of that. Meanwhile, Mangum, who showed such promise, even as he shook the rust off an LDS mission, during the regular season last year, this time around did nothing, basically matching his opportunity. He said all the right things — good soldier things — after his DNPs, supporting Taysom, dutifully waiting his turn.

His turn finally came Wednesday night, and that turn seemed a little like drinking flat caffeine-free Diet Coke.

The quarterback's first series of the game went like this — a four-year completion, a short Williams run, a miss on a deep ball from near midfield. Punt. His second ended on a Williams fumble. The third, from the BYU 43: incompletion, four-yard completion, and a drop. Punt. Fourth, from the BYU 32: Williams nine-yard rush, a few more Williams runs, with a Squally Canada carry. Punt.

So it went.

A Wyoming team that gave up 52 points to Nebraska, 69 points to UNLV, and 56 points to New Mexico, repeatedly stoned the Cougars' offense. Or was it the Cougars' offense doing the stoning? It didn't matter, in the short run. Looking ahead to next season, it did.

Late in the first quarter, BYU scored after Wyoming's punter let a snap slip through his hands, landing at the Cowboys' three-yard line, from where Mangum subsequently dove into the end zone for a 7-zip gift of a lead.

In the second quarter, as the rain poured out of the San Diego sky, Mangum never warmed up. A wasted season for him looked like … a season of regression. He threw an interception — an inexplicable bloop-ball — that Wyoming couldn't do anything with. A BYU field goal punctuated a series of Williams runs before the half.

When Wyoming scored in the third, Mangum came alive, driving the Cougars 73 yards, completing multiple balls, for a touchdown, a pass that ricocheted into tight end Tanner Balderree's hands. Later, Williams long TD run made it 24-7.

From there, the Cougars' defense hung on, barely, as Wyoming mounted a comeback. Still, BYU found just enough within itself to win. It gave the ball to Williams, but it found only bits of hope at quarterback — rusty as it is — for whatever comes next — in 2017. It will have to be better than it was in 2016.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on the Zone Sports Network, 97.5 FM and 1280 AM. Twitter: @GordonMonson.