Toledo’s Mum on Field

Two days after issuing a stinging critique of his team’s defense after a 38-35 loss to USC, Coach Bob Toledo declined to say whether embattled defensive coordinator Bob Field would return next season.

Toledo said the assistant coaches, including Field, would be evaluated after the Bruins’ bowl game.

“You take a deep breath, you get rid of all the emotions, and you analyze and make the right decision,” Toledo said. “The worst decisions people make are when they’re emotional. They say stupid things and make stupid decisions.”

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Freddie Mitchell was selected as one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, presented to college football’s best receiver. The winner will be announced Dec. 7.

Mitchell has caught 68 passes for a school-record 1,314 yards. The other finalists are Pittsburgh’s Antonio Bryant (62 catches for 1,154 yards) and Florida State’s Marvin Minnis (63 catches for a national-best 1,340 yards).

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The Aloha Bowl is lobbying the Pacific 10 Conference to send the Bruins to Hawaii no matter what the conference standings dictate.

“We want UCLA. We’re doing our best to get UCLA,” Aloha Bowl Executive Director Fritz Rohlfing said.

If Arizona defeats Arizona State on Friday, the Bruins will play in the Aloha Bowl. If Arizona State wins, various scenarios involve the Bruins playing in the Sun Bowl at El Paso. Wisconsin accepted a Sun Bowl bid Monday, and bowl officials would prefer to select UCLA as the opponent ahead of Oregon.

But Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said that officials from the Sun Bowl and Insight.com Bowl, based in Phoenix, have informally discussed swapping bids. That could enable the Sun Bowl to feature a home-state team such as Texas or Texas A&M; and the Insight.com Bowl to feature Oregon or a home-state team such as Arizona or Arizona State. UCLA would then play in the Aloha Bowl.