UCLA Stinks Up The Desert In An Humiliating Fashion

“Goodness Gracious Sakes Alive!!”

That’s what the late great coach John Wooden would have said if he saw UCLA’s football team play their latest game.

As for me, I know that I have said this twice before, prior to the Oregon State and Washington State games…and now I’m going to say it a third time:

After the 48-12 massacre that the UCLA Bruins took at the hands of the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson in which the Bruins, particularly on defense, played as bad and undisciplined as a football team can play, a loss in their next game will pretty much signal the end of their season.

But let’s get back to the futility that was shown by Rick Neuheisel’s team on Thursday night…

In the first half, Arizona – led by new interim coach Tim Kish after Mike Stoops was fired – had the ball six times.

They scored touchdowns each time, five of them as a result of long drives and four of them in the second quarter alone.

They converted every third down on offense except for once, when they converted on fourth down.

UCLA didn’t help matters any with a fumble by Jonathan Franklin, who had a grand total of 11 yards on the ground, and Nelson Rosario having the ball stripped from him during one drive and dropping two passes in another series.

Franklin shouldn’t be picked on, though, as the Bruin attack gained a pathetic 37 yards on the ground.

The 11 penalties for 105 yards that the Bruins committed, many of them happening when they were driving and in the red zone that effectively stopped any momentum they may have gotten, were an albatross aeound their neck to say the least.

The second half?  There were a few drives where  UCLA gained yards, but it was mostly three-and-outs along with more penalties and mistakes.

All of this against an Arizona defense that was fourth worst in the FBS, giving up an average of 38 points a game.

I don’t even want to mention the fact that the Bruins gave up 573 yards to Arizona, including 254 yards on the ground to a rushing offense ranked 119th out of the 120 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Nor will I dwell on Nick Foles’ 291 yards and three touchdown passes to Gino Crimp in the air, or Juron Criner’s ten receptions for 101 yards.

And we didn’t even get to the worst part of this so-called game: a bench-clearing brawl at the end of the first half which featured wide receiver Taylor Embree getting ejected after throwing a punch, along with Arizona cornerback Shaquille Richardson (who interestingly enough was kicked off the Bruins and out of UCLA after being charged with felony theft in 2010).

Embree will sit out the first half of the Bruins’ next game as per Pac-12 rules, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more players disciplined, if not suspended, once the tape of the fight has been seen.

At least Kevin Prince didn’t wilt in the desert, with his 286 yards passing with a touchdown and, more importantly, no interceptions or injuries – that’s something positive, as was Tyler Gonzalez’ first collegiate field goal, a 42-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Not bad for someone who a month ago was the manager for the UCLA men’s soccer team, washing uniforms and taking care of the equipment.

Barring a win in their next outing, however –  despite what athletic director Dan Guerrero said about his job being safe  -Neuheisel has all but become a lame duck coach, especially after that melee.

Would you believe that this is Arizona’s first win over an FBS team since they beat the Bruins last October 30th, a span of ten straight FBS losses; it’s gotten to the point where if the Wildcats played UCLA every game, they’d be in the BCS championship.

Just trying to make a little joke in the midst of all the frustration, tension and depression in Bruin Nation.

I suppose there’s nothing more to say about the Bruins, except that they need to somehow regroup after this beat down behind the woodshed, and focus on beating the California Golden Bears on October 29th, which is a week from this Saturday.

Because like the Oregon State and Washington State games, this upcoming match up against their older U.C. brothers from Berkeley will be for UCLA’s survival.

NEXT OPPONENT:  California Golden Bears, October 29th, Rose Bowl, 4:00 p.m.

As was said, this Homecoming game will more or less determine UCLA’s fate for this season.

It may well determine Rick Neuheisel’s fate too, as the folks calling for his dismissal are louder than ever after his team wilted in the Arizona desert.

I would say to not be surprised if the crowd at the Rose Bowl numbers in the 40,000’s, but it will probably reach into the 60,000’s due to the fact that Cal always brings a lot of people when they play in L.A., whether it’s UCLA or USC.

Speaking of Cal, don’t be thrown by their three straight losses, their 0-3 record in the Pac-12 North going into their game with Utah this Saturday, and definitely don’t judge them by their five turnovers against USC in their last outing.

I can almost guarantee that the Bears won’t cough up the ball that many times vs. their little Bruin brothers, as this is a fairly formidable team that has some weapons.

Keenan Allen’s the star of the Bears’ offense with his 138 receiving yards per game, which may spell big trouble for UCLA’s pourous pass defense, and Zach Maynard has been decent at quarterback with his 11 touchdown passes.

The question on everyone’s mind will be, can the Bruins save their season – and Neuheisel’s job – again?

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ll certainly be there to find out.