UCLA’s junior
tight end
Marcedes
Lewis is
second on
the Bruin
team in
catches with
30 and leads
all receivers
with seven
touchdowns
in 11 games
this season.
Courtesy | UCLA Athletic Department
UCLA ventures to Las Vegas
Bowl to tackle Wyoming
The Bruins are coming off of a near-upset ofUSC
to face the Cowboys for the first time in history
BY PAUL THOMPSON
COPYEDITOR
For the first time ever, UCLA (6-5
overall, 4-4 Pacific-10 Conference)
and Wyoming (6-5, 3-4 Mountain
West Conference) will face off on the
football field in the 2004 Las Vegas
Bowl Dec. 23 at 6:45 p.m.
It will be the Bruins’ third straight
postseason appearance and their fifth
since 1997. The Cowboys will make
their first bowl appearance since a
52-17 loss to Kansas State in the 1993
Copper Bowl.
“We hit the jackpot,” second-year
Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn
mused. “We are really excited about
going to the Las Vegas Bowl. It is a
tremendous reward for the season
we had.”
Wyoming will be making its sec
ond visit of the season to Sam Boyd
Stadium after defeating UNLV 53-45
in triple overtime Nov. 6. The trip to
Sin City will be UCLA’s first since de
feating New Mexico 27-13 in the 2002
Las Vegas Bowl.
“It’s my understanding that the play
ers enjoyed their experience in 2002,”
UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell said,
“and we are looking forward to the trip
and the contest against Wyoming. ”
The Bruins bring a strong ground at
tack to face a Wyoming defense that
ranked only sixth in the Mountain
West Conference in protecting the run.
UCLA’s rushing offense, led by sopho
more Maurice Drew, ranks second in
the Pac-10 and 24th nationally with an
average of 190.3 yards per game.
While the 5-foot-8, 198-pound
Drew’s 939 yards are tops on the team,
he has accounted for less than half of
the Bruins’ ground game. Senior Man
ual White and true freshman Chris
Markey both contributed to UCLA’s
potent running game. White account
ed for 794 yards of the team’s 2,341,
while Markey pitched in another 343.
The Bruins’ will also look for jun
ior tight end Marcedes Lewis who
has caught seven touchdowns this
year, tops among receivers.
Whether Wyoming wins or loses
may be attributed to the level of pro
ductivity of its offense. During its six
wins, the Cowboy offense has aver
aged 39.5 points per game, while man
aging only 11.4 during its five losses.
ASU: Purdue looks to prove itself with win
Continued from page 10B
been open outside is the emergence
of freshman tight end Zach Miller to
take away some of the defensive
pressure. The Phoenix native has
caught 51 passes this season for 524
yards and six touchdowns en route
to being named the Pac-10 Freshman
of the Year — the first Sun Devil to
do so since defensive end Terrell
Suggs in 1996.
While the state of the Sun Devil
passing game is in question, Pur
due’s aerial attack is anything but.
Led by senior quarterback Kyle Or
ton, the Boilermakers (7-4, 4-4 Big
10 Conference) are tops in the Big 10
in passing and scoring offense, av
eraging 324.8 yards and 32.5 points
per game, respectively.
Orton’s top target is Taylor Stubble
field, who has tallied 82 receptions
for 1,014 yards and a whopping 15
touchdowns. The senior duo was one
of the main reasons Purdue was
ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation
after starting the season 5-0. Howev
er, from that point on, the Boilermak
ers didn’t seem to catch a break.
They lost their next four games by a
combined 10 points, ending any hope
of obtaining a BCS bowl bid.
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
Junior wide
receiver Derek
Hagan is a key
component in
Arizona State’s
conference
leading passing
offense. He
averages 6.73
receptions and
97.9 yards per
game.
Purdue rebounded from its losing
streak nicely, though, winning its last
two games. The Boilermakers edged
Ohio State 24-17 and destroyed Indi
ana 63-24.
Despite the rough losing streak,
Purdue head coach Joe Tiller said
he’s just happy to be going to a bowl.
“Its certainly exciting for us to be
going to the Sun Bowl and being
back around our friends in El Paso,”
Tiller said. “It seems like we’ve devel
oped some good relationships and
friendships there. It’s something we
look forward to.”
While Purdue won’t be facing the
likes of Southern California or
Oklahoma, Tiller added that the Boil
ermakers will still have the chance to
show they’re a quality team.
“It’s one of the few bowls that the
matchup is one that you’re going to
draw an excellent opponent,” Tiller
said. “We are going to face the No. 3
Pac-10 team. If you can be successful in
the game, the football world recognizes
that you’ve accomplished something.”
This will be the third trip to the
Sun Bowl in four years for Purdue.
The Boilermakers lost to Washington
State 33-27 in 2001 and defeated
Washington 34-24 a year later.
jonwetman@dailyemerald.com
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