LOS ANGELES (AP) -Rick Neuheisel returns to the school where he once coached when UCLA plays this weekend at Washington in yet another sideshow for the Huskies, who have a lame duck coach and are the nation’s only winless team.
“Obviously I’ve got history there,” Neuheisel said Monday. “I had a great experience being their coach many years ago and very much respect their program and respect the university and know that they will play with great passion and pride this weekend despite a tough season.
“We’re also experiencing a tough season, but as is the case with Washington, our kids have not given up, they continue to play hard and I think you’re going to get a spirited game on Saturday night.”
Neuheisel, in his first season coaching his alma mater, guided the Huskies four years before the university fired him for being involved in an NCAA basketball betting pool. He filed a wrongful-termination suit and won a $4.5 million settlement from the university and the NCAA.
-16 record from 1999-2002. The Huskies went 11-1 in 2000, tying for the Pac-10 title and beating Purdue 34-24 in the Rose Bowl.
Asked if he might feel strange being on the other sideline at Husky Stadium, Neuheisel said, “Yeah, probably, but remember I started on the `strange’ side. I was a UCLA guy first (as a player and assistant) and had been in that stadium many times on the opponent sidelines.
`I’ve got fond memories – guys I was fortunate enough to coach there, and we had some big wins there. It isn’t a place that I’m going into that haunts me.”
Does he still have friends in Seattle?
Neuheisel smiled and said, “A few that will even admit it.”
He doesn’t know what sort of reception the Washington fans might give him.
“I’m sure there will be those who will make sure that I hear that I’m not welcome. But I’m sure that, given where we are in the season, it’s probably less than the focal point,” Neuheisel said. “I think the focal point is two programs trying to change their fortunes and get going in the right direction.”
The Huskies (0-9, 0-6) already have announced that coach Tyrone Willingham will be let go at the end of the season.
Neuheisel said he has a bit of a history with Willingham.
,” Neuheisel said. “You always feel bad when people have to move on because you know what kind of effort and how much goes into these jobs, not only for the head coach but for all the assistants and families.
“But I also know that, given his resume and given who he is, he’ll be back very shortly.”
UCLA (3-6, 2-4) is favored by a touchdown, and Neuheisel offered a sort of prediction of his own.
“I think it’s going to be one of those games where both teams are going to line up thinking they’ve got a chance to win, and that’s the way Saturday night should be,” he said.
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