At this time last year, UCLA’s football team had a record of three wins and three losses.
Hopes of a seven or eight win season were high, but the Bruins proceeded to tank, winning just one game after that and finishing at 4-8 with their coach, Rick Neuheisel, being placed firmly on the hot seat.
This year’s Bruins have the exact same record at this season’s midpoint as last year’s, which is a bit unexpected considering the way they have performed, particularly on defense. Quarterbacks like Houston’s Case Keenum and Stanford’s Andrew Luck have carved UCLA up due to the lack of pressure from the defensive line.
Bruin Nation knew that things would be tough after their team needed a fourth quarter rally to break a late game tie and beat cupcake San Jose State, and if some members of such nation didn’t realize that, they should have.
The Bruins did show some heart and determination in their last game, a 28-25 win over Washington State where they exhibited an “I’ll show them!” and a “We’re not gonna lose!” attitude.
If they intend to finish with at least six or seven wins and a berth in the post season, UCLA is definitely going to need that kind of mindset in the second half of the 2011 campaign.
Thanks to the pistol offense, the Bruins’ running game has been very good, led by Johnathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman, the lightning and thunder of that unit.
Franklin is third among Pac-12 running backs with a total of 619 yards, averaging 7.0 yards a carry, while Coleman is my choice for team MVP at this point, as he has been a beast in scoring eight rushing touchdowns, which is also among the Pac-12 leaders.
As for the quarterbacks, Richard Brehaut filled in pretty well for Kevin Prince, who was replaced after throwing three interceptions against Texas in the first quarter of that game, arguably the worst performance in UCLA football history on the way to a humiliating 49-20 loss.
Brehaut solidified his hold as the starter by throwing for six touchdowns without an interception before breaking his leg against Washington State.
Prince then responded and had the best game he’s had in years, throwing for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the Bruins’ win, but it’s touch and go as to how things will turn out.
Prince needs to prove that his success wasn’t just luck and, more importantly, stay healthy.
The big question now is whether UCLA will continue their progress or lose five of their next six like in 2010.
The toughest games remaining on their schedule are against Arizona State at home on November 5th, followed three weeks later by USC in their annual Crosstown War on November 26th; even against that competition I don’t find myself thinking, “Forget it, we’re going to get smashed.”
The Bruins have enough talent to battle toe-to-toe with those two teams if not outright beat them, and the rest of the schedule is likewise filled with winnable match ups.
Arizona has the top rated quarterback in the conference in Nick Foles, but have also just fired their coach due largely to their pourous run defense, which plays into UCLA’s strength. California comes to the Rose Bowl, as does last place Colorado, while UCLA will travel to Utah, who has problems of their own.
The bottom line here is, these upcoming games are winnable. The Bruins could easlily end up 7-5, or even 8-4.
They could also just as easily end up 5-7 or, like last season, 4-8.
Can UCLA get it together in the second half?
Can they cool Neuheisel’s hot seat?
As those old TV cliffhanger shows used to say, “Stay tuned to find out.”