[TomWilkinson]

UCLA and Northwestern meet Friday in the Sun Bowl where points are expected to come in bunches.

It's Drew Olson and Maurice Drew for the No. 17 Bruins (9-2) against the Brett Basanez and Tyrell Sutton of the Wildcats (7-4).

"If you leave your seat to get a soda and some popcorn, you might miss 10 points," Sun Bowl president Wayne Thornton said Thursday.

Northwestern averaged 492.7 total yards, ranking eighth nationally, while scoring 31.8 points per game and setting a school record with six games of at least 500 yards. UCLA averaged 429 total yards per game, ranking 24th nationally, and 38 points per game.

"Our team can move the football," Bruins coach Karl Dorrell said. "We've done it against some very good teams in our conference. We also know how good the Big Ten is. For them to have success in the Big Ten, we know our hands are full."

The Wildcats ranked dead last among 117 Division I-A teams, allowing 482.9 yards per game, while UCLA was 111th by yielding 457.5 yards.

"We just need to get one more point than them," Northwestern's Randy Walker said. "Heck, if it's 7-6 and we win, I'm happy with that."

"Give a defense three or four weeks to prepare. Normally, we get two or three days," Walker said. "The defense loves preparation. I think this game will surprise some people. Our defense has been maligned, but they've made plays when they had to."

"It starts with the diversity of their football team," Walker said. "They have great athletes at every position. They present a lot of problems. They are especially explosive, very difficult to deal with."

"They throw the ball very well and run the ball very well," Dorrell said. "The third dimension is their quarterback. He's very mobile and that's always difficult. Most of the time, you don't count on the quarterback being a key contributor in the run game."