The UCLA Bruins and the NC State head to Petco Park in San Diego next Tuesday for the 2021 Holiday Bowl. Which of these two programs are going to end their season with a bowl victory? Check out our preview of this UCLA-NC State game below.
Although UCLA was not able to win the Pac-12 championship, the Bruins have reason to feel good, as the program is finally going to play in its first bowl game in three years. UCLA enters the meeting with the Wolfpack coming off a three-game win streak, during which the Bruins averaged 49.3 points. In the regular season, UCLA put up 36.5 points per contest, good for 14th overall in the nation. Much of their success on offense can be attributed to their fantastic rushing attack that is burning rubber for 219.7 yards per contest. That’s 10th overall in the FBS. A great ground game has been a staple of Chip Kelly teams, and this bunch of Bruins surely had that football personality. UCLA’s biggest win this season was against the then-n0. 16 LSU Tigers way back in September, but it should also be noted that the Bruins nearly scored an upset win against the Oregon Ducks in a 34-31 home loss to their Pac-12 rivals late last October.
UCLA, which is coming off a 42-14 home win over the California Golden Bears, is 4-0 against the spread in its last 4 games after a win of at least 20 points.
A 9-3 finish to the regular season is something to celebrate for the Wolfpack. There’s no bigger win for NC State this season than when it took down the Clemson Tigers at home late last September to the tune of a 27-21 score. In their last two games, the Wolfpack beat the Syracuse Orange (41-17) and the North Carolina Tar Heels (34-30) on Nov. 20 and Nov. 26, respectively. Like UCLA, the Wolfpack also boast of a robust offense. They averaged 32.0 points in the regular season to go with a high 89.19 red-zone touchdown scoring rate. Plus, NC State doesn’t turn the ball over a lot. In fact, the Wolfpack finished regular season play ninth in the nation with only 0.8 giveaways per contest and 22nd with a +0.5 turnover margin per game. The offense of NC State is going to be led in the meeting with UCLA by quarterback Devin Leary, who has 3,433 passing yards and 35 touchdowns to go with only five interceptions.
