UCLA 26 - 49 Baylor (Final)

Nothing of interest happened in the second half, as the game was basically over at the break.  For that matter, the game appeared to be over at the kickoff, because UCLA seemed to have no interest in this game.  The Bruins' all-time record in UCFC competition falls to 37-21-7, and they still haven't won the title since 1993.

But let's give it up for Baylor!  The Bears were 4-5, and apparently going nowhere, when Kansas State came to Waco.  Baylor stunned Kansas State 52-24 to take the title, and have now defended the crown three times, beating Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and UCLA.  They finish the season 8-5, and get to take the Holiday Bowl trophy home with them.  They are also now 18-18-3 in UCFC competition.

We hope you've enjoyed another season of UCFC battles.  I certainly didn't think West Virginia and Baylor would hold the crown for most of the year, but that just shows that you should expect the unexpected.  Next season, the Baylor Bears -- our defending champion -- will open the season at home on September 7, 2013, when they will take on the University of Buffalo Bulls.  We plan to be there.

UCLA 10 - 35 Baylor (Halftime)

UCLA gets a last-second field goal from Ka'imi Fairbairn of Punahou H.S. in Honolulu, Hawaii (the President's alma mater!).  But this ends what has to be one of the most embarrassing halves of football UCLA has ever played in a bowl game.  This is the first time UCLA has ever played Baylor in football.  From what I've seen so far, the Bruins won't want to play Baylor again anytime soon.

UCLA 7 - 35 Baylor (1:58 left in 2d Quarter)

Well, it would appear that this page will be green and gold for a long time.  Baylor holds again.  Baylor  gets the ball close to mid-field.  Soon afterward, Lache Seastrunk of Temple H.S. in Temple, Tex. dashed 45 yards for Baylor's fifth touchdown of the half.

UCLA 7 - 28 Baylor (4:36 left in 2d Quarter)

Never mind.  Baylor takes the ball and goes straight down the field for another touchdown -- this one on a 26-yard run by Glasco Martin.  This game is actually not as close as the score would indicate.

UCLA 7 - 21 Baylor (6:21 left in 2d Quarter)

A huge sequence right there.  Baylor's defense had stopped UCLA again, and the Bears took over at their own 8 with a chance to really put the game away.  But they ended up fumbling the ball, and UCLA took over at the Baylor 21.  Two plays later, Brett Hundley of Chandler H.S. in Chandler, Ariz. threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Fauria of Notre Dame H.S. in Encino, Calif.  Suddenly, after looking absolutely hapless since the opening kickoff, the Bruins are back in the game.

UCLA 0 - 21 Baylor (11:08 left in 2d Quarter)

UCLA apparently never got over the disappointment of losing the Pac-12 championship, because they are simply not competitive in this game.  They haven't come very close to scoring, and they just gave up a 55-yard pass from Nick Florence to Tevin Reese of Temple H.S. in Temple, Tex.

I'm not surprised that Baylor is scoring so much -- that's what they do.  But I am surprised that UCLA has done so little on offense.

UCLA 0 - 14 Baylor (4:22 left in 1st Quarter)

Now Baylor is looking extremely comfortable.  They hold UCLA again, take over at their own 15, and go 85 yards with almost no difficulty.  The touchdown came on an 8-yard pass from Nick Florence of South Garland H.S. in Garland, Tex. to Antwan Goodley of Midland H.S. in Midland, Tex.  So far UCLA looks totally overmatched in this game.

UCLA 0 - 7 Baylor (8:01 left in 1st Quarter)

Well, this looks more like the Baylor we're used to seeing.  The Bears held UCLA, took over at midfield, and drove straight down the field for a touchdown.  Glasco Martin, of Stony Point H.S. in Round Rock, Tex., dashed in from four yards out for the score.

UCLA 0 - 0 Baylor (10:59 left in 1st Quarter)

Baylor took the opening kickoff and did not score.  That's a bad sign for the Bears.

UCLA 0 - 0 Baylor (15 minutes left in 1st Quarter)

And the final UCFC game of the year is under way!

Holiday Bowl: UCLA v. Baylor

Usually, by the end of the season, the team holding the UCFC is a conference champion.  In fact, the UCFC holder often plays for the national title.  But this year, Baylor had a record of 4-5 when it took the crown thanks to a stunning upset over Kansas State on November 17.  The Bears held on with hard-fought wins over Texas Tech (52-45) and Oklahoma State (41-34), meaning that they get to take the Big Gold Trophy out to San Diego for a Holiday Bowl match-up with UCLA.  As a result, 2013 will be the first year since 1996 with no UCFC game in January.

I have no idea who will win tonight.  Baylor lost five out of six games from late September to early November, but then won three in a row to finish off its season with a record of 7-5.  To some extent, the Bears simply had their luck even out -- a lot of their early losses could have been wins, and their last two wins could have been losses.  But their offense has been red-hot down the stretch, and they will expect to put a lot of points on the board.  As for UCLA, they are also hard to read.  First-year coach Jim Mora seemed to have things well in hand through 11 games -- the Bruins had a record of 9-2 and they beat USC 38-28.  But their season ended with back-to-back losses to Stanford (in the last game of the regular season and in the Pac-12 Championship).  On the other hand, the Holiday Bowl is right down the road from UCLA in San Diego, so the Bruins should have a good rooting section at tonight's game.

Putting it all together, Vegas has made UCLA a three-point favorite in a game where the over-under line is 82.  That would work out to something like a 42-39 Bruins victory, and that score does sound like the typical game we've seen from Baylor this year.

UCLA

On May 23, 1919 -- after years of fighting to overcome opposition from Northern California -- the people of Los Angeles were awarded a second campus in the University of California system, the first after Cal-Berkeley.  That fall, the University of California at Los Angeles played its first football season.  This makes the Bruins relatively young as college football programs go, but they have had a great amount of success in their history.  Their all-time record is 557-390-37, and they finished in the AP top 5 in 1946, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1965, 1966, 1975, 1982, and 1997.  Ever since the advent of color television, UCLA's powder-blue uniforms have been a glory of the sport.  Plus it is the alma mater of Jackie Robinson, who led UCLA in rushing as a senior before concentrating on baseball.  On the whole, it is a great and proud legacy.

UCLA has also played a huge role in the UCFC.  On September 29, 1939, the Bruins beat TCU 6-2 to end the Lone Star State's dominance of the UCFC and take the title to the Pacific Slope, where it stayed for the rest of the year.  Since then, the UCFC has spent a lot of time out on the Slope.  As a result, the Bruins have played in no less than 64 UCFC games.  The 1954 team, which came closer than any other UCLA team to winning the national title -- they finished 2d in the AP poll -- won the UCFC with a 41-0 victory over Oregon on November 6, and held it through the end of the season.  On January 1, 1976, the Bruins upset Ohio State 23-10 in the Rose Bowl, and held the title until they were beaten by USC on November 20th of that year.  On January 1, 1985, the Bruins won the title with a 39-37 victory over Miami of Florida in the Fiesta Bowl, and then kept the title for much of the 1985 season -- before losing again to USC at the end of the year.  UCLA last held the title in 1993, when they beat Washington on October 16 and defended the crown three times before losing to Arizona State 9-3.  Since then, they have had only three shots at the title, and lost all three.  Their last UCFC game was on December 3, 2005, when USC crushed them 66-19.  But now they will have another chance.