UCLA - All Glitz No Glamor: A Preview of the Pac 12 Championship Game.

I have a neighbor who lives up the street from me who’s a big Bruin fan, and lets me know about it every time I drive by with a shout of “go bruins,” or “Ducks suck.”  If he’s not saying something, you can still see it in his yard: all of his vehicles are decked out with bruin decals, he’s got bruin flags and jerseys in his garage, and every Christmas he puts out a large mechanical santa, dressed in a bruin football jersey, that wave at passerby’s.  It’s actually a pretty cool Santa – one of the nicer lawn ornaments in the neighborhood.
            This year my neighbor rolled out santa for what seems like the billionth time, and to his disappointment, it stopped waving.  You see, like his Santa, UCLA football is pretty from the outside, but faulty on the inside.  Like a Ferrari with a Kia for an engine.  They play in one of the most famous venues in sports (the Rose Bowl), constantly pull in some of the best recruiting classes in the nation, and are in a prime location in West LA, yet have nothing to show for it.  They’re perennial underachievers, and this year has been no different.
            UCLA came into the year once again with high expectations.  They had a disappointing year the season before, but they were young and still learning a new offense.  With many starters returning and another year under this system, many people (once again) thought highly of UCLA.  In fact, Kirk Herbstreet even picked them as his darkhorse team in the Pac 12.  Give him credit for UCLA making it to the title game, but they come in stumbling at 6-6, having just lost to their rival USC 50-0, and their coach reportedly being fired.
            Their reward for winning the south division?  A chance to get their ass kicked by Oregon in the first ever Pac 12 championship game.  A historical moment it will be, in a series that has had some memorable moments before, in a rivalry that used to be known as the Bruckbowl.  The rivalry kind of grew during the mid to late 90’s.  There were some pretty close games between the two; Oregon won on a last second field goal in back to back years in ’01, and ’02.  The latter of which may have led to the firing of former head coach Bob Toledo, who once was an assistant at Oregon.  In fact Toledo was one of a few coaches that have coached on both sidelines.
            UCLA leads the all-time series 38-26, but are just 2-8 vs. the Ducks since 2000, including a loss last year.  That was Oregon’s first game ever as being the nations #1 ranked team.  The game was also one of the first on ESPN 3D.  Oregon’s offense and yellow uniforms were on full display and looked brilliant in 3D, as they cruised to a 60-13 win.  The win was the most lopsided in the series, and the most points scored by one team. (you can find a link with highlights of that game at the end of the page).
            Other memorable moments for me include Gameday’s first ever visit to the west coast in 1998, in a matchup of two top 10 teams in Oregon and UCLA.  UCLA won in a close one, thanks in part due to Oregon losing Reuben Droughns to an injury during the game.  Also, Gameday’s first ever visit to Autzen stadium came in 2000, in a matchup between #6 UCLA and Oregon, who was also in the top 20 at the time.  I remember standing out in the cold of the morning freezing my ass off, with my good friend Grayson Boucher (who you may know as “The Professor” from streetball fame) for hours, waiting in line to be in the front row of Gameday.
            Oregon went on to win that day, 29-10, in front of a loud, and rowdy crowd at Autzen stadium.
            Beating the Bruins is something the Ducks have become accustomed to, and they’ll probably do it again this Friday.  The Ducks are 30 point favorites, and the Bruins stand little a chance in preventing the Ducks from making their second trip to the Rose Bowl in three years.
            Maybe that Santa was on to something when he stopped waving.  Knowing that rough times were ahead must’ve taken the cheerfulness right out of him.

NOTES:

• Oregon is currently 10-2, making it their fourth straight season with at least 10 wins, and seventh all-time.
• Oregon is the first ever Pac 12 North division champions
• On the verge of becoming Pac 10/12 champions for the third consecutive time, and would be the 11th conference championship in school history.

Autzen stadium will be the host to the first ever Pac 12 championship game. You know that already, but still sounds cool.