For a team that sounded somewhat perturbed about its rematch with UCLA as a reward for winning the Mountain West Conference championship, Brigham Young now is anxious to play the Bruins in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The Cougars (10-2) began practicing on Dec. 13, a full 12 days after their regular-season finale, for their second game this season against the Bruins (6-6).

Coach Bronco Mendenhall took his team through nearly two weeks of conditioning drills, expecting his players to be anxious to return to the practice field.

He also scaled back practice itself to keep his players mentally and physically prepared.

"There definitely is some rust we need to shake off," quarterback Max Hall told the Deseret Morning News. "I was sick of (the conditioning); a lot of guys were. We were anxious to get out there and run around here. We're anxious to be practicing."

Mendenhall, too, is anxious to get back to work after his name was linked to the head coaching vacancy at UCLA. The Bruins fired Karl Dorrell a week after their season ended.

In a statement released before BYU's first practice, Mendenhall denied interest in the job.

He does face a deja vu of sorts in facing a UCLA team that fired its head coach in the weeks leading to a bowl game -- the Las Vegas Bowl, in fact.

In 2002, Mendenhall was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico when the Bruins fired then-coach Bob Toledo. UCLA beat UNM 27-13, so he knows the Bruins still can be dangerous.

At least the Cougars will have the vast majority of support in sold-out Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.

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