Don’t Look Now, But UCLA Is 3-0
UCLA is on top of the Pac-10 after three games, and with a win this weekend they announce they their arrival.
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KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Rahim Moore #3 and Alterraun Verner #1 of the UCLA Bruins celebrate at the end of the game against the Tennessee Volunteers on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Bruins beat the Volunteers 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
Quick, which Los Angeles football team is in first place in the Pac-10?
Not the team everybody expected, they had their annual big let down game on the road.
No, it is the UCLA Bruins who are undefeated on the season at 3-0 and will face Stanford this weekend in the only battle of undefeated in teams in the Pac-10. All the attention may be at the other Bay Area game, but come Saturday night the winner of UCLA/Stanford will have a head start in the Pac-10 race an have announced their arrival on scene.
When Rick Neuheisel arrived at UCLA he announced his arrival with a brashness and swagger needed in a program that had been stagnant for a decade. He promised to compete with USC — something he had nowhere near the talent to do — and he got the alumni to believe.
Then he went out and recruited. First he recruited quarterback guru Norm Chow to be his offensive coordinator (a nice slap at USC). Then he went out and got players. This year’s UCLA team is faster and more athletic than years past — and it doesn’t matter how good a coach you are, if you don’t have the players to execute your designs, you are not going to win.
But forget the fancy designs — Saturday in Palo Alto is going to come down to old-fashioned football. Strength on strength. UCLA has the ninth-ranked run defense in the nation, giving up just 74 yards a game, with a big defensive line leading the way. Stanford’s offense is based around Toby Gerhard, who is third in the nation in rushing at 129 yards a game.
UCLA will need a good performance from quarterback Kevin Craft, the backup forced into duty due to the injury of Kevin Prince. Craft was a turnover machine last year but was solid in his one start this year.
Another stout performance — from Craft and the defensive line — and UCLA will have made its statement. And it will have the best record of any Los Angeles college football team.
