Originally bowl games could help justify BYU as a legit national player (Holiday Bowls, Vegas Bowls, etc). The opportunity to really prove that BYU belonged. Even last year gave BYU the opportunity to play a respected team and prove that their glossy record wasn't just a fluke.

More often recently, bowl games are more just one last opportunity for a bad loss (see Hawaii Bowl, Potato Bowl, etc). And after BYU has struggled to another .500 or so record it's hard to get very excited about Wyoming or W Michigan.