Two plus two equals a bowl game.
That’s what things amount to for UCLA, which has a pair of games remaining and needs to win both of them in order to achieve bowl eligibility.
After laying an egg against Washington ““ a scrambled one, if you take quarterback Richard Brehaut’s disorientation into account ““ the Bruins’ (4-6, 2-5 Pac-10) sense of urgency is at an all-time high as they try to garner a postseason berth, the widely accepted barometer for the progression of the program.
“We’ll see if we can’t give ourselves a chance, in our final game, to get to the postseason,” coach Rick Neuheisel said.
“That’s our goal, that’s what we’re working towards.”
For the second consecutive week, the Bruins have the opportunity to knock their opponent out of bowl contention, although this time the opposite scenario is also at play. Washington needed wins in each of its last three contests to get to six wins, and it got the first of those against UCLA.
Arizona State, which UCLA faces Friday, is in the identical predicament that the Bruins find themselves in. The two teams have the same record, with just Friday’s matchup and the season finale against their respective rivals remaining on the schedule for each.
The lack of a bowl game to finish off the 2010 season would be a tough pill to swallow for a UCLA program that has long declared that as a benchmark heading into this season. After the 2009 season concluded with a victory over Temple in the EagleBank Bowl, anything less than that this time around will likely be seen as a disappointment.
Bre-Hopes
Brehaut practiced Monday, although he wore a red jersey to signify that no contact would be permitted on his person. The sophomore was knocked out of the game against Washington after suffering a blow to the head at the end of a slide to the turf.
He was removed from that game with what was officially called “confusion and disorientation.”
After the game, Brehaut said he felt that he could have continued to play.
“In my head I thought I could go back in,” Brehaut said. “But the doctors said that because I was kind of out of it, and I couldn’t remember some stuff when I came out, that they weren’t going to let me go back in.”
With Kevin Prince and Nick Crissman already shelved for the season, the absence of Brehaut would mean UCLA would have to turn to either junior college transfer Darius Bell or walk-on Clayton Tunney, each of whom played, and struggled, against the Huskies.
Turnovers
The last few games between the Sun Devils and the Bruins have come down to turnovers, with each team winning on the strength of defensive touchdowns.
Turnovers once again plagued UCLA against Washington, as Brehaut, Bell and Tunney each threw an interception; Bell’s was returned for a touchdown.
This time around, the UCLA defense will deal with Arizona State quarterback Steven Threet, who leads the conference in interceptions thrown. A win for UCLA on Friday could come down to taking advantage of that susceptibility.