It’s all come down to this, really.
The UCLA football team’s 2010 season has had a healthy spectrum of emotion, from the sweet surge of shocking triumphs to the sinking embarrassment of blowout losses. Despite how those feelings might weigh against one another, at this point, the Bruins seem to be in agreement: They are not ready to let the ride end.
“We need that extra game,” junior wide receiver Taylor Embree said. “We want to make this go as long as it can.”
UCLA (4-6, 2-5 Pac-10) is finally in a must-win situation if it wants to make a coveted postseason bowl game appearance, which means beat Arizona State (4-6, 2-5) in Tempe on Friday, or spend December watching college football on television with the rest of the college football world.
Though the Sun Devils are favored to win their final home game of the season, there are some unknown factors hanging over this contest that have the potential to make it at least more interesting.
First, inconsistency has reigned supreme in this year’s Pac-10, and both the Bruins and Sun Devils are no exception. In its last game, ASU had a 13-10 lead against Rose Bowl contender Stanford going into the final quarter, but there is also a 50-17 loss to a struggling Cal team sticking out on its schedule.
Just like the Bruins, the Sun Devils are hanging on to their own thin thread of postseason eligibility, also needing to win their final two games to make a bowl game, which raises the stakes from a normal conference matchup.
Junior linebacker Sean Westgate, UCLA’s leading tackler, has noticed the difference in the team’s practice this week.
“It’s the urgency,” he said. “You’ve got to get it done now. You don’t get next week to make up what you messed up this week.”
And the Bruins did mess up last week.
Facing Washington in Seattle, UCLA felt it had a chance to win, especially when the offense scored the first touchdown and the defense was holding up well. Then, sophomore quarterback Richard Brehaut was knocked out of the game, and things slipped away from there, fast.
The most shocking aspect of the 24-7 loss was the wake-up call to the Bruins’ gaunt quarterback depth chart, which was exposed when sophomore transfer Darius Bell and redshirt junior walk-on Clayton Tunney were both overwhelmed in sudden second-half appearances.
“It’s a painful lesson, but it’s a great lesson to everybody that you’ve got to (be) totally ready to go,” Neuheisel said.
Brehaut has been practicing with the team since the loss though, and coach Rick Neuheisel appeared confident he would be leading the charge Thanksgiving weekend.
“He’s showing no ill effects from Thursday night,” Neuheisel said of Brehaut. “Hopefully, that will remain the case, and he’ll be ready to go.”
From Neuheisel’s perspective, this is a team that hasn’t given up on its own chances to be successful.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to put a product on the field that won’t beat itself,” he said.
At the heart of the Bruins’ preparation is unpredictable Sun Devil quarterback Steven Threet.
“He’s a big, tall, strong-armed player,” Neuheisel said. “When he gets hot he can really get things going.”
Threet’s powerful arm has contributed 18 passing touchdowns to the ASU cause, but his 16 interceptions is tied for the most of any Football Bowl Subdivision passer. His two turnovers against Stanford were especially costly.
The Bruins have had turnover problems of their own, sitting last in the Pac-10 in turnover differential at -10, which likely contributes to their coach’s feelings of self-inflicted pain.
“We’ve got to find a way to play a clean game and not to hurt ourselves as has been the case in many of our defeats this year,” Neuheisel said.
UCLA is plenty aware of what’s at stake. More so than ever, the Bruins aren’t just playing for a game, they are playing for their entire year.
“We can still save this season,” Embree said.
Here’s their chance to do it.