LAS VEGAS BOWL | UCLA (7-5) VS. NEW MEXICO (7-6)
Wednesday, Dec. 25 (ESPN, 4:30 p.m. ET)

While UCLA has a much more impressive personnel base, their coach for the 2002 regular season, Bob Toledo, and their new head coach, highly regarded Karl Dorrell, won't be on the sidelines for the Sega Sports Las Vegas Bowl. Toledo was fired after UCLA's regular season ended with back-to-back lopsided losses to USC and Rose Bowl-bound Washington State.

	UCLA RB Tyler Ebell posted nearly 1,000 rushing yards and scored nine TDs.

When the Bruins raced out to a 4-1 start -- including victories over bowl-caliber opponents Colorado State, Oklahoma State and Oregon State (on the road in Corvallis) -- it appeared they were much more than just an average football team.

But injuries led to struggles from mid-October on, as freshman Drew Olson was forced to take the reigns from senior QB Cory Paus.

After averaging 33.5 points per game in the season's first six games, UCLA's restructured offense had its share of ups and downs the rest of the way. Olson completed just 51 percent of his aerials, although redshirt freshman RB Tyler Ebell posted just under 1,000 rushing yards and scored nine TDs.

While WR Craig Bragg led the way with 51 catches and Tab Perry averaged nearly 20 yards per reception, the key performer in the receiving game for the Bruins turned out to be senior TE Mike Seidman. Rugged and athletic at 6-4 and 259 pounds, Seidman took his performance level up several notches this season, improving from 12 catches in 2001 to 41 this year and averaging an impressive 15.2 yards per catch with five TD receptions. Come April and the NFL draft, Seidman could end up as a third- or fourth-round possibility.

Defensively for the Bruins, junior DE Dave Ball provides relentless pass pressure, with junior LB Brandon Chillar and redshirt freshman LB Spencer Havner providing solid play. In the secondary, sophomore Matt Ware and senior Ricky Manning Jr. are both quality performers.

For New Mexico, head coach Rocky Long has to be thrilled with his team's resiliency and perseverance. The Lobos started out just 2-4, with victories over only Weber State and Baylor, and found themselves at 3-5 after an overtime loss to Utah State on Oct. 19.

But New Mexico managed to turn things around, going 4-1 down the stretch to finish with a record of 7-6. The game that propelled them into bowl consideration was an overtime victory over Utah in late October. With a loss there, the Lobos would have been sitting at 3-6 and nearly off the radar screen.

The Lobos' key performer is talented redshirt freshman RB Dontrell Moore (5-11, 210), who rushed for more than 1,100 yards on the season while averaging nearly five yards per carry and scoring 13 TDs. WR Dwight Counter hauled in 30 catches but averaged just 10.9 yards per grab, scoring three TDs.

Defensively, keep an eye on junior safety Brandon Ratcliff, a quality performer who always shows up in the center of the action.

In the season's last four games, the aggressive New Mexico defense allowed an average of just 16 points per game.

BOWL OVERVIEW
The question for UCLA is this: With the coaching change and all the distractions of recent weeks, will the Bruins be able to bring anywhere close to an "A" game against the Lobos? Remember, UCLA allowed an average of 50 points in the season's final two games against USC and Washington State. With excitement looming as Dorrell takes over the program, are the Bruins prepared to make amends for a demoralizing conclusion to the regular season?

One thing is for sure, Rocky Long's Lobos will come out fired up and ready to go. The Bruins must match that intensity so their significant edge in talent can take over. In the end, this could boil down to which redshirt freshman RB -- UCLA's Ebell or New Mexico's Moore -- is given the necessary running room to maintain an edge for his team in time of possession.