The 2023 LA Bowl was a

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played on December 16, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in

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. The third annual LA Bowl featured the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference and the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

. The game began at approximately 4:30 p.m. PST and was aired on

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. The LA Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by former

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player Rob Gronkowski and Starco Brands, and was officially known as the Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk.

Teams

Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured the Boise State Broncos from the Mountain West Conference and the

from the

. This was the second meeting between Boise State and UCLA, as well as both teams' first appearance in the LA Bowl. The Bruins won their only prior meeting, defeating the Broncos, 38–7, on September 4, 1999.

Boise State

After losing their first two games to a pair of

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opponents, including eventual

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qualifier

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, the Broncos alternated wins and losses to reach a record of just 4–5 after the first week of November. However, Boise State won their final three games in Mountain West play, which set up a three-way tie between them,

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

, and San Jose State. Per Mountain West tiebreaker rules, an aggregate of different computer rankings were used to determine who would play in the Mountain West Championship, with UNLV and Boise State making the cut and San Jose State being left out. Boise State soundly defeated UNLV, 44–20, to win the 2023 Mountain West conference title. The Broncos entered the LA Bowl with a record of 8–5.

UCLA

This was UCLA's final game as a member of the Pac-12, as the Bruins committed to join the

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for the 2024 season. Led by true-freshman QB

Dante Moore Dante Moore (born May 24, 2005) is an American college football quarterback who plays for the Oregon Ducks. He previously played for the UCLA Bruins. Early life and high school Moore was born in East Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in nearby Elyria ...

, the Bruins won their first three regular-season games, but suffered a 14–7 loss to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in their Pac-12 opener. Moore struggled mightily as the Bruins continued in Pac-12 play, throwing just three touchdowns vs. six interceptions. This led to his benching by head coach Chip Kelly in favor of junior

Ethan Garbers Ethan Garbers (born July 28, 2002) is an American college football quarterback for the UCLA Bruins. He previously played for the Washington Huskies. Early years Garbers hometown is Newport Beach, California, and he attended Corona del Mar Hig ...

. UCLA went just 4–5 in Pac-12 play, although they did earn a 38–20 win over their traditional rival,

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, with Garbers at quarterback. After the conclusion of the regular season, Moore announced his intention to enter the NCAA transfer portal. UCLA entered the LA Bowl with a record of 7–5.

Game summary

Statistics

References

External links

Game statistics
at statbroadcast.com {{UCLA Bruins bowl game navbox LA Bowl LA Bowl LA Bowl LA Bowl Boise State Broncos football bowl games UCLA Bruins football bowl games