Back to normal in Vegas

Now this is the Las Vegas we know and … well, that we know. Just got done attending BYU’s practice at Bishop Gorman High School — it’s the final one of the season; tomorrow there will only be a walk-through — and it was sunny and pretty warm.

Judging from practice, the players and coaches seem upbeat and motivated for this game. They want to get that bad taste out of their mouth after losing at Utah.

Austin Collie had an impressive one-handed grab on a route over the middle that caught the attention of those of us watching practice.

The Cougars had some service projects lined up for today, but those have fallen through in part because of yesterday’s snow storm. Many schools here are closed as students are taking a “snow day.” Funny thing is, the sun’s out, there’s hardly a cloud in the sky and the snow’s all melted.

The plan is to allow the players to rest during the day. Tonight, the players from both teams will attend the Outback Bowl at the Fremont Street experience for a big feast.

Someone asked coach Bronco Mendenhall if he was using BYU’s underdog role as motivation. He said he didn’t even know his team was the underdog until yesterday, when someone asked him about it. “Haven’t yet,” he said.