Bowl season is in full swing, and the Bruins will be one of the next teams to get in on the action when they face the Panthers in El Paso.
The Bruins’ five-year postseason drought will finally come to an end at the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Friday, giving the vast wave of seniors one last hurrah in blue and gold.
WHO: UCLA vs. Pittsburgh
DATE: Friday, Dec. 30
TIME: 11 a.m. PT
LOCATION: Sun Bowl, El Paso, TX
TV: CBS – Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analyst), Jenny Dell (sideline)
STREAMING: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
RADIO: AM 570, Sirius Ch. 133/197, SXM App 959 – Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Matt Stevens (analyst), Wayne Cook (sideline reporter)
NATIONAL RADIO: Bowl Season Radio – Brian Roth (play-by-play), Justin Fuente (analyst), Rachel Phillips (sideline)
SPREAD: UCLA -6 (-110), Pitt +6 (-118)*
MONEY LINE: UCLA -250, Pitt +170*
OVER/UNDER: O 53 (-118), U 53 (-110)*
UCLA ended the regular season at No. 18 in the AP Poll, the USA Today Coaches Poll and the College Football Playoff Rankings. Pitt, on the other hand, was in the receiving votes sections of the AP and Coaches Polls.
The Bruins enter Friday at 9-3, going undefeated in nonconference play before opening Pac-12 play 3-0 and eventually falling to Oregon in Eugene. UCLA seemingly bounced back with wins over Stanford and Arizona State, but then got upset by Arizona at home in Week 11 and lost to crosstown rival USC seven days later. They nearly closed the year on a three-game losing streak, but ultimately fended off Cal for a road win the day after Thanksgiving.
UCLA is averaging 39.6 points per game, which ranks No. 9 in the country, while allowing 28.3. The Bruins rank No. 6 in passing yards, No. 1 in rushing yards and No. 2 in total offense among Pac-12 teams this season. Their defense is allowing the second-most passing yards in the conference, but ranked No. 2 in rushing yards allowed under first-year defensive coordinator Bill McGovern, who missed the last five games with undisclosed health issues but will return Friday.
Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has thrown for 2,883 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions on 69.8% completion and a 156.6 passer rating so far in 2022. The fifth-year starter has also rushed for 631 yards and 11 touchdowns. Running back Zach Charbonnet has rushed for 1,359 yards and 14 touchdowns on 7.0 yards per carry to go along with 321 receiving yards on 33 catches, good enough to warrant several All-American honors and a nation-leading 168.0 scrimmage yards per game.
Duke transfer receiver Jake Bobo leads the way with 789 yards and seven touchdowns on 54 catches, but dynamic No. 2 receiver Kazmeir Allen opted out to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft and thus won’t be able to provide support. On the other side of the ball, edge rushers Laiatu Latu and Grayson Murphy have combined for 14.5 sacks and 20.0 tackles for loss.
Charbonnet and Latu made the All-Pac-12 First Team, while left guard Atonio Mafi and linebacker Darius Muasau made the Second Team. Thompson-Robinson, Bobo, right guard Jon Gaines II and safety Stephan Blaylock were honorable mentions.
The Panthers were an overtime loss against Tennessee away from going 4-0 in nonconference play, taking care of business against West Virginia, Western Michigan and Rhode Island in September. Pitt went 1-3 in October to kick off ACC play, featuring losses to Georgia Tech, Louisville and North Carolina. The Panthers pulled through once the calendar flipped to November, however, as they ended the year on a four-game winning streak with victories over Syracuse, Virginia, Duke and Miami (FL).
Pitt is averaging 30.8 points per game while allowing 23.4, both of which rank top-50 in the country. The Panthers rank No. 10 in passing yards, No. 4 in rushing yards and No. 7 in total offense among ACC teams this season. Their defense ranked No. 8 in the conference limiting the pass, but their 95.5 rushing yards allowed per game topped the ACC and helped them rank No. 2 in total defense.
Former USC quarterback Kedon Slovis was Pitt’s leading passer this season, but he has since transferred to BYU. That leaves longtime backup Nick Patti as the projected starter, and he has completed 9-of-20 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown this season. Without Slovis, the passing offense will still likely run through top receiver Jared Wayne – who recorded 1,012 yards and five touchdowns on 55 catches. Star running back Israel Abanikanda, on the other hand, has opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft after racking up 1,577 total yards and 21 total touchdowns this fall.
Linebacker Sirvocea Dennis led Pitt with 94 tackles and ranked second on the team with 12.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and two forced fumbles, but he too opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft. Defensive end Deslin Alexandre is also headed to the NFL Draft, while defensive end John Morgan entered the transfer portal.
Pitt had the second-most All-ACC honorees this year, but many are injured, transferring or headed to the pros. Although First Team guard Marcus Minor declared for the draft, he will play Friday, but defensive lineman Calijah Kancey is out with an injury ahead of his draft process.
UCLA has played Pitt 14 times, with the all-time series dating back to 1958. The schools played every year from 1958 to 1971, with the Bruins winning seven of the last eight, but they have never faced off on a neutral site.
This marks the Bruins’ fifth trip to the Sun Bowl, four of which have occurred since the turn of the century.
UCLA scrapped out a 6-3 win over Illinois in the 1993 Sun Bowl, marking eight consecutive bowl wins for the program. It took until 2000 for the team to return to El Paso, and they lost 21-20 to Wisconsin.
The Bruins rebounded when they made it back in 2003, beating Northwestern in a 50-38 shootout. The last time the program accepted an invitation to the Sun Bowl was 2013, and they capitalized with a 42-12 win over Virginia Tech.
A win Friday would get UCLA to 10 wins, a feat the program hasn’t achieved since 2014. The Bruins also haven’t played in a bowl game since the 2017 Cactus Bowl, and they haven’t won one since the 2014 Alamo Bowl.
*Odds via SI Sportsbook
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