For weeks, the Bruins fought to become bowl eligible, and on
Tuesday their postseason uncertainty came to an end. UCLA
solidified a bowl appearance yesterday as it accepted a bid to the
Emerald Bowl in San Francisco against Florida State on Dec. 27. The
bid ends weeks of speculation as to which bowl game, if any, the
6-5 Bruins would be playing in at season’s end.
“The Bruins bring great tradition and the nation’s
second-largest media market,” Emerald Bowl Executive Director
Gary Cavalli said in a press release. “To be able to match
UCLA against Florida State in the first year of our ACC v. Pac-10
matchup is a dream come true for our game.”
The bowl brings together two well known football programs
suffering through sub par years. While the Bruins are hovering just
above .500 with a showdown with No. 2 USC looming on Saturday, the
Seminoles, captained by the winningest coach in college football
history, Bobby Bowden, have also performed below expectations
carrying a 6-6 record.
While UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was happy to know that his team
will be playing beyond this Saturday, he was still keeping his
players focused on this week’s contest with the Trojans.
“We are fortunate enough to go to a bowl and that is
great,” Dorrell said. “But we will worry about that
when it is time to worry about that. We are focusing on this week
and getting ready for a great matchup.”
The Emerald Bowl showdown at San Francisco’s AT&T Park
will be the very first meeting between UCLA and Florida State.
Other Pac-10 teams that accepted bowl bids on Tuesday were
California (Holiday Bowl), Oregon State (Sun Bowl) and Oregon (Las
Vegas Bowl).
DAVIS AND HICKMAN READY: While defensive ends
senior Justin Hickman and redshirt junior Bruce Davis have proven
to be one of the nation’s most formidable duos on defense,
they will be going up against their toughest challenge on Saturday
against USC’s prolific offense.
“We will have to rise to the occasion,” said
Hickman, who was just named a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award,
which honors the nation’s top defensive end. “There are
as well rounded as a team could be. They have a big, strong,
physical and athletic offense line, the best quarterback in the
Pac-10 and probably the best core of receivers in the country, so
we are going to have to rise to the occasion and make some
plays.”
USC will present a big problem for the Bruins as they have been
averaging over 32 points a game and feature five offensive
All-Pac-10 first team members. Even with those daunting attributes,
the Bruins feel that they will be able to compete against the
high-octane Trojans.
“I feel very confident in our defense,” Davis said.
“We have been revamped a little bit (over the course of the
season) and we have our confidence and swagger back.”
MCGEE RETURNS TO PRACTICE: After leaving the
team for a short period, freshman Jeremy McGee returned to practice
on Tuesday and will play this weekend. “McGee was back and he
looked great,” Dorrell said. “The team did a nice job
rallying around him. … He is going to be part of the plan.
We’re getting him back in there and playing football
again.”
McGee had missed time, including the game against Arizona State,
due to a death in his family.