Sun Bowl at a glance: No. 17 UCLA vs. Virginia Tech

No. 17 UCLA (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) vs. Virginia Tech (8-4, 5-3 ACC)
Location:
Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas; Dec. 31, 11 a.m. PT
TV: CBS (Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, Tracy Wolfson)
Radio: AM 570 (Chris Roberts, Matt Stevens, Wayne Cook)

Last meeting: This is the first meeting between Virginia Tech and UCLA.

Key storylines: Only seven UCLA teams have ever won 10 games in a season, the last one being the 2005 squad helmed by Drew Olson. Jim Mora has the Bruins on the right path with a second straight nine-win campaign despite a tougher schedule, but getting that double-digit milestone would make a nice selling point for the program. Continue reading “Sun Bowl at a glance: No. 17 UCLA vs. Virginia Tech” »

By the numbers: UCLA a 7-point Sun Bowl favorite

No. 17 UCLA opened as a seven-point favorite over Virginia Tech in the 80th Hyundai Sun Bowl. We’re still three weeks out from the 11 a.m. PT New Year’s Eve kickoff, but here are some other (semi-)relevant numbers:

50 — Points scored by UCLA in its 2005 Sun Bowl appearance, which capped the program’s last 10-win season. The win over Northwestern marked the Bruins’ highest scoring output in any postseason appearance. It also set a Sun Bowl record, one broken two years later by Oregon’s 56-21 win over South Florida.

136 — Rushing yards that day by then-freshman Kahlil Bell, a breakout performance that saw him score two touchdowns and clear seven carries for the first time. Bell only ran for triple-digit yards four more times at UCLA.

42.99Cost of a Helen of Troy Professional Ceramic Hair Dryer. A similar model is included in the Sun Bowl’s gift package, which also contains a Majestic fleece pullover and gift suite. Continue reading “By the numbers: UCLA a 7-point Sun Bowl favorite” »