The NC State Wolfpack and UCLA Bruins meet Tuesday in the college football Holiday Bowl at Petco Park in San Diego. UCLA is 8-4 overall this year and coming off a win over California. As for the Wolfpack, they’re 9-3 this season. NC State took out North Carolina in their last game. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place. 

UCLA went a choppy 5-4 through their first five games, taking wins over Hawaii, LSU, Stanford, Arizona and Washington in that stretch. The Bruins hit a three-game win streak to close out regular play with victories versus Colorado, USC and California. 

In the matchup versus California on November 27, UCLA didn’t have much trouble after halftime. The Bruins turned a 17-14 lead at the break into a 42-14 blowout victory. QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson put up 164 yards with three touchdowns, and also rushed for 102 yards on 13 carries. 

Over on the NC State side, they had a consistent season in 2021 and never lost consecutive games. The Wolfpack dropped games to Mississippi State, Miami-FL and Wake Forest during the year, and finished off with victories versus Syracuse and North Carolina. 

In the North Carolina matchup, NC State was down 24-21 heading into the final quarter. The Wolfpack scored 13 points from there and powered out the 34-30 win. QB Devin Leary threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-30 passing. Emeka Emezie caught five balls for 112 yards and two scores. 

The Bruins are 4-1 ATS in their last five on grass and 5-2 ATS in their last seven overall. UCLA is 2-5 ATS in their last seven neutral-site games and 1-4 ATS in their last five in December. 

Meanwhile, the Wolfpack are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 bowl games and 13-6 ATS in the last 19 on grass. NC State is 5-0 ATS in the last five after an ATS loss and the over is 7-1 in their last eight bowl games. 

PICK: I’m going to take a stab on NC State here, but I could go either way. The Wolfpack were pretty sketchy for most of the North Carolina game, but to their credit NC State pulled it out and got the rivalry win. The Wolfpack were just 2-of-10 on third-down tries and had eight penalties though, so they’ve certainly got some things to clean up. 

As for the Bruins, they had a really solid offensive game versus an overmatched Cal team their last time out. UCLA posted 446 total yards and went 9-of-13 on third downs. The Bruins have been scoring really well lately so if anyone can give NC State a run for their money, it’s UCLA. Should be a great game.