The Fight Hunger Bowl Preview pits the Bruins of UCLA against the Fighting Illini, and SportsOptions.com offers up a brief look at the players, team stats and some unique trends.
(241) UCLA vs. (242) ILLINOIS (-2.5, 46) 3:30 PM – Fight Hunger Bowl – AT&T Park – San Francisco, CA
UCLA (6-7 SU/5-8 ATS) is in a bowl game despite their losing record. They were 6-6 in the regular season and lost to Oregon (49-31) in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship game. Head coach Rick Neuheisel was fired on November 27th after four seasons at UCLA, but still coached in the Pac-12 title game against Oregon on Dec. 2nd. The Bruins only got to play in that game because USC is on probation and ineligible for a bowl this season. Interim coach Mike Johnson takes over for Neuheisel for this game only. UCLA’s loss to Oregon dropped the Bruins below .500, making them the first program to earn a bowl berth with a losing record since North Texas in 2001. UCLA ranked third in the Pac-12 in rushing (190.7 yards per game) and was one of only two schools in the conference to have two players run for at least 600 yards. Junior Johnathan Franklin had a team-high 947 yards with five rushing touchdowns, while Derrick Coleman had 726 rushing yards and a team-high 11 TDs. QB Kevin Prince had moderate success passing, throwing for 1,627 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Nelson Rosario finished the regular season with 61 catches for 1,106 yards, sixth-most in the Pac-12, for an average of 18.1 yards, ninth-best in the nation. The Bruins struggled all year on defense, as thyey gave up 424 ypg (# 91) and 32.3 ppg (# 96).
Illinois (6-6 SU/5-7 ATS) started out 6-0 and was ranked in the national polls in mid-October, but they haven’t won a game since. Head coach Ron Zook has been fired and Vic Koenning will coach the bowl game. The Fighting Illini became the first FBS team in history to close the regular season with six straight losses after opening with six consecutive wins. Despite ending the regular season on a six-game losing streak, the Illini, who reached as high as No. 16 in the Top 25, earned back-to-back bowl berths for the first time since 1991-92. That wasn’t enough to save Zook’s job, however, as he was fired after seven seasons at Illinois on Nov. 26, one day after a 27-7 loss to Minnesota in the regular-season finale. Tim Beckman was hired from Toledo to take over the program. Despite being in the midst of an embarrassing skid, the Illini still finished the regular season ranked seventh in the FBS in total defense (291.8), fourth against the pass (159.1) and tied for 11th with 36 sacks. Much of this success stems from the play of All-American defensive end Whitney Mercilus, who had a nation-best 14½ sacks and led the Big Ten with 19½ tackles for loss. Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase averaged 122.2 passing yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions during the skid after averaging 206.3 yards with 10 TDs and three picks in the first six contests. The sophomore is playing behind an inferior offense line that allowed 35 sacks, tied for 12th-worst in the FBS.
UCLA is 5-12 ATS as an underdog and 6-15 ATS overall, while Illinois is 5-15 ATS in non-conference games and 6-15 ATS against losing teams. Illinois has all the negative momentum here as they closed out 0-6, while UCLA went 3-3 down the stretch. Good one to avoid….
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