UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel’s supporters can point to a lot of positive things the fourth-year coach has done in the last two weeks.
His team has gone 2-0 since an embarrassing, nationally-televised loss to Arizona, and the Bruins control their own destiny in the Pac-12 South division.
There have been multiple highs and lows of the Neuheisel era, but his apologists can’t conjure up a time in the last four years that the Bruins have been nationally ranked.
The last time a UCLA team was in the national polls came in September of 2007 under former coach Karl Dorrell. Despite their national ranking, Dorrell’s No. 11 Bruins were blown out 44-6 that season.
This weekend, UCLA returns to the scene of the blowout ““ Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium ““ for its first Pac-12 meeting with the Utes.
The road game with the Utes (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) comes at a crucial juncture in the Bruins’ (5-4, 4-2) season, as it’s the team’s first of three chances to get their sixth win, which equates to bowl eligibility.
Although USC and Arizona State are tied with UCLA at 4-2 in the conference, the Bruins control their own destiny in the conference race: They hold the critical tiebreaker over the Sun Devils, and the crosstown Trojans are ineligible for postseason play, including the Pac-12 championship game.
Since the loss to Arizona, the Bruins have adopted a one-game-at-a-time approach that Neuheisel called a “formula for success.”
“I’m not talking about anything other than Utah, and that’s what we should be doing,” Neuheisel said. “Anytime someone wants to come up and pat your back for (recent wins against) Arizona State or Cal, you say, “˜thank you but we’re thinking about Utah.'”
Thinking ahead or not, winning on the road hasn’t been easy for UCLA lately. The Bruins’ last road win came in late September against Oregon State.
With low temperatures predicted to be in the 30s and the elevation at more than 4,000 feet, it will be anything but a familiar atmosphere for the Bruins.
“I feel like we’re prepared to go into a place like Utah,” senior wide receiver Taylor Embree said. “It’s going to be at elevation, it’s going to be cold and it’s going to be noisy, but we have enough guys that have been through the fire to be prepared for a game like this.”
This weekend’s game in Salt Lake City features one of the more interesting matchup problems UCLA will face all season.
The Bruins’ calling card in the pistol offense is its running game.
The Bruins rank third in the conference in rushing offense, but they’ll be running head first into a Utah run defense that ranks second in the conference, allowing less than 100 yards per game.
Something has to give, but redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Prince has faith in his team’s offense.
“It’s going to be tough for them to prepare for us because they haven’t seen anything like it,” Prince said. “It’s going to be a good challenge.”