UCLA (6-6) vs. BYU (10-2)
Dec. 22, 8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
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2007 Las Vegas Bowl
History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, & More
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
UCLA |
BYU |
|
Total Offense |
|
96th 335.08 ypg |
15th 457.58 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
34th 349.75 ypg |
10th 307.17 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
90th 22.92 ppg |
42nd 31.17 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
33rd 22.75 ppg |
13th 18.75 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
62nd 150.08 ypg |
58th 153.58 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
25th 115.42 ypg |
9th 92.08 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
99th 185 ypg |
13th 304 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
71st 234.33 ypg |
41st 215.08 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
83rd -0.33 |
92nd -0.50 |
|
UCLA
at Stanford
W 45-17
BYU
W 27-17
at Utah
L 44-6
Washington
W 44-31
at Oregon St W 40-14
Notre Dame
L 20-6
California
W 30-21
at Wash
State
L 27-7
at Arizona
L 34-27
Arizona St
L 24-20
Oregon
W 16-0
at USC L 24-7 |
BYU
Arizona W 20-7
at
UCLA L 27-17
at Tulsa
L 55-47
Air Force
W 31-6
at N Mex
W 31-24
at UNLV
W 24-14
E. Wash
W 42-7
Col St
W 35-16
TCU
W 27-22
at Wyom. W 35-10
Utah
W 17-10
at SDSU
W 48-27 |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
UCLA |
5
highest
1 lowest |
Y |
|
3.5 |
Quarterbacks |
3.5 |
|
3.5 |
RBs |
4 |
|
3 |
Receivers |
3.5 |
|
3 |
O
Line |
3.5 |
|
5 |
D
Line |
4 |
|
4 |
Linebackers |
3.5 |
|
4 |
Secondary |
3.5 |
|
4 |
Spec
Teams |
3 |
|
2 |
Coaching |
4 |
|
Had BYU played Hawaii’s
schedule, might the Cougars, not
the Warriors, be playing in the
Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day?
BYU isn’t exactly doing
cartwheels over a third straight
Las Vegas Bowl or another game
with a middling Pac-10 opponent,
particularly a rematch with a
6-6 UCLA team that fired its
coach earlier this month. The
Cougars started slowly, losing
to the Bruins and Tulsa in
September, before tearing off
nine wins in-a-row to snare a
second straight outright
Mountain West championship and
climb all the way to No. 17 in
the BCS standings. Today’s BYU
team is substantially better
than the one that got out of the
gate slowly, which is why many
around Provo believe the Cougars
are the best team outside the
six major conferences,
regardless of who’s playing
where in the postseason.
A little more than three months
ago, BYU QB Max Hall and RB
Harvey Unga had never started a
game at this level. Today,
they’re the All-Mountain West
first team quarterback and the
Mountain West Freshman of the
Year, respectively, shining
symbols of how far the program
has progressed since opening
day. Winners of 16 consecutive
league games under Bronco
Mendenhall, the Cougars are
inching closer to the glory days
when they were respected and
feared on a national level.
Beating a Pac-10 team, even a
feeble one, in the postseason
for the second straight year
would be another bold statement
for a school that feels it’s
gotten lost in Hawaii’s shadow
this fall.
Before the season began, UCLA
appeared to be teed up for a run
at 10 wins and a long-awaited
return to the Rose Bowl. And
then reality set in for a
program that’s underachieved and
lacked consistency since Karl
Dorrell was hired five years
ago. The low points of the 2007
rollercoaster ride have included
a 44-6 loss to Utah, a 20-6 loss
to Notre Dame, and a 27-7 loss
to Washington State before the
Bruins ran out of healthy
quarterbacks in November.
Although a fifth straight invite
to a second-rate bowl game will
pad the coiffures a bit, it
wasn’t enough to rescue Dorrell,
who was sacked a day after
losing to USC in the regular
season finale. Coaching the
team in Las Vegas will be
DeWayne Walker, the defensive
coordinator and a possible
candidate to replace Dorrell.
While its psyche may be battered from recent events, UCLA will be as
close to full strength as it’s been in months. At one point in
November, the Bruins were relegated to starting a walk-on behind
center, yet somehow remained mathematically alive for a Pac-10 title
on the final weekend of the regular season. Both starter and former
BYU recruit Ben Olson and backup Patrick Cowan played versus the
Trojans, and will be healthy for the bowl game. That’ll be huge for
a Bruin team that knows it has to move the ball in order to keep
pace with an opponent that leads the Mountain West in scoring.
Players to watch: DE Jan Jorgensen has been to the BYU
defense what Hall and Unga have been to the offense. An emerging
star in his sophomore year, he tops the league with 18 tackles for
loss and 11.5 sacks, but is also a rock in run defense. A
relentless worker on the field and in the film room, and a student
of the game, he presents an enormous challenge for a UCLA offensive
line that’s 103rd nationally in sacks allowed. On
offense, the Cougars have uncovered a versatile star in Unga, who’s
aided Hall’s development as John Beck successor by picking up the
tough yards on the ground, and catching short passes out of the
backfield. He’s rushed for 1,211 yards and 13 touchdowns, and
caught 41 passes for 629 yards and four touchdowns, getting more
productive as the season progressed.
Whether it’s Olson or Cowan in the huddle, the UCLA quarterback will
be looking to isolate WR Dominique Johnson, a budding
playmaker in the Bruin receiving corps that’ll present match up
problems for the BYU secondary. At 6-4 with long arms and a bounce
in his step, he’s a unique weapon that could blossom into a star in
2008. When Hall drops back to pass, he’ll want to know where No. 44
and No. 23, DE Bruce Davis and CB Trey Brown,
respectively, are at all times. While Davis has the speed off the
edge to blow up an offensive gameplan, Brown leads the country with
23 passes defended. When these two seniors are on, you can forget
about making plays downfield on UCLA.
UCLA will win if... Olson or Cowan can approach Hall’s
production through the air. It’s not going to be easy, but the
Bruins must regain the offensive balance that was lost when their
top two quarterbacks were on the shelf. You’re not going to beat
the Mountain West’s best defense with a one-dimensional attack, so
it’ll be up to the passing game to give LBs Bryan Kehl and Kelly
Poppinga, and the rest of the Cougar defense a reason not to stack
the line to stop RB Chris Markey.
BYU will win if...
Unga is permitted to run wild. The
Cougars can still chuck it with the best of them, but when there’s a
power running game in the mix, their offense becomes downright
unstoppable. If Unga is consistently getting to the second level,
it’ll open things up for Hall to play catch with TE Dennis Pitta and
top receiver Austin Collie. Although the Bruin secondary is
dominated by veterans, it allows 234 yards a game, and has been
prone to occasional breakdowns versus established passing teams.
What will happen:
Where are the Bruins’ heads these days? This is a senior-laden team
playing in a consolation bowl game without their head coach. BYU,
on the other hand, delights at the opportunity to beat any Pac-10
team when the entire nation is in attendance. The Cougars will roll
on the strength of a balanced offense and a defense that’s vastly
underrated.
Line: BYU -5.5 ... CFN Prediction: BYU 31 ... UCLA
19
2007 Las Vegas Bowl
History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, & More
