Bruins Want a Rematch

As if they needed another reason to consider this their season of destiny, the Bruins are looking at the possibility of not only playing for the national title Jan. 4, but getting the last team to beat them as the opponent in that Fiesta Bowl game.

The Bruins’ 20-game winning streak started the week after UCLA’s fourth-quarter comeback fell short in the 30-24 loss to Tennessee at the Rose Bowl on Sept. 6, 1997. Fourteen months later, the Volunteers are No. 1 in the bowl championship series rankings and the Bruins are No. 2. Nothing is guaranteed but if both win this weekend, they could well meet again in Tempe, Ariz.

Not that UCLA needed reminding.

“That’d be a lot of fun,” quarterback Cade McNown said. “I think a lot of people on this team would be excited to play Tennessee again. But not as excited as we are to play Miami. We are chomping at the bit.”

Indeed, the Bruins are being very careful to make it clear they are not looking past this week’s trip to the Orange Bowl. But if things happened to work out that they might run into Tennessee down the line, they wouldn’t exactly be disappointed.

“It really is interesting how all this has worked out,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “Hopefully.”

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Toledo was named one of four regional winners of the GTE coach-of-the-year selection, which brings with it a $10,000 scholarship from the American Football Coaches Assn. to the athletic department. The other winners were John Cooper of Ohio State, George O’Leary of Georgia Tech and Bill Snyder of Kansas. The national winner will be announced Jan. 13.

Meanwhile, McNown has been named one of three finalists for the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the best college quarterback regardless of class. Michael Bishop of Kansas State and Tim Couch of Kentucky are the others.