But defensive end C.J. Ah You, from Utah, has noticed it hasn’t exactly been balmy.

“It has been a little cool,” he said. “But we’ll still have a lot of fun out here.”

Family tradition

Ah You comes from a football family. His father, Charles, played at Brigham Young in the 1970s and his uncle, Junior, was a standout at Arizona State.

It seems all three will have something in common besides genetics after OU faces Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. All three will have played in the game.

Junior Ah You was the Defensive Most Valuable Player when the Sun Devils beat Florida State 45-38 on Dec. 27, 1971.

Ah You’s father made his trip to the Valley of the Sun in 1974 when Oklahoma State topped BYU 16-6.

The defensive end said the coincidence wasn’t a big deal to his father, but his uncle takes things a little more seriously.

“He told me he got the MVP, so I better go out and have a good game,” Ah You said. “There’s a little more added pressure, but that’s fine.”

Fatherly advice

Latimer is the son of former Denver Broncos defensive lineman Don Latimer. The Sooner linebacker admits it hasn’t always been easy following in his father’s footsteps. They talk after every game and the conversation always involves more than a pat on the back.

“He always says, ‘That was a good job you did here — but,’” Zach said. “He always has a ‘but’ in there or something. He’s on me twenty-four-seven-three-sixty-five. Before I can even get dressed (after the game), I’ve got a message on my answering machine telling me what I did wrong in the game.

“He’s helping me because it helps me to see what things I need to do better come the following game. We’ve been watching film since flag football almost on the VHS downstairs.”