UCLA Football Gearing Up For Sun Bowl Showdown With Pittsburgh

Five years after taking over in Westwood, Chip Kelly has yet to don the headset for a bowl game.

The Bruins could have broken that streak in 2020, but the season was shortened due to the pandemic and all three of their winnable nonconference games were wiped off the slate. They accepted an invitation to the Holiday Bowl in 2021 following an 8-4 regular season, only for a COVID-19 outbreak in the locker room to force a cancelation just hours before the scheduled kickoff.

The long and winding road to the postseason has finally led No. 18 UCLA football (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) to El Paso, where it will face off against Pittsburgh (8-4, 5-3 ACC) in the Sun Bowl on Friday.

The regular season has been over for a full month, leaving plenty of time to speculate between then and the much-anticipated kickoff in West Texas. Several questions have popped up regarding the status of defensive coordinator Bill McGovern, who missed the last five games with health issues, as well as a handful of outbound NFL prospects such as quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and potentially All-American running back Zach Charbonnet.

McGovern spoke to the media Tuesday, and he said that although it was torturous to watch the last few games from home without any control on the outcome, he's excited to be back on the field working hands-on with players again.

"I'm thrilled to be back and, honestly, one of the things that gave me the most energy was being back around the kids," McGovern said.

As for Thompson-Robinson, the quarterback has been out on the practice field at Bel Air High School, lining him up for his bowl debut at the end of his fifth year in the program. Thompson-Robinson spent 2022 breaking records and making highlight plays, and now he'll finally get to do the one thing he hasn't done since arriving in Westwood.

UCLA's star signal-caller isn't the only one who has yet to appear in a bowl game, though. Only four players remain from the Bruins' 2017 roster that went to the Cactus Bowl – defensive back Mo Osling III, linebacker Shea Pitts, defensive lineman Martin Andrus Jr. and center Sam Marrazzo.

Marrazzo and Pitts didn't play in that game, and while Andrus did, he is injured and won't play Friday. Osling is the only one who will play in both the 2017 Cactus Bowl and 2022 Sun Bowl, but even he has yet to actually win a bowl game.

Even if some players won't get to suit up for the game – such as the injured Andrus or the NFL Draft-bound receiver Kazmeir Allen – veteran right guard Jon Gaines II said he's just happy for the ones who will finally get to experience that level of competition.

"Everybody's gonna be ready to play, whoever goes out there on gameday will be," Gaines said. "But we're just excited to go out and have the opportunity to play another game."

With Thompson-Robinson, Gaines and others set to make their final appearances in blue and gold in their very first bowl game, Friday's contest may feel like a thematic culmination of sorts for this first wave of the Chip Kelly era in Westwood. There is an actual game that will be played down in El Paso, though, and it could be an interesting one to prepare for.

Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis entered the transfer portal and committed to BYU, and the Panthers have several other starters who are either injured or opting out.

As a result, UCLA's defense doesn't know for sure which quarterback they'll be facing, and they won't have much tape on the eventual starter regardless. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said redshirt senior Nick Patti is currently on track to start, but he also left the door open for redshirt freshman Nate Yarnell to get snaps as well.

"You just use the 12 games that they've played so far," Kelly said. "That's kinda how you go with it. You're not making things up and dreaming what you think they can do, it's based on what they've done in the past, just using the information that's available to you."

Patti and Yarnell have attempted just 32 passes between them all season, and none since September.

Regardless of who's dropping back to pass, 1,000-yard receiver Jared Wayne will likely be a big part of the offense. Running back Israel Abanikanda – who broke both the 1,500-yard and 20-touchdown marks from scrimmage this year – on the other hand, has opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft and won't be available. Also opting out for the NFL Draft are linebacker Sirvocea Dennis and defensive end Deslin Alexandre, while defensive lineman Calijah Kancey is injured and defensive end John Morgan is transferring.

UCLA will have playmakers of its own to surround Thompson-Robinson in Charbonnet in top wideout Jake Bobo. Cornerback Devin Kirkwood appears healthy enough to return on the other side of the ball and try to shut down Wayne, while a largely healthy front seven will be tasked with stuffing Abanikanda.

The Bruins' defense appeared to have finally turned a corner in the first half of the season, but it fell off when McGovern was forced to step away. With its defensive coordinator back in the booth, its star quarterback ready to go out with a bang and a large assortment of pro-level supporting cast members at its disposal, UCLA could wind up winning its first bowl game since 2014 come Friday.

A win in El Paso would get the Bruins to 10 wins for the first time since Kelly took over, and finally give the program and fanbase a taste of some much-needed postseason glory in the process.

The Sun Bowl will kick off at 11 a.m. PT on Friday, and the game will be televised on CBS.

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