The NCAA approved the UCLA football team’s request for a bowl waiver on Wednesday.
Under NCAA rules, a team with a losing record is not eligible to go to a bowl game. The waiver would make the Bruins bowl-eligible even if they lose to the No. 8 Oregon Ducks on Friday in the innagural Pac-12 Championship game and fall to 6-7.
“As a program, we appreciate the NCAA approving our petition for a bowl waiver,” Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said in a statement. “We will be able to give our 18 seniors one more chance to represent their university and end their collegiate careers on a high note, regardless of the outcome of this Friday’s Pac-12 Championship Game. We’d like to thank the NCAA for considering the unique situation in which we find ourselves this year and rewarding us with this opportunity.”
UCLA would not find itself in this unique situation if USC were eligible for postseason play. The No. 9 Trojans have the best record in the Pac-12 South Division and would be playing in Friday’s title game if they weren’t in the second year of a two-year, NCAA-mandated postseason ban, a term of the sanctions the NCAA levied on USC for a lack of institutional control.
The waiver, which Guerrero announced he was had filed on Monday along with the firing of coach Rick Neuheisel, prevents UCLA from falling into the nightmare scenario of winning the Pac-12 South Division and not going to a bowl game.
No matter the outcome of Friday’s game, Neuheisel will not coach the Bruins in a bowl game. Offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Mike Johnson will take over on an interim basis. Johnson’s said his singular focus is on beating Oregon, not leading UCLA in a bowl game.
“It’s something that I’ll deal with when the time comes, but right now my focus is getting this game plan ready for the Ducks,” Johnson said.
A win in Friday’s championship game means an automatic ticket to the Rose Bowl. A loss makes the Bruins’ bowl prospects unclear. The Pac-12 has seven bowl tie-ins and seven bowl-eligible teams. Bowl prognosticators seem to think the 30-point favorite Ducks will go to the Rose Bowl while No. 4 Stanford will receive an at-large BCS selection.
If that’s the case, the Bruins’ most likely bowl destination looks like the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, which has the sixth selection of Pac-12 teams and is played on Dec. 31. MAACO Bowl Las Vegas ““ played on Dec. 22 ““ could also take UCLA but would have to pass on 6-6 Arizona State to do so.
While those are the most likely scenarios, anything could happen. One thing is for sure: The team wants to play in a bowl game even if it doesn’t have a winning record or a head coach. Bowl pairings will be announced on Sunday.
“You only get a certain amount of time in college football,” redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Prince said. “Anytime you get an opportunity to play in a bowl game and partake in that experience, it’s a lot of fun.”