UCLA limps as BYU soars

UCLA is back in the Las Vegas Bowl, which means its coach probably won’t be.

Like the Bruins’ trip here in 2002, when Bob Toledo was fired the day after the bowl announcement, Karl Dorrell might be making other plans when UCLA (6-6) kicks off against Mountain West Conference champion Brigham Young (10-2) on Dec. 22.

Dorrell still was the coach when the Bruins accepted the bowl bid Sunday, but he could be gone by as early as today. Southern California media reports said potential candidates have been contacted, and the Los Angeles Times reported Dorrell will be fired this week.

"Does it concern us? Absolutely," Las Vegas Bowl executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said. "But we have no control over that, and there’s nothing we can do."

Fortunately for her and the bowl, the game already is a sellout for the third consecutive year. The strong BYU fan base helped drive ticket sales for the No. 19 Cougars, who make their third successive appearance in this game.

BYU will try to avenge an early-season 27-17 loss at UCLA. The Cougars outgained UCLA 435 yards to 236 but committed three turnovers.

They improved as the season progressed, ending the regular season with a nine-game winning streak.

"After losing some very talented players and so much of the leadership from last year’s team, there were a lot of people who may have underestimated our program," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said in a statement. "Making our third trip to the Las Vegas Bowl — twice as conference champions — with a new group of players, a new group of leadership, I think is a testament to the kind of young men we have here.

"They deserve a tremendous amount of credit, and I couldn’t be more proud of them."

UCLA went in the opposite direction. A week after beating the Cougars to move to 2-0, the Bruins were lambasted 44-6 at Utah. Serious injuries put a damper on their season, including injuries to their top two quarterbacks, Ben Olson and Patrick Cowan.

The Bruins limped to the regular-season finish line with five losses in seven games, leading to speculation Dorrell’s fifth season at UCLA might be his last.

He released a statement the team was "extremely happy" to be in Las Vegas again but predictably did not touch on his job status.

It creates an uneasy but familiar situation for the bowl. The Bruins appeared disinterested in their two previous trips to Las Vegas.

In 2004, they lost 24-21 to Wyoming despite entering the game as 12-point favorites.

The 2002 game was marked by the firing of Toledo, who was replaced temporarily by administrator Ed Kezirian, known more for waving a towel on the sideline at UCLA games than an ability to diagram plays. He watched while the coordinators directed a 27-13 victory over New Mexico in the Christmas Day game.

UCLA spent the days leading up to the two previous appearances looking as if it wanted to be elsewhere. And after rising to as high as No. 11 this season, no doubt the Bruins had their sights set on a higher-tiered game and view this bowl as a letdown.

"It’s a fantastic bowl," UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero insisted to the Orange County Register. "Our kids have a great experience."

He might have something different to say this week about what coach will share that experience.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2914.