UCLA’s oft-repeated goal of 2011 has been to win the Pac-12 title. The coaching staff and players held firm to this even after losing two of their three nonconference games, attesting that it was only the “preseason” and the real season begins with conference play.
That made a clash with Stanford, which has been ranked in the top 10 for 11 consecutive weeks and yet isn’t even the favorite to win the conference, provided the Bruins a measuring stick for where their football program really is.
Coach Rick Neuheisel said during a Sunday night teleconference the differences between the two programs were obvious following UCLA’s 45-19 loss.
“We got to be a little bigger,” Neuheisel said. “They were clearly bigger across their offensive line than we were. We have to continue to build in our strength, recruit bigger kids and develop them. They’ve got some great talent. Their quarterback is as advertised. Their tight end is terrific. I thought their defense across the front was playing very hard.
“In terms of wide receivers and linebackers and other places, I don’t see much of a difference. I believe as we get more experience in some of those places, we’ll be in great shape.
“I don’t think we’re far away.”But for the second year in a row, the scoreboard said otherwise. UCLA, which lost 35-0 last year to a Stanford team that finished second in the conference, fell behind 14-0 early in the second quarter Saturday and trailed by double digits throughout.
“We certainly take responsibility as coaches, as is always the case,” Neuheisel said. “You can always point fingers at coaches, but you certainly must give (Stanford) credit for the way they operate their offense. Their quarterback has been playing a long time.”
Neuheisel said UCLA made two deadly mistakes Saturday: Taylor Embree’s muffed punt in the third quarter, and the offense getting stuffed at the goal line on the game’s opening possession, this after a first-and-goal situation from the 4.
“I see improvement,” Neuheisel said. “We played a good team, a top-10 team in the country and they played like it. We were in that game. Except for a few mistakes, that game was a toss up.
“We’re going to have to keep working at it. I believe we have the talent to get it done.”
That sentiment becomes only more polarizing as UCLA (2-3) continues to lose, especially in blowout fashion. If the Bruins have the talent they say they do, why are they still falling so short of their goals?
Neuheisel bristled when asked if that was on the coaches or the players: “I’m not going to point fingers.”
OK, then point to Stanford. The Cardinal, which has never been a consistent football power, went from 1-11 in 2006 to 12-1 in 2010. This weekend it’s ranked No. 4, boasting the nation’s longest winning streak (12). UCLA has been stuck in neutral over that same time period, the Bruins winning between four and seven games each season.
“We can go through the injuries,” Neuheisel said. “There are a number of things we can talk about. But that’s all worthless. If you look at all the great teams, there’s a reason they’re great. And normally it’s because they’ve established very experienced players that are doing it for them.”
For what it’s worth, only five players total on offense and defense are in their second year in the program, none of which are freshman. Only four players are first-year starters. Most importantly, Neuheisel is a fourth-year coach, one that is saying many of the same things he said when he took over in 2008.
“I still believe good things are on the horizon.”
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