The UCLA Bruins get ready for the start of the game in a pre-game huddle.
The UCLA football team’s 31-6 loss to Utah on Saturday was demoralizing enough to the team’s morale. Add to it that the Bruins seemingly lost control of their own destiny in the Pac-12 South race and things started to look exponentially worse.
That is, until the team got off the plane from Salt Lake City.
News that Arizona State ““ UCLA’s competition in the challenge for the division title ““ had lost to Washington State spread throughout the team instantly. The loss meant the Bruins were still tied with the Sun Devils and again hold the power to determine their own fate.
“The players certainly knew,” coach Rick Neuheisel said. “The players, with all their devices, had been keeping track.”
With both teams at 4-3 in conference play, the final two games of the season take on a colossal amount of importance for not only the South division title but also for determining which postseason bowl games each team will go to.
Arizona State is already bowl eligible at 6-4 overall, while UCLA must beat either Colorado at home this Saturday or USC in the Los Angeles Coliseum on Nov. 26 to qualify for the postseason.
You won’t, however, catch Neuheisel talking about the longer term implications of the coming games. He did that once before in the week that led up to a 48-12 loss to Arizona.
Since that fateful night in Tucson, Ariz., Neuheisel has adopted a one-game-at-a-time approach that he believes helped his team to two consecutive wins over California and Arizona State.
“We are not going to deviate from one game at a time,” Neuheisel said. “Certainly last night’s performance is plenty enough motivation to come back and play with everything we’ve got.”
A number of scenarios could play out with respect to how the standings will look at the end of the year. Utah, never thought to be in contention, even has an outside chance of winning the division with some help from the two frontrunners.
What’s even more odd is that UCLA could end up making the title game but missing out on bowl eligibility or even winning the title game without qualifying for the Rose Bowl.
None of that seems to matter to Neuheisel even with the 2-9 Colorado Buffaloes coming to the Rose Bowl this weekend.
“We would be absolutely foolish to (overlook Colorado),” Neuheisel said. “This is going to be a slugfest. (Colorado) is a team that has nothing to lose. We have got to match fire with fire.”
Brehaut probable to play
Junior quarterback Richard Brehaut returned to practice last week but didn’t see the field in the loss to Utah on Saturday.
This week, Brehaut was listed as probable to play on the team’s weekly injury report.
Old friends
The matchup with the Buffaloes this weekend is a reunion of sorts for Neuheisel. He started his coaching career at Colorado where he served as head coach for four seasons, from 1995 to 1998.
“Anytime you get your first head coaching job, that’s extremely special,” Neuheisel said.