Who: Baylor Bears (7-5) vs UCLA Bruins (9-4)
Where: Sunny San Diego
When: Thursday, December 27th, 9:45 PM EST
TV: ESPN
Line: UCLA by 3
Ross: Points, points, and more points! Baylor played one of the most jaw-dropping bowl games in recent memory last year with their crazy 67-56 win over Washington in the Alamo Bowl. Their defense hasn't gotten much better (38.2 ppg, 117th in the nation), but their offense hasn't skipped too many beats even without Robert Griffin III. Behind new QB Nick Florence and dynamite WR Terrance Williams (1764 yards, 12 TD), the Bears are still tearing up the scoreboard (44.1 ppg, 5th in the nation). UCLA's defense is a little bit sturdier (25.9 ppg, 55th in the nation), but it's not exactly brick-wall material. Behind QB Brett Hundley (3400 yards passing, 26 TD) and RB Johnathan Franklin (1700 yards rushing, 13 TD), the Bruins can put up some points, too, and they should have no trouble getting on track against the Baylor defense. I have a hunch their own defense isn't going to be able to slow down Baylor too much, so this should be one of the more explosive games of the bowl season. I do think the UCLA defense will be able to get a few more stops than Baylor, though, which will be the difference in the game.
Kevin: If you are looking for me to give you some analysis on this game…forget it. But, a guy I trust told me to take UCLA and as much as I dislike Jim L Mora as a human being…he's done a pretty damn good job this year with the Bruins. Give me the University of California, Los Angeles in this one. If you need another reason to take UCLA, Baylor gave up 45.3 points per game to teams with winning records this season.
UCLA 41 Baylor 35
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