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Santa Clara • On most weekends, Mike Pereira can be found watching football on a multitude of screens in a Los Angeles studio.

Having turf beneath his shoes is a more comforting spot for Pereira, the former official-in-chief of the NFL and now FOX's rules guru.

"You can function better if you're actually at the site," he said, cooling his heels on the Levi's Stadium sideline shortly before the kickoff of the Foster Farms Bowl. "You can see more from the broadcast booth than the TV monitor in the studio."

He smiled: "It's actually more fun for me to get out."

Pereira was just one of a handful of FOX broadcasters out for Wednesday's game: The only bowl game on FOX this year, the network put out a full-court press with a pre-game studio show including Matt Leinart and Dave Wannstedt, as well as Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt calling the game from the booth.

While Pereira said that he usually only comes out to locations for standalone games like NFL, the network has been scooping up more college games over the last few years — a point driven home by FOX executive Michael Mulvihill on Monday afternoon at the bowl press conference.

The match-up between the Pac-12, a FOX partner, and the Big Ten, for whom FOX will run its network, is a natural place for the network to make its presence felt.

"It shows a commitment to college football," Mulvihill said. "We're excited for it."

So was Pereira, who got to do a game less than two hours away from where he lives in Sacramento, Calif. Joked Pereira: "It's kind of like a home game for me."

FOX and FS1 have been the carriers for eight Utah games this year, with BYU, UCLA and Colorado tilts winding up on FOX itself. Johnson and Klatt's appearance at the Foster Farms Bowl was their fourth Utah game this year. FOX also broadcast its studio from Rice-Eccles Stadium last year ahead of the season-opener against Michigan, complete with the "Harbus" that wasn't allowed on campus.

Pereira played a big role on a FOX broadcast earlier this year against during the Utah-BYU game, making comments on back-to-back targeting calls against BYU defensive backs.

He joked that he sees looks from officials when he comes to games — looks that say to him "be nice to me."

"I say, 'Look, just make the right calls,'" he said, laughing. "But I don't think they're bothered by me critiquing them. I said early on, you'll never hear me using a harsher word than 'incorrect.' I know how hard it is. I've done it. Even in my criticism, I try to be very respectful."

Twitter: @kylegoon