UCLA, Pitt to square off in Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times
·2 min read
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The 87th playing of the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl will feature one of its highest powered matchups, as 9-3 No. 18 UCLA will face 8-4 Pitt at noon on Dec. 30.

Getting UCLA was always dream of the bowl and the Bruins became available as part of a shakeup caused by Utah's upset of USC in the Pac-12 title game. Pitt was picked over a pool of ACC teams that included Duke.

"After the last two years we've had, with the Sun Bowl not played, then last year Miami pulling out, we were due a matchup like this," executive director Bernie Olivas said. "UCLA is ranked 18th in the country and has a 9-3 record. Pitt comes in with an 8-4 record. We have not had that type of matchup in many, many years. Both teams put a lot of points on the board."

UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet (24) runs against California linebacker Jackson Sirmon (8) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Berkeley, Calif., Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet (24) runs against California linebacker Jackson Sirmon (8) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Berkeley, Calif., Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

UCLA was the prize and seemed unlikely to be around when the Sun Bowl selected the fifth Pac-12 team, but USC getting knocked out of the playoffs moved everyone in the league down a slot and UCLA was available.

Pitt tied for the fourth best record in the ACC and will be coming back to a bowl it has played in four times, most recently in 2018. UCLA has also played in four Sun Bowls.

UCLA is an early two-and-a-half-point favorite.

The programs have played each other 14 times, with UCLA holding a 9-5 series lead, though the Bruins and Panthers have not played since 1972.

This will be the 87th Sun Bowl played over 88 years, as the 2020 game was cancelled because of COVID.

The bowl somewhat miraculously had an edition in 2021, as Central Michigan was a last-second fill-in for Miami, which cancelled because of COVID. Central Michigan was in Tucson at that time for its bowl game, which was scuttled when Boise State pulled out.

Central Michigan then bused to El Paso and beat Washington State.

Other than that game, the Sun Bowl has featured an ACC team against a Pac-12 team every year since 2011. That was also supposed to be the matchup in 2010, but the Pac-12 didn't have enough bowl eligible teams to fill its slot and the Sun Bowl selected Notre Dame to play (and beat) Miami.

That is the only year since 1995 the Sun Bowl hasn't had a Pac-12 team. The 1994 edition, widely considered one of the greatest Sun Bowls, featured Texas beating Mack Brown's North Carolina team 35-31.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: UCLA, Pitt to square off in El Paso