The 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl may as well be called the Underachievement Bowl, as both the UCLA Bruins and Illinois Fighting Illini weren't able to put together the types of seasons that they were expecting this year. Both head coaches from the start of the season, Rick Neuheisel and Ron Zook have been dismissed, as both were sitting on very hot seats at the beginning of the year, and 6-6 regular seasons didn't cut it.

UCLA is actually already at 6-7 this year, and it is a rare case of a team with a losing record playing in a bowl game. However, because the team petitioned the NCAA to get in, the Pac-12 South reps in the league's first title game were able to come to San Francisco to play in a relatively local game.

QB Kevin Prince and the Bruins really didn't play well for the most part this year, especially outside of Pasadena. They won just one of their seven road games, and that one victory came at the lowly Oregon State Beavers. Save for a little stretch at the beginning of November when the team knocked off the Cal Golden Bears and the Arizona State Sun Devils, there really wasn't all that much to write home about.

RBs Johnathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman are going to have to run the ball freely in this game to open up Prince and the passing attack. If that doesn't happen though, there's no telling how ugly this game could get, especially since UCLA has given up 99 points in its last two games.

Then again, it's not like the Illini are playing well right now. Offensively, they haven't scored more than 17 points in a game since October 8th, and they have only played relatively marginal ball defensively as well. QB Nathan Scheelhaase, only a sophomore, has shown a ton of signs of regression this year, and that's part of the reason why Zook was canned. The team hasn't won a game in six straight tries, and it almost seems like a big issue that a team like this is bowling and not a team like the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, who went 7-5 and were left out of the bowl season.

That being said, Bookmaker Sportsbook has the Illini favored by 2.5 points in spite of the fact that it will probably sound like more of a home game for the Bruins. The 'total' at the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is set for 47.