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The Baylor Bears and No. 17 UCLA Bruins will square off in the 2012 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl on Thursday.
The Bears enter the game on a three-game winning streak, with two of the victories coming over ranked foes. Baylor defeated Kansas State, who was No. 1 at the time, on Nov. 17 and beat Texas Tech a week later to earn bowl eligibility before closing out the year with a win over No. 22 Oklahoma State.
UCLA lost two straight games to Stanford to end the season. They fell to the Cardinal in Pasadena on Nov. 24 before losing to them again in the Pac-12 Championship Game a week later. Still, the Bruins have a shot at a 10-win season if they can get past Baylor.
The Bears finished the regular season with the nation's top-ranked offense, gaining 578.8 yards per game. UCLA's defense was much-improved in 2012 from a year ago, but still surrendered 409.9 yards per game, which places the unit at No. 75 in the country.
Baylor is led by quarterback Nick Florence, who threw for 4,121 yards and 31 touchdowns, while also accounting for 531 yards and nine scores on the ground. UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin is the Bruins' top offensive performer, rushing for 1,700 yards and 13 touchdowns in his senior season.
Game date and time
8:45 p.m. CT Thursday
Location
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
Spread
The line for this year's Holiday Bowl is even.
TV schedule
ESPN, ESPN3D
Watch online
Radio schedule
Last year’s game
The Texas Longhorns defeated the California Golden Bears, 21-10. Texas quarterback David Ash was named the game's offensive MVP, while Longhorns linebacker Keenan Robinson took home defensive honors.
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