PORTLAND, Ore. “”mdash; Soon-to-be-former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel will take the field one last time Friday to coach the Bruins in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium.
If you missed our preview of the game that ran in Thursday’s Daily Bruin, give it a look here.
Neuheisel met with media members Thursday as part of the Pac-12 Championship Game press conference and acknowledged the fact that not many people are giving his team a chance in the game, especially not the Vegas oddsmakers. UCLA enters the game as 32-point underdogs.
He also addressed the unique situation he finds himself in: Not even a win over the No. 8 Ducks would keep Neuheisel around to coach the Rose Bowl. Offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will take over in whatever bowl game the team goes to. The NCAA granted UCLA’s request for a bowl waiver petition on Wednesday, meaning the Bruins are going bowling regardless of the outcome of Friday’s game.
Finally, Neuheisel analyzed what makes Oregon’s high-octane offense so difficult to stop, keeping with the belief that his offense will have to “hold serve” in order to stay in the game. That’s not something UCLA was able to do the last time it came to Autzen. The Bruins fell to the Ducks 60-13 on Oct. 21 of last season.