Cal’s fall from BCS status sends UCLA to Las Vegas

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Dec. 6, 2004 | 9:01 a.m.

The bad news for California and the Pac-10 Conference that Texas had passed the Golden Bears in the final Bowl Championship Series standings at least made someone happy.

"Can you believe it?" Las Vegas Bowl executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said after learning her Dec. 23 bowl game will get a Pac-10 representative after all.

UCLA (6-5), which took No. 1 USC to the wire on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl before losing, 29-24, will make its second appearance in three years in the Las Vegas Bowl and will face Mountain West Conference representative Wyoming (6-5) in the game that will be nationally televised by ESPN starting at 6:45 p.m. The Bruins knocked off New Mexico, 27-13, in 2002.

"I'm really happy to get a Pac-10 team," said Kunzer-Murphy, who had Syracuse of the Big East Conference lined up just in case the Pac-10 couldn't fulfill its obligation. "It's great for TV. Our title sponsor (Southern California-based Pioneer Electronics) has to be very happy. A lot of people out there will be watching the game."

Had Cal made it into the Rose Bowl as had been projected until this weekend, the Pac-10 would not have had enough bowl eligible teams to send one to Las Vegas. So Kunzer-Murphy worked out a deal to have Syracuse take that spot last week.

"The Syracuse people were great to work with," Kunzer-Murphy said. "It was a good backup plan for us."

Instead, she'll get a fifth-place UCLA squad from the Pac-10, led by one of the nation's top running backs in exciting sophomore Maurice Drew, to pit against an upstart Wyoming team that hasn't played in a bowl game since 1993.

"We are happy to be participating in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said in a prepared statement. "It's my understanding that the players enjoyed their experience in 2002 and we are looking forward to the trip and the contest against Wyoming."

The Bruins and Cowboys have never met in football.