2012 bowl selection: UCLA to face Baylor in Holiday Bowl

Just hours before the official bowl selections are announced, many reports are indicating the UCLA Bruins already know where they'll play in December. As Chris Foster of the LA Times tweeted, the Bruins will take on the red-hot Baylor Bears in the 2012 Holiday Bowl.

The game will be played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Dec. 27. It will be nationally televised by ESPN, with kickoff set for 6:45 p.m.

UCLA, which finished the year 9-4 and won the Pac-12 South division, was up against Oregon State to secure the bid. The Bruins fell just short of Stanford in Friday's Pac-12 Championship Game, which would've sent them to the Rose Bowl.

As for Baylor, the Bears have won three in a row, including a 52-24 route of then No. 1 Kansas State. The Bears feature one of the nation's best offenses, averaging 44.1 points per game. Look for quarterback Nick Florence to air the ball out early and often against UCLA's secondary; the Bears rank third in the country with an average of 353 passing yards a week.