UCLA Football Bowl Projections: Week 14
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With the regular season over, the Bruins will now have to sit through conference championship week as they await where they will go for bowl season.
No. 18 UCLA football (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) was able to get back in the win column with a 35-28 victory against Cal in Berkeley on Friday, but the bowl options have narrowed following the Bruins’ sixth-place finish in the Pac-12. Two options have emerged above the rest as the most likely options heading into the weekend’s matchup announcements.
Here is where college football media has UCLA projected to play come bowl season.
ESPN
Sun Bowl, UCLA vs. NC State
El Paso, TX
Dec. 30, 11:00 a.m.
The Sun Bowl matches up the fifth-choice available team from the Pac-12 and an opponent from the ACC that finishes between the fourth and eighth place in the conference.
NC State is currently fifth in the ACC Atlantic division, holding at 4-4 during in-conference action alongside Syracuse and Louisville. The Wolfpack ended their regular season campaign with an overtime upset victory over their rivals, North Carolina, defeating the Tarheels by a score of 30-27.
UCLA and NC State could have bad blood from last year’s Holiday Bowl, despite the game not even being played. The Bruins and Wolfpack were due to face off, but hours before game time, UCLA had to drop out because of positive COVID-19 cases and additional exposures.
NC State traveled to Los Angeles twice in its program’s history but lost both games to UCLA in 1959 and 1960. A matchup between the teams would thus be be first in 70 years, thanks to last year's cancelation.
Pro Football Network
Las Vegas Bowl, UCLA vs. Kentucky
Las Vegas, NV
Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m
The Las Vegas Bowl matches up a team from the Pac-12 and – for the first time since 2000 – a program from the SEC.
Kentucky is currently 7-5 with a 3-5 record in conference play. The Wildcats ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP poll this season, but as the SEC slate rolled along, Kentucky failed to keep its place in the rankings following losses to Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
UCLA and Kentucky have never played each other in football, but the CBS Sports Classic in basketball has kept the programs playing in head-to-head matchups every few years. The Bruins also beat the Wildcats in the 1975 NCAA championship game, which turned out to be coach John Wooden's final contest with the program.
The Las Vegas Bowl could be a full-circle ending to Dorian Thomspon-Robinson’s career in blue and gold. The fifth-year quarterback is from Las Vegas and played high school football at Bishop Gorman (NV).
Yahoo
Las Vegas Bowl, UCLA vs. Arkansas
Las Vegas, NV
Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m
The Las Vegas Bowl matches up a team from the Pac-12 and – for the first time since 2000 – a program from the SEC.
Arkansas just snuck in as bowl-eligible for the 2022 postseason, ending their campaign with a 6-6 record and a fourth-place finish in the SEC West. The Razorbacks started the season with a three-game winning streak – including wins against Cincinnati and South Carolina – but they could not keep up the winning pace in SEC play.
UCLA and Arkansas have played each other twice, once in 1978 and again in 1988. The While the first matchup ended in a tie, the Bruins came out on top in the second.
The 1978 meeting came in the Fiesta Bowl, which ended in a 10-10 draw after the Bruins’ quarterback Steve Bukich ran the ball into the end zone for a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Coach Terry Donahue opted not to attempt a two-point conversion, though, keeping the score deadlocked with an extra point with a few minutes left on the clock. Time expired in regulation and Arkansas and UCLA held the Fiesta Bowl title together.
CBS Sports
Las Vegas Bowl, UCLA vs. Florida
Las Vegas, NV
Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m
The Las Vegas Bowl matches up a team from the Pac-12 and – for the first time since 2000 – a program from the SEC.
Similarly to Arkansas, Florida enters the postseason 6-6 having secured bowl eligibility with a Week 11 victory over South Carolina. However, the Gators ended the campaign on a low note, falling to Vanderbilt and Florida State to close out the regular season.
UCLA and Florida have played each other five times in their collective histories. The Bruins have taken three out of the five duels against the Gators, with the most recent showdown coming in 1987, when the blue and gold secured the victory in the Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Florida shares one common opponent with UCLA this season. In Week 1, the Gators beat preseason Pac-12 favorite Utah in Gainesville to jump out to a 1-0 record. Quarterback Anthony Richardson rushed for 106 yards and got into the end zone three times to help Florida overcome Utah at the last second and win 29-26.
The Bruins beat the Utes as well, but by a slightly healthier 42-32 margin.
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