After winning its second straight league championship with a perfect 8-0 record, BYU played in its third straight Las Vegas Bowl and the team’s 26th overall bowl appearance since the 1974 season. The game was a rematch of BYU’s 27-17 loss to the Bruins earlier in the season. BYU reached its second consecutive Las Vegas Bowl victory, 17-16, in dramatic fashion – with a block on the Bruins’ potential game-winning field goal attempt as time expired. With BYU up by one point, and 2:02 to go, UCLA lined up at its own twoyard line to began the game’s final drive. The Bruins would march nearly the entire length of the field, taking the ball 87 yards in 12 plays. UCLA’s freshman kicker Kai Forbath successfully kicked three field goals on the night, including two 50-yarders, before taking the field one final time. With only three ticks on the clock, Forbath looked poised to knock down his fourth field goal of the night, a 28-yard shot, and give his team the win. However defensive lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna would not allow BYU to taste defeat, as the freshman blocked Forbath’s kick as the clock ran to triple zeroes. A pair of sophomores led BYU in the win, as Hall threw 21-for-35 for 231 yards and two touchdowns, while Collie led all receivers with 107 yards on six catches. Collie also recorded a touchdown reception and was named the Las Vegas Bowl Most Valuable Player. The win marked the first time BYU has won back-to-back bowl games since the 1994 Copper Bowl and the 1996 Cotton Bowl, and was the first time since the 1983 and 1984 seasons that the team has won back-toback bowl games in consecutive years.