UCLA Football: Best Bowl Game Options for the Bruins
UCLA fell short of its goal to win the Pac-12 Conference championship, but the Bruins still have plenty to play for in the postseason.
A win in its bowl game gives UCLA back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since 1997 and 1998, but it also helps wash away some of the sour taste losing the regular-season finale to Stanford left the Bruins.
"They've accomplished a lot, [and] that's why it's so disappointing. All of that gets overshadowed when you go out and you play like this in a big game like this," head coach Jim Mora said.
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Closing the book on 2014 with an emphatic win won't give UCLA its shot at the conference title, but it does mean a more fitting end for a group that, as Mora said, has accomplished much together.
National University Holiday Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 27; 8 p.m. ET
Qualcomm Stadium; San Diego
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Qualcomm Stadium is a short jaunt from UCLA's Westwood, California, campus—less than two hours without traffic.
That, coupled with the sizable alumni base in San Diego, means the Holiday Bowl is a veritable home game for the Bruins.
Not that it matters too much, mind you. All three of the Bruins' losses this season came at home, and their last trip to San Diego ended in a 49-26 blowout loss to Baylor in the 2012 Holiday Bowl.
How much that outcome impacts the selection process this time is debatable, and probably negligible. The Holiday Bowl has second choice of Pac-12 teams after the College Football Playoff and New Year's Six bowls make their selections.
UCLA is the most likely pick should Pac-12 South champion Arizona be denied an invitation to either of the upper-echelon contests. CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm has the Bruins headed here.
Valero Alamo Bowl
Friday, Jan. 2; 6:45 p.m. ET
Alamodome; San Antonio
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
The Alamo Bowl gets the first crack at Pac-12 teams not participating in either the College Football Playoff or one of the New Year's Six bowls.
UCLA is most likely destined for San Antonio if Oregon beats Arizona in Friday's Pac-12 Championship Game to land in the playoff and the Wildcats are invited to one of the top-tier games.
That's the scenario many are projecting, including Phil Steele and SB Nation's Jason Kirk.
A bowl game in Texas has potentially far-reaching implications for UCLA's future. Mora and his staff have upped the ante on recruiting the Lone Star State, last year landing 4-star linebacker Zach Whitley and this year, pursuing 5-star linebacker Malik Jefferson.
The Bruins already planted their flag in Texas once this season, beating Charlie Strong's Longhorns in Arlington, 20-17.
VIZIO Fiesta Bowl
Thursday, Dec. 31; 4 p.m. ET
University of Phoenix Stadium; Glendale, Arizona
New Year's Six Invitation
While UCLA would need certain breaks to go its way, the team could still land in a New Year's Six bowl game. At least one projection—that of ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy—has the Bruins bound for the Fiesta Bowl.
UCLA's Fiesta Bowl hopes would get a big boost if Arizona is to lose Friday. That would be three losses for the Wildcats, which the Bruins beat head-to-head on Nov. 1.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports.com.
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