UCLA and Oregon State have alternated enjoying thrilling wins and holding bragging rights for the last two years. But fans of both teams can relate.
When it comes to an always-changing quarterback situation, with the only thing more tenuous being the job security of the coach, the Bruins and Beavers have it all.
When the Bruins line up on the Reser Stadium field Saturday at 12:30 p.m., they’ll see an awful lot of themselves in their counterparts across the line of scrimmage, including a shared must-win attitude.
“They’re going to be hungry for a win ““ we are too,” redshirt junior linebacker Patrick Larimore said.
Appetite isn’t an issue for either team. The Bruins (1-2) come off a lopsided four-score loss to Texas, while the Beavers (0-2) lost by one more than that in their last game, a 35-0 shutout at Wisconsin.
Both get a clean and welcome 0-0 slate for their inaugural Pac-12 conference game after disappointing non-conference seasons. Both also enter Saturday’s game with starting quarterbacks that were opening-day backups ““ UCLA opting for junior Richard Brehaut, Oregon State giving redshirt freshman Sean Mannion his first career start.
Brehaut gets the first chance to notch a conference road win, something that has proved tough for coach Rick Neuheisel’s teams to earn.
“Obviously, we haven’t fared well in Pac-12 road games so we want to make a statement that this is a new team and a new set of guys that are going to change the perception of UCLA football,” Brehaut said.
In three years at UCLA, Neuheisel has notched only two away wins and almost had a third the last time the Bruins were in Corvallis, Ore.
That 2009 game saw UCLA tie the score late after a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit, but it was all for naught when receiver James Rodgers ran a fly sweep in for a Beaver touchdown to seal Oregon State’s 26-19 win.
Rodgers, the school’s career leader in all-purpose yards, makes his return to action this weekend after a year of recovery from a gruesome knee injury suffered in 2010. He adds an extra wrinkle to the Beaver offensive attack that the Bruins have some familiarity, but not success, with.
“You’ve just got to expect his best,” junior cornerback Sheldon Price said. “He’s had some good games against UCLA in the past, so I expect him to come back hungrier than ever.”
Also returning for the Beavers is tight end Joe Halahuni, who caught a touchdown in last year’s meeting at the Rose Bowl. That game ended in a field goal by Kai Forbath with no time remaining that gave UCLA a 17-14 win, their fourth and last of 2010.
Another season like that could cost Neuheisel his job. The same could be said of Oregon State coach Mike Riley. Both find themselves on the front page of CoachesHotSeat.com, a website that nationally ranks the 10 coaches with the most heat. Neuheisel has the No. 2 hot seat, while Riley is at No. 7.
Both coaches share a desire to take their programs back to national relevancy and take the spotlight away from their successful local rivals. That can’t be accomplished in this week’s matchup, pitting two underdogs against each other, but the winner gets the momentum of a 1-0 start in Pac-12 play, something both could use.
“We’re both desperate teams trying to get a win, and we both need a win,” Price said. “This is going to be a big game.”