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Las Vegas Bowl

Las Vegas Bowl Moment 1: BYU’s win over UCLA comes down to final second

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UCLA cornerback Rodney Van walks away as BYU wide receiver Michael Reed, center, is mobbed by teammates after scoring a touchdown late in the second quarter of the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. (Sam Morris/AP)
UCLA holder Aaron Perez walks off the field after his teammate's last-second field goal was blocked in their 17-16 loss to BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. (Sam Morris/AP)
UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero talks to reporters during a news conference Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
Brigham Young coach Bronco Mendenhall, second from left, and UCLA interim coach DeWayne Walker pose with showgirls after a news conference Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
Airmen from Nellis Air Force Base hold a large U.S. flag aloft during the national anthem before the Las Vegas Bowl football game between UCLA and BYU Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Sam Morris/AP)
UCLA wide receiver Brandon Breazell and BYU linebacker Matt Bauman dive for a punt that Breazell dropped during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl game Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. UCLA recovered the fumble. (Sam Morris/AP)
BYU wide receiver Austin Collie drops a pass after being interfered with by UCLA safety Dennis Keyes during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl football game Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. Keyes was called for interference. Also covering on the play is UCLA cornerback Alterraun Verner. (Sam Morris/AP)
BYU fan Ammon Becar cheers on the Cougars during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl football game against UCLA on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. (Sam Morris/AP)
UCLA wide receiver Dominique Johnson gets hit by BYU defensive back Ben Criddle during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl football game Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007, in Las Vegas. Johnson dropped the ball after the hit, and the pass was incomplete. (Sam Morris/AP)
UCLA tailback Chris Markey slips past BYU linebacker Kelly Poppinga during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl football game Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Sam Morris/AP)
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By GILBERT MANZANO LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
December 17, 2016 - 2:06 am
 

To celebrate the local bowl’s 25th anniversary milestone, the Review-Journal will rank the top 25 moments in Las Vegas Bowl history. We’ll relive one moment per day until game day Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium:

No. 1: BYU survives after blocked field goal

Date: Dec. 22, 2007

Score: Brigham Young 17, UCLA 16

Back story: BYU (10-2) won the Mountain West with an 8-0 league record and entered the Las Vegas Bowl as the No. 19 team in the nation. It was BYU’s third consecutive appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl. UCLA had high hopes to open the 2007 season and defeated BYU at the Rose Bowl 27-17 to start the season 2-0 and moved up the polls to No. 11. It went downhill from there for the Bruins, who lost six of their final 10 regular-season games. DeWayne Walker was the interim coach for the Las Vegas Bowl after UCLA fired Karl Dorrell.

Game: A crowd of 40,712 packed Sam Boyd Stadium for the BYU-UCLA rematch. It came down to the final play, the only time that has happened in the bowl’s history. BYU defensive lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a 28-yard field-goal attempt by UCLA kicker Kai Forbath as time expired. The Cougars survived for a one-point victory in unlikely fashion after Forbath had scored 10 of the Bruins’ points, including hitting the only two field goals in Las Vegas Bowl history to go at least 50 yards (52 and 50). BYU wide receiver Austin Collie was named MVP.

Since: The Cougars extended their Las Vegas Bowl appearance streak to five and returned again in 2015. BYU has played in the Las Vegas Bowl six times and gone 3-3, the most appearances by any program. UCLA has been to the Las Vegas Bowl three times and hasn’t returned since 2007. Forbath is the kicker for the Minnesota Vikings. He took over earlier this NFL season after Blair Walsh was cut. Collie had a productive career with the Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to 2012. He retired in April after a season in the Canadian Football League.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.

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