If Bruin fans have been frustrated with the UCLA football team over the last two years, one look at Washington State would almost certainly make them feel better.
It’s true, UCLA (4-5, 1-5 Pac-10) isn’t exactly in its golden age, but Washington State (1-8, 0-6 Pac-10) may be in its darkest hour.
UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel played in several rivalry games for the coveted Apple Cup during his tenure at Washington, and he knows that the Cougars are a “proud program” that not so long ago had a Heisman candidate in Ryan Leaf.
“I think they’re going to play inspired football,” Neuheisel said. “They are home for the first time in almost 35 days.”
In more recent history, Washington State pounded the Bruins by 20 in Pullman back in 2007.
But since that win, the Cougars are 5-21 and an equally abysmal 3-19 in the Pac-10 with two of their three wins in the emotion-ridden rivalry game over Washington.
Washington State currently sits where the Bruins did a week ago ““ winless in the conference. Players say they know what it feels like to struggle and be ravenously hungry for that first win.
That’s why despite the Cougars’ anemic performances of late, the Bruins are anything but overconfident.
Even with the win, Saturday’s game is still a battle to remain out of last place.
“They are probably the hungriest players on the planet,” sophomore safety Rahim Moore said.
“It’s a dangerous game,” senior receiver Terrence Austin added. “They don’t have anything to lose.”
UCLA certainly has a lot to lose. The team must finish even at 6-6 if it has any prayer of getting invited to a bowl game ““ the team’s stated goal in the preseason. The Cougars ““ who have been outscored 145-3 in the first quarter of games so far this season ““ present the Bruins with their easiest chance to get win No. 5. From there, it gets progressively tougher, with Arizona State at home followed by USC at the Coliseum.
But the weather in the Pacific Northwest will almost certainly aid Washington State. The high on Saturday in Pullman is projected to be 34 degrees ““ two degrees above freezing.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince admitted it will take some getting used to.
“I’m a Southern California guy,” he said. “I don’t know snow.”
A rejuvenated offense under Prince might help the Bruins forget about the cold. After leaving the game with a mild concussion Saturday, Prince has been cleared by the medical staff and will play. Prince said he had another good practice Wednesday after a shaky start the day before, and he’s looking to build on the success the offense had last week.
“The resurgence of the offense, if you want to call it that, has definitely played a role with the enthusiasm of the team,” Prince said. “It’s tough for the defense to go out there and continually play with the same passion when the offense is not scoring points.”
After going nine consecutive quarters without an offensive touchdown, the offense mustered 16 points in the fourth quarter against Oregon State, then for an encore, scored 24 points to beat Washington a week ago.
Austin attributes the recent outburst to “just us making plays when we need to.”
“It’s good to catch a ball and get six yards and run for three more, but when it comes down to third-and-one, we need to convert,” Austin said. “There were a few times that didn’t happen. … This past game, it happened.”
Moore said that getting last week’s win should really help the team down its final three-game stretch.
“It’s a stepping stone for us,” Moore said. “That win is going to launch us to a whole other level in this game. This win is going to really help us out a lot.”