2007 Las Vegas Bowl

The 2007 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl was an NCAA-sanctioned Division I post-season college football bowl game between the UCLA Bruins and the Brigham Young University Cougars. The game was played on December 22, 2007, starting at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, where the bowl has been played since 1992. It was televised on ESPN.

2007 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas Bowl logo
UCLA Bruins BYU Cougars
(6–6) (10–2)
Pac-10 Mountain West
16 17
Head coach: 
DeWayne Walker		 Head coach: 
Bronco Mendenhall
APCoachesBCS
NRNRNR
APCoachesBCS
191917
1234 Total
UCLA 31003 16
BYU 31400 17
DateDecember 22, 2007
Season2007
StadiumSam Boyd Stadium
LocationWhitney, Nevada
MVPWR Austin Collie, BYU
FavoriteBYU by 6 [1]
Attendance40,712
PayoutUS$1,000,000 per team[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersBrad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire [1]

Starting in 2001, the Las Vegas Bowl featured a matchup of teams from the Mountain West Conference (MWC) and Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10), with organizers having first choice of bowl-eligible teams from the MWC, and the fourth or fifth choice (alternating annually) of bowl-eligible teams from the Pac-10.

Teams

This was the second meeting in the 2007 college football season between the UCLA Bruins and the BYU Cougars. In the first meeting on September 8, 2007 at the Rose Bowl Stadium, the Bruins avoided an upset in a tough game by beating the Cougars, 27–17. UCLA had control of the game in the first half, but BYU made it close in the third quarter. UCLA's pass defense was shaky, giving up 391 yards, and their own passing attack inconsistent, as Ben Olson, a quarterback who transferred from BYU to UCLA, completed only 13 of 28 passes for 126 yards.[3]

On December 3, 2007, following the final regular season game against USC, Los Angeles papers and the Associated Press reported that UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell was fired during a meeting with athletic director Dan Guerrero.[4] Dorrell was offered the choice, but decided not to coach in the Las Vegas Bowl. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker served as interim coach for the game.[5]

Game summary

The 2007 Las Vegas Bowl kicked off at Sam Boyd Stadium at 8:12 p.m. EST. UCLA won the coin toss and elected to kick off to BYU to begin the game.

With less than a minute to go in the first half the Cougars had opened up 17-6 lead. Instead of simply downing the ball, the Cougars ran a running play up the middle and RB Harvey Unga fumbled. The Bruins responded by punching the ball in the end zone on the final play of the half. In the second half with the Cougars leading 17-13, the defenses took over. Second-half scoring was limited to a 50-yard field goal by the Bruins' Kai Forbath in the fourth quarter. Forbath then attempted a 28-yarder at the end of the game, but it was blocked by Eathyn Manumaleuna to preserve the Cougars' victory.

Walker's defensive schemes kept the Bruins, who were without their two top quarterbacks and relied on McLeod Bethel-Thompson, in the game. The Bruins size and strength advantage allowed them to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Ball control was also key: Chris Markey rushed for 117 yards, the most by any BYU opponent in the 2007 season.[6]

Additional notes
  • The Cougars avenged a 27–17 loss to UCLA in a game played on September 8 at the Bruins' home field, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
  • UCLA left this bowl game without naming a permanent head coach for the 2008 season; Karl Dorrell had been fired on December 4. Rumored candidates as of December 24 included Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel, Temple head coach Al Golden, and Walker. Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti and Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow had withdrawn their names from consideration.[7]
  • The Las Vegas Bowl was an advance sellout for the fifth year in a row.
  • The Cougars ended the season with a 10-game winning streak, which after Hawaii's loss to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl became the longest winning streak in the country.
  • UCLA later selected a former teammate of Dorrell, Rick Neuheisel, as his successor.[8] DeWayne Walker was retained as the defensive coordinator.
  • The UCLA Bruins under Neuheisel and BYU Cougars would meet again in the 2008 regular season at BYU, where the Cougars would defeat the Bruins 59–0. This was the worst loss the Bruins endured since a 76-0 defeat in the very first UCLA–USC rivalry football game (in the year 1929).[9]
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References
  1. Megargee, Steve (December 19, 2007). "Las Vegas Bowl: BYU vs. UCLA". Rivals.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 3, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. www.byucougars.com - BYU UCLA game recap
  4. Brian Dohn. UCLA fires coach Dorrell. Archived December 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Los Angeles Daily News. December 3, 2007 11:18:47 AM PST. Quote: During his tenure, UCLA's off-the-field image, which took a beating under coach Bob Toledo, was cleaned up. But on the field too many inconsistent performances did in Dorrell, who was 1–4 against USC, including Saturday's 24–7 loss at the Coliseum.
  5. Associated Press. Fired Dorrell won't coach UCLA in Las Vegas Bowl. December 4, 2007. Quote: Ousted UCLA football coach Karl Dorrell has decided not to coach the Bruins when they play BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.
  6. ESPN - Manumaleuna blocks UCLA's last-ditch FG to save No. 17 BYU's bowl win - NCAA College Football Recap
  7. Foster, Chris – Chow no longer interested in head coach job. Los Angeles Times, December 21, 2007
  8. Chris Foster, Neuheisel goes back to school, Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2008, Accessed July 26, 2008.
  9. No. 18 B.Y.U. 59, U.C.L.A. 0 Hall’s 7 Touchdown Passes Lead B.Y.U.’s Rout, Associated Press, New York Times, September 13, 2008
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