UCLA Football: Bruins are headed to the Cactus Bowl

The match ups are being set for bowl season. While there’s plenty of discussion to be had regarding the College Football Playoff and who should have gotten in we are here to find out who the UCLA Football Bruins will play in their bowl and which bowl location it will be. That information became official early Sunday afternoon.

It wasn’t an easy road to bowl eligibility for the UCLA Football team. They started out hot with two straight wins including a major comeback against the Texas A&M Aggies but stumbled against the runner up in the AAC Memphis. Things didn’t get much better with PAC-12 play as the Bruins continued their up and down trend.

The Bruins were able to win two of their last three games to become bowl eligible however the uncertainty of their landing spot was the perfect accompaniment to an ending of the regular season that was shrouded in uncertainty. However just as the coaching situation eventually settled itself so too has the bowl situation.

UCLA will face the Kansas State Wildcats on December 26 in the Cactus Bowl in Phoenix. In a rematch from the 2014-2015 bowl season that saw the Bruins knock off the Wildcats despite a furious comeback, UCLA hopes to not only send it’s senior class and any early departing juniors, (cough, cough) out on a high note but also carry in plenty of momentum into the Chip Kelly era.

Kansas State enters this game 7-5 overall and 5-4 in Big 12 play but like the Bruins have faced an up and down season. Starting QB Jesse Ertz was able to lead the Wildcats to two season opening wins but those came against Central Arkansas and Charlotte respectively. Then came an ugly loss to SEC bottom feeder Vanderbilt who at one point in 2017 had five straight losses. A win over 1-11 Baylor was followed up with losses to Texas, TCU and Oklahoma. Football games weren’t the only thing lost in that stretch. The Wildcats also eventually lost Ertz to a knee injury that had bothered him since the Baylor game.

With the KSU offense predominantly keeping things on the ground and using their QBs as runners you have to be prepared for your signal callers to get banged up. That’s why backup Alex Delton eventually gave way to Skylar Thompson at the QB position. Delton was knocked out of both the Kansas and the Texas Tech games. Thompson came in and saved the Wildcats in both of those games and kept the job even when Ertz was able to return.

In typical Bill Snyder fashion this team offensively wants to grind out games and wear down defenses with an option game on the ground that forces you to load the box against them and then hit you with shots over the top. While Thompson has demonstrated a strong arm this season and has been the Wildcats’ most efficient and accurate QB, this isn’t the type of team that’s going to survive many shootouts or comebacks situations.

Defensively this is a smothering defense that is going to make you earn every yard on the ground but can be attacked through the air. In the wide open passing attacks of the Big-12 it’s no wonder KSU was up and down in the win column and will face a deadly passing attack against UCLA should the offense have the same starting group as the Cal game.

One of the storylines of this game will be how does this UCLA Football team play with the questions surrounding interim head coach Jedd Fisch. Yes the Bruins were able to take care of business against the Cal Golden Bears to earn bowl eligibility but what is his status heading into this game? Will he be retained as OC? Is he auditioning for another OC job? Another major question is will Tom Bradley call this defense now that Jerry Azzinaro has reportedly been tabbed as as the new defensive coordinator.

Considering where this season looked like it was heading following UCLA Football losses to Washington and Utah this bowl appeared unattainable. While realistically this bowl game won’t give the Bruins extra ammunition in the recruiting department as KSU is a smaller market team with, although a legend in his own right, an aging coach who is in the twilight of his career, this is still an opportunity for UCLA to begin the Kelly era on a very high note.

It’s also a huge opportunity for UCLA QB Josh Rosen to potentially show one scouts one last time what he can do in the NFL. Rosen has declared he would play in a bowl game if the Bruins were to become eligible. However after being forced from the Cal game after sustaining a big hit just three weeks removed from a concussion he suffered against Washington there are serious questions about if he should even play.

Next: Report: Chip Kelly hires Don Pellum as UCLA Football LB coach

In what might a final game for certain players and staff members, does the UCLA Football team come out and play inspired for a former coach that received an outpouring of emotion following his firing or will this be another game the Bruins fail to get up for? Remember the last time these two teams met KSU fell just short of a major comeback for the win. Will they be able to finish the job this time? Make sure to stay tuned to Go Joe Bruin as we dive deeper into KSU before Dec. 26 and provide you with all you need to know about the Wildcats.