Four years, 27 losses, one head coach.
That is the sobering stat line associated with the UCLA football team’s senior class that will take the field for the last time on Saturday.
UCLA football’s class of 2011 has seen it all: big wins at Tennessee and Texas. Blowout losses at nearly every Pac-12 stadium including their own.
It has played in a bowl game, taken part in a brawl and seen a staff overhaul all under the direction of Rick Neuheisel.
The man who was hired in December 2007 and charged with the tall task of turning UCLA into a winner will see his first senior class out the door when UCLA (5-5, 4-3 Pac-12) takes on Colorado (2-9, 1-6) at the Rose Bowl.
“There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that go into these four years as you try to build a program back to respectability,” Neuheisel said.
No matter the amount of blood, sweat or tears that everyone in the program has invested, it hasn’t resulted in more wins.
With two 4-8 seasons already in the books, Neuheisel’s odds of sticking around after this season may be slim.
“It’s definitely had its ups and downs, as we all know,” senior safety Tony Dye said with a laugh.
“We’ve been everywhere with coach Neuheisel. I think our class especially has a really good bond with him because we all came in at the same time and we’re all fighting for the same thing.”
It’s that we’re-all-in-this-together attitude that has drawn Neuheisel so close to his senior class. Their futures are dependent on each other, and they both know it.
“You really do see a special bond between this year’s seniors and coach Neuheisel,” senior wide receiver Taylor Embree said.
“Whether it’s the inside jokes he has, even talking to him or being around him, you can tell that we’re just like his kids. He’s watched us grow up.”
One of Neuheisel’s goals since he arrived on campus has been to win the Pac-12 conference title.
Surprisingly, the Bruins still find themselves in the thick of the Pac-12 South division title race thanks to the postseason ineligibility of USC and a few timely wins.
Neuheisel’s first senior class is in good position to be in contention for the division. The Bruins control their own destiny. It’s win out and get in, but this team has a history of folding under pressure.
It had the same opportunity last week and lost but got bailed out when fellow Pac-12 South leader Arizona State folded against Washington State.
The play of Arizona State and Utah will help determine how the race shakes out, but UCLA’s task remains clear.
First up is Colorado, coached by Neuheisel’s friend and former colleague as well as Embree’s father, Jon.
While Jon Embree’s decision on whether to walk out onto the field with his son for senior day could garner more national attention than the game itself, it’s the starting point of the senior class’s last chance to finish strong.
With the season finale, a crosstown rivalry game at USC, looming, this one is a must-win if the Bruins want to be eligible for the postseason.
“It’s our last shot,” senior running back Derrick Coleman said.
“We don’t get to come back next year. We have everything to lose, so we have to go out there and play these last two games with everything we’ve got.”