Seniors motivated by chance to go out with a victory

This is not the final destination UCLA seniors envisioned back in August. But it is where they are headed this week.

So there is nothing else to do but give a rousing chorus of “Viva Las Vegas” as the Bruins head toward their final game, against Brigham Young in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday.

“It means a lot, we get to go out and finish with a win,” senior cornerback Trey Brown said. “Any time you can go out and put the UCLA jersey on, represent this great university, you want to put on a great show. For the seniors to go out and finish with a win, means a lot.”

And then?

“We all know it will be the last one, but it probably won’t hit us really until after the game,” Brown said of the seniors.

Last year the Bruins played in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco and lost to so-so Florida State, 44-27. It was an anticlimactic follow-up to UCLA’s 13-9 victory over USC.

Whether their performance this season could be diluted by indifference was a question that was put to interim Coach DeWayne Walker.

“That’s a heck of a question,” said Walker, who added that he thought the Bruins were eager to play this game.

Walker said that “the things we talk about behind closed doors and just the lessons we’ve learned” have the Bruins focused. That should be made easier with 25 seniors playing their last collegiate game.

“I was talking to the senior defensive backs and asked them, ‘How do you guys feel about this being your last collegiate game?’ ” Walker said. “They all said they just want to go out a winner.”

UCLA has won only three of its last 10 bowl games. But the only history Bruins seniors were concerned about was their own.

“I’ve had a good run here; there are no regrets,” defensive end Bruce Davis said. “Time waits for no man, and I’m no different. I’m sad to see that this is my last opportunity to put on this No. 44. At the same time, it’s my time to go. It’s tough, but it’s time to make that next step and make the next transition in my life.”

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UCLA is looking to extend its Las Vegas Bowl winning streak under interim head coaches. Ed Kezerian, UCLA’s assistant director of academic services, filled in when the Bruins beat New Mexico, 27-13, in the 2003 game.

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Walker was encouraged by the recruiting visits over the weekend, as 18 of the high school seniors who have committed to UCLA were in attendance.

“I really think that keeping this weekend on was very beneficial,” said Walker, who is responsible for landing many of the players. “I had a chance to talk with parents and the players privately. Our hosts did a great job. It was a big plus for us.”

But the topic on everyone’s mind was who will be the next UCLA coach.

Walker said recruits and their families were “waiting to see what the powers that be, what they’re going to do. As of today, they are still with us.”

Walker has interviewed for the job.

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chris.foster@latimes.com