With Mike Stoops recently fired at Arizona, and Rick Neuheisel on the brink of being terminated at UCLA, Thursday night’s game between the two programs has taken on additional relevancy….especially if you’re a hot young coordinator looking for a head coaching gig.
But on the field tonight’s showdown makes for some interesting storylines. What can we expect from Tim Kish in his debut in Arizona? And can Neuheisel steal a win in an attempt to get to a bowl game and save his job?
ESPN Los Angeles writer Peter Yoon covers UCLA for the website, and on Thursday answered Five Burning Questions on the Bruins.
1) At 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-12: Is this where you expected UCLA to be?
It’s very difficult to judge where UCLA actually is at this point because they haven’t beaten anyone good (San Jose State, Oregon State and Washington State) and they haven’t lost to anyone bad (Houston, Texas, Stanford). That probably means that UCLA is an average, middle-of-the-road team that will fight for the rest of the season to stay above .500. As far as the record, I had UCLA at 4-2 going into the midseason bye week. The only game that hasn’t gone the way I expected was the opener at Houston, so 3-3 is one game worse than I thought. I didn’t, however, expect UCLA to look as bad as it has through the first half. Especially defensively.
2) The opponent tonight- Arizona -is a sneaky one to me. 1-5 and winless in the Pac-12 but they have faced a brutal schedule, and will also be introducing their new “head coach” for the time being Tim Kish. Thoughts on the opponent?
Arizona is much better than its record indicates. As you mention, the schedule has been as tough as anyone’s in the country and QB Nick Foles is a legitimate first-round NFL draft pick. Unfortunately, losing so many games in a row takes a toll and affect attitude. That explains the loss at Oregon State because Arizona is a better team than Oregon State. So, to change that attitude, they fire the coach and that could make all the difference. I think it was clear that Mike Stoops had lost the respect of his players and that’s why he was let go. It’ll be interesting to see if Tim Kish has the respect of the players, though. Arizona will be looking to make a statement by putting this shiny new product on display on national television and you can bet the Wildcats will be fired up in front of their home crowd on a Thursday night.
3) UCLA wins tonight if… ?
They control the ball with the running game. Let’s face it, UCLA is not going to stop Nick Foles and the Arizona offense, so the best way to combat that is to keep him off the field. They have the weapons to do that with Johnathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman providing an excellent 1-2 punch at running back. The Bruins’ offense begins with the run game and they must control the clock in order to win. Kevin Prince will return at quarterback and he’s not the most consistent passer, but he’s also a threat in the run game so he will also be key. He’ll also need to hit some long passes when Arizona stacks the box. He did that against Washington State and it was a major factor in UCLA winning.
4) Bigger picture: UCLA has had one 10-win season in the last decade, and before that it was the Bob Toledo coached Bruins in 1998 that produced a 10-win season. In your opinion, is UCLA getting any closer to returning to relevance? Or moving in the wrong direction?
I think that in today’s college sports landscape, it will be difficult for UCLA to become a consistently relevant football program without a change in direction from the top of the administration on down. UCLA, as with most UC schools, simply doesn’t invest the revenue into football that it needs to in order to compete on a national level year in and year out. The coaches’ salaries are low and the facilities aren’t that great. Unless they change those types of things, UCLA will have great years every once in a while, but won’t ever attain the consistent level of excellence that so many of its other (less expensive) sports programs enjoy.
5) Firing a coach midseason is rare: Arizona just did it, and speaking of Bob Toledo, Tulane just did it. Is Neuheisel in serious trouble if he loses tonight, even though Arizona is favored? If not, what does Rick have to do the rest of the way, win or lose tonight, to preserve his employment.
I’m not sure if UCLA is prepared to fire Neuheisel this weekend if they lose. I’m sure there will be lots of cries for them to do so, but it would probably be unjustified. UCLA would still be 2-2 in Pac-12 play and still has Arizona State and USC left on the schedule so they would still be in the race for the Pac-12 South title. The real danger in losing tonight is having the bubble of excitement burst around the team. The players are genuinely excited about being in the Pac-12 title race. There has been a different buzz around the team and you can kind of feel the attitude shifting. A loss against Arizona jeopardizes all that. If Neuheisel is to keep his job, I would imagine seven wins is needed. Six might do it if that gets UCLA into a bowl game, but six wins playing in the Pac-12 South won’t exactly get him a raise. The big thing is getting to a bowl game and at least showing some promise that the team is on the rise.
Peter Yoon covers CLA for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter @Pete_Yoon.
Follow Regie Eller @FSURocker
