Holiday Bowl Notes - Ready to Go

After practice, Coach Jim Mora said his players were locked in and ready to go, calling today a typical Tuesday and the players were locked in with energy, and the players haven't lost their focus.

The bowl practices have been considered helpful - the first couple of weeks of practice were just to work on fundamentals, especially for Brett Hundley, who has had extra time to break down his game.

He also took some time to laud Hundley's accomplishments and where he has improved this year.

Accuracy, decision making, his timing, his poise, when to take off and run, when to abort a play than to stick with it, he's improved in all areas. He's got the respect of his teammates. I will say his play over the course of the next couple of years will make him a guy that people will talk about as one of the greatest players in college football.

The team visited the USS Boxer today, and Coach Mora mentioned his father had served on a USS Boxer when he was in the Marines. Not the one the team visited today, as that was commissioned in 1993, but the first was commissioned in 1812. Coach Mora's son asked "Grandpa, were you on that one?"

Cute.

Check our the video from the visit to the USS Boxer and their visit to the Children's Hospital.

Also cute is that Mora revealed he was the editor of his high school newspaper's sports section, but he was awful.

What's also awful is an update about the current Rose Bowl renovations:

Nonetheless, since its inception, the cost of the renovation climbed to more than $180 million, according to stadium officials. That doesn't include $15 million in originally-planned elements that will no longer be built, which would bring the overall cost to around $194 million.

The bulk of the construction will be done by the 2014 Rose Bowl and National Championship game, but it won't be 100% complete. Disappointing.

The LAT has a quick story about Noel Mazzone and his son Taylor, who is working as a graduate assistant. Apparently Taylor is learning quickly and doing a great job.

"Philip Rivers and Brock Osweiler sung Taylor's praises," Mora said. "Tim Tebow said that Taylor was the best quarterback coach in his family."

Of course, Mazzone has done a good job with the team this season.

UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley has surpassed Cade McNown's school season record with 3,776 total yards. He has 3,411 yards passing, 59 shy of McNown's season record.

Bruins running back Johnathan Franklin set aseason record with 1,700 yards rushing.

It leaves Noel Mazzone wondering one thing.

"What the heck am I going to do next year?" Mazzone said.

Our last football game of the year is in four days! Are you excited?