The L.A. Bowl is one of the newer bowl games. The contest is played in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium. Last year, Fresno State defeated Cam Ward and Washington State.
This season, the UCLA Bruins, who decided to retain Chip Kelly and then saw Dante Moore hit the portal, face Boise State. The Broncos also made some changes this year. After firing Andy Avalos, they named Spencer Danielson as the permanent head coach. Danielson was the interim following Avalos’s departure. Eric McAllister and Taylen Green were some big names to enter the portal, so their roster looks different, as is the case for UCLA.
The Bruins are 7-5 and the Broncos are 8-5. Boise State won the Mountain West title, taking the championship game over UNLV. Despite firing Avalos midseason, Boise State went from a 3-4 record to a conference title. BSU won five of its last six games with the one loss coming to Fresno State on the road.
The Bruins’ decision to retain Chip Kelly was a bit of a surprise, especially with the move to the Big Ten Conference coming. They lost three of their last four games, scoring just 17 total points against Arizona (10) and Arizona State (7) combined. UCLA also served up a 33-7 stinker against Cal to end the year.
Boise State is without Green, its starting QB, and a number of other players, so it makes sense why the Bruins are favored, not to mention they have home-city advantage in this one.
A loss for UCLA would certainly stir the Chip Kelly pot once again despite the fact that the Bruins retained him for the 2024 campaign.
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