Tonight the college football season rolls up to its final destination and lets us all off the bus outside Dolphin Stadium in Miami. There, a national champion will once again be crowned.
Despite the utter mess that the Bowl Championship Series system has once again left at the top of the rankings, certainly no one can deny that two mighty impressive teams are left in the remaining spotlight. Two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks will go head-to-head hoping to lead their teams to a year’s worth of bragging rights, a trip to the White House and the rest of countless spoils that go along with the glory bestowed on the winner.
Back in Westwood, it is not hard to imagine UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel and his Bruins grabbing a spot on the couch to watch Florida and Oklahoma square off for another grand spectacle of network television. But even with the low-hanging high-definition cameras and the mic’d coaches, how distant it all must seem.
Only one year ago, the waters of college football flowed right to the Bruin doorstep because a new coaching staff was creating a buzz, but it appears now that the waves have long since receded to the horizon.
At halftime of a basketball game back in February, Bruin nation took a break from the game it loves so madly to instead listen to three men talk about the game with which it holds a more reserved passion. Neuheisel, with microphone in hand, proudly introduced his coaching dream team: DeWayne Walker, the rock of a solid defensive core, and Norm Chow, the man who could turn water into NFL-ready quarterbacks.
Cheers ran through the bleachers at Pauley Pavilion as if John Wooden had just appeared in the stairwell. From center court, phrases such as “bring you a championship” and “we’re here for a championship” were thrown around like pigskins in the backyard.
Of course, no citizens of Bruinville could have so greedily wished for such a thing, but smart-looking sweater-vests and flashbacks of “13-9″ filled their heads with future headlines they never thought they would read.
So now, as the television set broadcasts some far-off school bringing a championship home to some far-off campus, it provides this home team a healthy dose of perspective.
Viewers of tonight’s game will see exactly what it takes to be the kind of football program that stays in national discussions even as autumn wanes and winter begins.
Gator quarterback Tim Tebow and Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford might be the only household names going into the national title game, but these two squads are loaded with talent and experience up and down their rosters.
Oklahoma owned its conference’s honor list, despite a quality season overall for the Big 12, filling three offensive-line spots and First Team’s entire backfield. Florida has elite players, too, including dangerous, all-around athlete Percy Harvin who has scored a touchdown ““ whether on the ground or through the air ““ in the last 14 games he’s played.
We aren’t just shootin’ the breeze here. This is real-deal football, ladies and gentlemen.
The point here is that great football programs cannot be created overnight. Unlike basketball, in which a school might be able to pull off a few overachiever seasons on the back of a couple star recruits, it takes a lot more to get 11 guys on offense and 11 on defense who can really take a football program to that next level.
Sitting through what seems like a decade-long bowl season is tough when your team missed a chance to go to one by a mile (accidentally changing the channel to Louisiana Tech versus Northern Illinois in the Independence Bowl has been known to lead to increased depression). But Neuheisel and Bruin fans must be patient if they want to see their players grace one of those national spotlights anytime soon.
The game you might choose to watch tonight is most likely not close to anything you’ve seen running around in blue and gold at the Rose Bowl this year. At the moment, these guys are in two different leagues.
Despite the Bruins winning only four games all season and still lacking a confident choice at quarterback, UCLA football has its nose in the right direction.
Completely without warning, the Bruins’ Pac-10 compatriots went 5-0 in their bowl games, becoming the only conference to sweep their postseason slate this year. Suddenly people are remembering the teams out West not coached by Pete Carroll, and a stronger reputation is beginning to blossom ““ one that the Bruins can ride to greater self-esteem even before the season starts.
With a dynamic coaching staff and motivated athletes who buy into the system that Neuheisel is striving to create here, the Bruins have the right to aim high for the future. But time is a necessary ingredient for UCLA’s success even at the conference level.
It would be a long shot to say that that glass football championship trophy might visit the rolling hills of Westwood anytime soon. But with persistence and proper management, at least the Bruins might not watch so much of the boob tube around this time of year. They might just find themselves on the other side of that screen.
If you think the Bruins should be included in a 64-team college football playoff, e-mail Smukler at esmukler@media.ucla.edu.