2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, UCLA Vs. Illinois: Worst Bowl Ever Mercifully Ends

5: Total fumbles in the game.

Nice agility from Vic Koenning there.

Nobody wanted to watch the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl -- an assault on our senses between a 6-7 UCLA team and an Illinois team that lost its last six games to close the season. Both teams were .500 or worse coming in, and both fired their coaches before the bowl game began. An appetizing matchup, it was not.

Someone had to win the bowl and Illinois took home the honors in a game that was less than pretty. The Illini won, 20-14, but most of us were just glad it was over.

The 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is over, and awareness has been raised both for the pressing cases of the millions who are underfed and the thousands (dozens?) of people who suffered through Illinois’ 20-14 victory.

On the bright side, Illinois’ victory means the Illini did win bowl games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history, and also won their first game since October 8. Which is nice.

Head here for up-to-the-minute UCLA-Illinois stats and score.

For more on the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, if you’re really sure you can handle it, head to UCLA blog Bruins Nation and Illinois blog Hail to the Orange, plus SB Nation Los Angeles and Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire.

NOTE: Confused? See the quick glossary at the bottom.

We talk a lot about motivation and the role it plays in bowl games. With momentum having ground to a halt after a few weeks off, bowls are often decided by who shows up ready to play their A-game and who doesn’t. The stats below treat the game as if both teams will be equally motivated, but the likelihood of that being the case is minimal. With both teams playing for interim coaches (and Illinois dealing with some other interesting coaching issues as well), reeling from disappointing seasons, and ranking high on the Schizophrenia scale, the odds of getting the same level of game out of each are miniscule.

The UCLA Bruins are the first team in the last decade to make it to a bowl game with a losing record. It helped a bit back dooring into the Pac-12 championship game due to the fact that USC was ineligible. Offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will replace Rick Neuheisel as the interim head coach for the bowl game. “I think it’s going to be a good matchup,” Johnson said. “It’s two teams that have gone down similar paths.” The Bruins have one of the worst offenses in the country, averaging just over 20 points a game. They continued to have quarterback issues throughout the season due to injuries. Not only has the UCLA offense been bad, but the UCLA defense ranks 96th out of a possible 120th on scoring defense, giving up over 32 points per game.

Game date, time: 3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, December 31st

For the latest updates on the Fight Hunger Bowl, follow this StoryStream. For more Illinois, be sure to check out Illinois blog Hail to the Orange. For more on UCLA, visit UCLA blog Bruins Nation.

The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl already has its share of issues. Neither team has a head coach, the game is being played in a baseball stadium, and ticket sales have been less than robust. It is also saddled with the noble but clunky name of “The Fight Hunger Bowl,” which is either an anti-malnutrition campaign or an allusive promo for the UFC’s Overeem/Lesnar fight tonight.

A fight might be the more appropriate interpretation at this point. Due to the firing of Ron Zook, four members of the Illinois coaching staff are now in the midst of a contract dispute with Illini administrators, and might boycott the game altogether.

The Interim Coaches Bowl Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl lost a little more of its luster on Friday as Illinois confirmed leading rusher Jason Ford and wide receiver Jake Kumerow will miss the bowl due to academics. Both players were deemed academically ineligible, and were disciplined by the school accordingly.

Illinois released the news on this Friday before the holidays and the information can be found below (via College Football Talk).

Prosch has apparently been hospitalized since Dec. 14 and had surgery in an attempt to fight off the infection. He is apparently in good health, but there’s no indication when he might be able to leave the hospital or how he might have contracted the infection. No other players have been infected.

For the latest updates on the Fight Hunger Bowl, follow this StoryStream. For more analysis of the Illini’s running back situation, be sure to check out Illinois blog Hail to the Orange.

Johnson is UCLA’s offensive coordinator and is in charge of the team as it prepares for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl where they will take on Illinois.

UCLA recently hired Jim L. Mora as its next head coach and it remains unclear if Johnson has a spot on his coaching staff.