Fiesta Bowl or Bust

So where were they, before they were so rudely interrupted?

Oh, yes:

UCLA plays in Florida for the first time since 1941, bringing an undefeated team to the Orange Bowl today to face weather concerns and Miami in a game that will allow the third-ranked Bruins and quarterback Cade McNown some rare up-close attention in the East.

Just as before. Only nothing like before.

The Bruins are still close to that other ocean for the first time since a 1983 visit to Georgia--having otherwise ventured only as far east as Tennessee and Michigan--are still No. 3 in the Associated Press poll, and are still hoping for a performance that will double as a campaign stop for undecided, or unconvinced, poll voters. Except they are not doing it Sept. 26 in the aftermath of a hurricane, or with a 2-0 record.

Instead, it’s Dec. 5, the weather concerns are heat and humidity--the forecast is for partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 80s--and the Bruins are 10-0.

And it’s the ultimate opportunity.

“This might be the biggest game of their life,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “And the biggest game in the history of UCLA.”

That’s all.

A win today in what may be the same conditions that gave the Bruins trouble in September at Houston, sending three starters to the locker room about five minutes before halftime to recharge, appears likely to keep them in line for a spot in the national-championship game, the Fiesta Bowl.

A loss against a dangerous opponent--Miami is 0-3 against teams currently in the top 25 and 7-0 against teams not, but is also 14th in the nation in scoring--sends them home as the most disappointed Rose Bowl participant ever.

The opportunity was not only unexpected--the game was supposed to be played 2 1/2 months ago but was postponed by the threat of Hurricane Georges, was originally rescheduled against the wishes of many Bruins, and has since come to be greeted as ideal circumstance--but with the grandest of backdrops.

It’s the same day that unbeaten Tennessee and unbeaten Kansas State play for their conference championships, leaving all three unbeatens to sweat out a final Saturday together and then an overnight before the final bowl championship series ratings are released Sunday.

Victory, considering Miami’s solid record, a windfall that kicks in today for strength-of-schedule purposes in the BCS calculations, would probably be enough to get UCLA one of the two Fiesta invitations. “Probably” is the operative word, however, because the uncertainty of the process has never been more evident than last weekend, when No. 1 Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt, 41-0, and still lost ground to No. 2 UCLA.

Kansas State, at No. 3 in the BCS, will get the biggest bump, because it plays Texas A&M;, No. 10 in the AP. That will be a major help to a schedule that was rated 62nd before today. But that still doesn’t figure to be enough for the Wildcats to overtake either the Volunteers or Bruins if both also win.

Doesn’t figure to be enough.

Probably.

The unpredictability apparently will not alter Bruin thinking, though. The computerized process that has brought confusion from the start will also bring consistency from Toledo, who said again this week that he will not run up the score to impress poll voters, just as he insisted he would not have done it earlier to pad McNown’s statistics for the Heisman run.

If it’s honorable thinking, it’s also potentially dangerous, for the inability of UCLA to make like a championship team and trounce teams has been the greatest shortcoming, the very thing that got it dropped from second to third in the AP rankings after the Oct. 31 escape against Stanford.

The Bruins appear to be considering what may be the biggest game in the history of the program with the same mind-set they had before playing Washington State and Houston.

“I don’t think that we’re that type of team,” defensive end Kenyon Coleman said. “You see Coach Toledo, we’re ahead and he’ll take Cade out. I think we’ve got more class than that. We’re not going to run the score up on anybody. [Voters] should look at that. We’re not looking to blow out teams. We just come out and we want to play and we want to win, but we don’t want to embarrass anybody. We want to play with sportsmanship.”

Said Toledo: “I think it’s important to win the game and then hopefully win convincingly, whatever that means, whether by three points or eight points. In other words, win good--not fumble and throw interceptions and make a lot of mistakes. You’ve got to look good winning.

“If you’re referring to running up scores or whatever, I’m not into that. And then they say, ‘You’ve got to win by a certain margin.’ What is the margin? Is it three points? Is it eight points? Is it 13? Is it 20? Is it 40? How many points is it? Nobody really knows, and that’s why I don’t like that.”

So he, and all the Bruins, hope that winning by any margin will be good enough.

Will it be?

Probably.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The BCS Derby

A look at the teams in the running for the Fiesta Bowl

Today’s Games

No. 3 UCLA (10-0) at Miami (7-3)

11 a.m. ESPN

Radio: KXTA (1150)

By Georges, Bruins trying to stay perfect and roll a 21 into the Jan. 4 game at Tempe, Ariz.

No. 2 Kansas St. (11-0) vs. No. 10 Texas A&M; (10-2)

1:30 p.m., Channel 7

Radio: XTRA (690)

Wildcats improving their strength of schedule, but will it be enough?

No. 1 Tennessee (11-0) vs. No. 23 Miss St. (8-3)

5 p.m., Channel 7

Radio: XTRA (690)

Volunteers have the edge in polls and BCS heading into Southeastern Conference title game.