LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Pac-10’s only undefeated team is back at work, preparing for a weekend showdown with the conference leader in the Bay Area.
If you had guessed early last month that UCLA’s meeting with Stanford would fit those criteria instead of No. 7 Southern California’s visit to Berkeley on that same Saturday, even Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel might not have believed it.
Yet shortly after UCLA’s last victory, Neuheisel had begun to think this Pac-10 season could be just as wide open as it now appears.
“I said after we took the field against Kansas State (on Sept. 19) that after what had taken place that day, the cards were being reshuffled in the Pac-10,” Neuheisel said Monday. “Certainly last week did nothing to dispel that notion. It’s a very competitive conference, and you’d better line up each weekend, or you’re going to get one in the chops.”
except UCLA, which emerged from its only bye week with its first 3-0 start in four years after victories over San Diego State, Tennessee and Kansas State. With the Cardinal (3-1) riding a 2-0 conference start after beating up both Washington schools, the Bruins’ visit to Stanford Stadium shapes up as a chance to stamp the winning school’s rebuilding program with definite success and a likely national ranking.
Neuheisel is still preaching caution, but UCLA’s fans already realize that a sixth consecutive win over Stanford could put the Bruins back in the national spotlight midway through his second season in charge of his alma mater – not that the Bruins care about such things.
“We’ll squash that in the locker room,” senior cornerback Alterraun Verner said. “Being UCLA, we’ve always got to have that chip on our shoulder and just go out there and play hard. We’ve showed a lot of room for improvement, so this is a great chance to iron a lot of that out.”
UCLA’s defense shows early signs of being formidable, allowing just one touchdown and 11 total points after the first quarters of all three games. The Bruins haven’t allowed more than 300 yards in a game this season, and they’ve already made eight interceptions while playing exceptionally well on third downs (12 of 45, 26.7 percent).
for the rematch of a game won last year by the Bruins on a last-minute touchdown pass by Kevin Craft, who’s back in the starting lineup after losing his job in the offseason.
The big exception to the Bruins’ relatively good health is quarterback Kevin Prince, who’s still recovering from a broken jaw. Craft led UCLA past Kansas State with a minimum of mistakes, and Neuheisel said the senior will get the majority of time with the first-team offense in practice this week, with freshman Richard Brehaut also preparing to play.
Neuheisel, whose blowups at Craft on the sideline were one of last season’s favorite sideshows, faintly praised his quarterback for “a consistent performance” against the Wildcats.
“We have to line up and see how it goes before we’ll know, but I do have optimism for the way we’ll play,” Neuheisel said. “I do believe that we can go toe-to-toe. I do believe we’re improved, and hopefully now the improvement level will escalate. This is now the fifth week of an offensive line kind of coming together. Even though we’ve had to change the quarterback position, the quarterbacks are getting settled into the offense. We just have to be urgent about the details.”
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