Modern-day critics of the glut of bowl games in college football have a point.
But equal or greater is the weight of players' memories.
At the end of 2012, BYU quarterback James Lark left Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego battered and hurt, but the smile on his face after BYU’s Poinsettia Bowl win over San Diego State was priceless.
Lark can relate to Tanner Mangum’s 2016 season in which he’ll get his first start of the year in San Diego when the Cougars play Wyoming in the Poinsettia Bowl.
It was a chance.
It was the end of the wait.
It was a great opportunity to shine or go down trying.
It is a page out of history,
Lark waited a lifetime to start and play eight quarters of college football in his final college season. He waited patiently in the wings behind Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps. After Nelson got injured at San Jose State, on Nov. 17, 2012, Lark finished the schedule with a record-setting 50-14 win over New Mexico State in Las Cruces on Nov. 24, throwing for 384 yards and 6 touchdowns. It was his first start.
Today, Lark is a national sales rep for a software company. He lives in Lehi with his wife, the former Rachel Hermann of Orem, and his sons Brady, 3, and Liam, 1.
“My situation is a little different than Tanner’s because I was a senior and had waited a very long time to play," Lark said. "Tanner got a full season a year ago, so he’s played. But for me, it was a time of great excitement. I was really pumped up to play in that bowl game and I’m sure Tanner feels the same now."
Similarities? Differences?
For most of his college career, Lark spent time learning Brandon Doman’s offense and knew it inside and out. Mangum has had most of the year to watch Taysom Hill and listen as Ty Detmer coached a new offense.
“I prepared like crazy, I wanted to make the most out of it,” said Lark. Mangum, with Hill’s help, is expected to also prepare hard when BYU’s practices for the Dec. 21 bowl begin on Thursday.
Lark absorbed the brunt of Rocky Long's San Diego State defense that had a month to prepare for him.
Mangum will face extended game prep to handle Detmer’s offense but the opponent's defense is from Wyoming's Craig Bohl, the MWC Coach of the Year.
The good news for the Cougs is there isn't much game film of Mangum playing in Detmer’s offense.
But back to Lark, who said Long’s defensive philosophy was to stop the run and hit the QB as often as possible. “When they saw that I wasn’t a big run threat, they came after me all game long and I took a lot of hits. Our o-line had a lot of injuries that year.”
As a result, Lark finished 23 of 42 for 224 yards and two interceptions and was sacked twice. He suffered a concussion and a sprained ankle. The next day his non-throwing hand was swollen twice its normal size from taking hits after passes.
“We couldn’t run the ball,” said Lark. “We averaged about one and a half yards a carry and our completions were for short gains.” Nelson even made a brief appearance for a 13-yard run but also threw an interception.
BYU and Lark won that game 23-6 because senior linebacker Kyle Van Noy scored two touchdowns, one off a fumble recovery and another off an interception return for a TD, both in the fourth quarter.
It was Lark’s final football game of his life. And he loved it.
“San Diego may be one of the best cities in the country to go to for a bowl game,” said Lark. “I absolutely loved it. The warm weather, the activities they had for the team, for families, for players and their wives, it was all a great experience.
“I’d been to bowl games in Las Vegas, the New Mexico Bowl and Armed Services Bowl. This was the best by far.”
Like every single former BYU quarterback who ever played, Lark is cornered by fans all the time. They hit him up for his opinion on Hill and Mangum.
“When you have two good quarterbacks, there’s going to be controversy and opinions,” said Lark.
Lark believes Detmer and head coach Kalani Sitake made the right decision starting Hill, a proven leader with experience, a guy they could make the cornerstone of the team and offense.
“Now,’ said Lark, “I think it’s an exciting time to see what Tanner can do. He’s proven he can make plays in different ways and I’d expect him to step up and do just that in Detmer’s offense.”
Lark believes the Mangum-led BYU offense will give fans something to enjoy at the end of the season and "if he does well, then it will give them plenty of excitement to think about during the offseason and it will build enthusiasm for the next season.”
Thursday, the countdown to San Diego begins.
The last Cougar QB to walk out of a bowl game with a win is watching.
Lark waited for what seemed like forever for his start in San Diego. Nobody will ever take that memory from him, no matter how many people complain there are just too many bowls these days.
For former players, the memories are just too good.