SMQB: A Look at UCLA's Bowl Possibilities

UCLA won't find out which bowl they will play in until next Sunday.

Joe Piechowski

Nov 27, 2022

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UCLA receiver Jake Bobo beats a UC Berkeley defender for a touchdown (Photo Credit: Shayne Smith/uclabruins.com)

With UCLA’s win over UC Berkeley on Friday, the Bruins have finished the 2022 regular season with nine wins for the first time since 2014. The similarities don’t end there.

This morning, the final regular season polls came out and the Bruins finished in the Top 25 for the first time since 2014 as well. In 2014, they were ranked 14th in the AP Poll after the conclusion of the regular season. This year, they are ranked 17th in both polls.

That season was also the last time the Bruins won a bowl game, beating Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl, 40-35.

Let’s look at today’s Top 25 Polls.

**Others receiving votes: AP Poll -** Troy 80, North Carolina State 62, Cincinnati 43, Boise State 39, Purdue 24, Ole Miss 22, South Alabama 12, Illinois 10, Coastal Carolina 6, Pittsburgh 5, James Madison 4, Fresno State 4, Ohio 2, Minnesota 1. **Coaches Poll -** Mississippi 83; Troy 58; NC State 58; Cincinnati 49; Boise State 37; Purdue 36; Pittsburgh 36; Coastal Carolina 26; Air Force 19; South Alabama 15; Illinois 10; Minnesota 7; Duke 7; Iowa 6; James Madison 2; Fresno State 2; Wake Forest 1.

Who the Bruins will play along with which bowl game they will play in remain to be seen. This year, it looks like the most likely options will be either the Las Vegas Bowl, the Sun Bowl or the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium.

The Bruins’ bowl invitation will be dependent on several different factors.

First, if Southern Cal wins the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday, they will likely be in this year’s College Football Playoff. (Don’t get me started on how UCLA is likely 11 points out of the CFP this year.) If the Trojans are selected, the Rose Bowl will pick a replacement from Utah, Washington and Oregon. One of the two teams not selected by the Rose Bowl will likely head to the Alamo Bowl and the third will probably be chosen for the Holiday Bowl. That said, since only one game separates UCLA and Oregon State from Utah, Washington and Oregon, the Alamo Bowl and the Holiday Bowl could certainly choose to have the Bruins or the Beavers play in their game, though the Holiday Bowl is probably UCLA’s least likely landing spot after last year’s game was cancelled.

More than likely, it would mean that the Las Vegas Bowl will choose between the Bruins and Oregon State. UCLA is a potentially attractive choice for the Las Vegas Bowl because of Bruin quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson who played his high school ball at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.

Under this scenario, the worst case scenario for UCLA would be the Sun Bowl if they weren’t selected for the Las Vegas Bowl.

Washington State would then land in the LA Bowl.

The Bruin bowl picture looks a little murkier if Utah beats the Trojans on Friday night. If the Utes win, they will head to the Rose Bowl and knock the Trojans out of the CFP picture. That could drop the Trojans to the Alamo Bowl, although they could still get an invite to the Cotton Bowl as a New Year’s Six team. Assuming the Trojans lose to Utah again and fall to the Alamo Bowl. The Holiday Bowl would choose next.

Let’s assume for a moment that, under this scenario, Oregon goes to the Holiday Bowl and the Las Vegas Bowl chooses Washington. The Sun Bowl would be next and would choose from the Bruins and the Beavers.

That brings us to the worst case scenario. If UCLA isn’t chosen by the Sun Bowl, the LA Bowl will have to take the Bruins because the only other choice would be Washington State, but that wouldn’t be an option because both the Bruins and Beavers finished more than one game ahead of the Cougs.

Of course, the LA Bowl would give UCLA a chance to see just how bad tailgating at SoFi can be compared to how things are at the Rose Bowl.

Or not.

The attendance at last year’s LA Bowl game was just 29,896 fans who saw the Beavers lose to Utah State. Given the Bruins’ home attendance woes, would an LA Bowl berth draw even fewer fans than UCLA’s non-conference slate did? It’s certainly possible.

Washington State would then land in either the Armed Forces Bowl, the First Responder Bowl or the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa.

Finally today, let’s take a quick look at the postgame interviews from after Friday’s game against UC Berkeley.

First, there’s Chip Kelly. In addition to discussing the game, he also explained a little about the schedule for the next week and how the team will address COVID concerns surrounding the team’s bowl game. Thanks to Mike Regalado from Bruin Report Online for Chip Kelly’s interview.

After Chip spoke, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kain Medrano addressed the media. DTR did mention that he would like to have the opportunity to go back and play in front of his hometown if the team plays in the Las Vegas Bowl. Thanks again to Mike Regalado from Bruin Report Online for the video of the player interviews.

UCLA will take the week off and begin bowl preparations on Friday. The team will find out on Sunday exactly what bowl game they will in and who their opponent will be.

Go Bruins!!!

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