BYU football: Five reasons to be excited for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

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BOISE, ID – DECEMBER 22: Spuddy Buddy, the mascot of the Idaho Potato Commission cheers during second half action between the Colorado State Rams and the Idaho Vandals at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on December 22, 2016 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Idaho won the game 61-50. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /

Cougar Nation may not be ecstatic about the bowl game, but it could be a whole lot worse. Just look at last year. It’s time to be optimistic about the situation.

When the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl announced their match-up between BYU Football and Western Michigan, the news disappointed many Cougar fans. Hopes of playing in a warm climate against a prestigious opponent were replaced with the reality of playing a mid-level MAC team in the snow-covered hills of Boise.

Then realization sunk into the minds of Cougar Nation. BYU Football landed where it deserved. Too many and’s, if’s, and but’s contributed to what was an unavoidable bowl selection.

And though it may not be a sought after destination, there are a lot of positives for BYU’s bowl situation. Here are a few:

No. 1 – Forgetting the despair of last bowl season

Many college football fans consider bowl season the “most wonderful time of the year.” Regardless of the number games or how seemingly insignificant the bowl is, being left out is not where any program wants to be when the festivities begin.

Last December, BYU Football got a first hand look at what this is like. It wasn’t fun. In fact, I was so desperate to be involved in the bowl season as a writer, that I actually wrote an article about all of the Cougars’ 2018 bowl-bound opponents and their match-ups.

It was depressing not having a bowl to look forward to, or a BYU game to talk about when the “bigger games” were played. Knowing that your team is not participating makes watching the other bowls so much less satisfying.

Fortunately that’s not the case this time around.

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