Even before The UCLA Bruins lost to The USC Trojans in their regular
season finale, Bruin head coach Rick Neuheisel was on thin ice. The
Bruins suffered a 50-0 loss to their crosstown rivals and after the game
Neuheisel was told that his services would no longer be needed after
The Pac-12 Championship Game. In his four seasons at UCLA, Neuheisel was
never able to bring The Bruins up to the level of USC. Neuheisel never
won more than six games in a season. This season The Trojans won The
Pac-12 South but are ineligible for The Pac-12 Championship Game due to
being on probation by The NCAA which will allow UCLA to face The Oregon
Ducks for The Pac-12 Title.
After Neuheisel found out of his dismissal he did an interview with
Colin Cowherd of ESPN. Neuheisel expressed frustration with the
expectations at UCLA and the lack of facilities that The Bruins have.
Neuheisel likened it to “taking a knife to a gun fight” as far as trying
to compete with USC. The Bruins do not even have a 100-yard practice
field which is disturbing for any football team in The Pac-12. This is
one of many illustrations why The Bruins are “the little brother” to The
Trojans in Southern California.
Since 1999 The Bruins have only defeated The Trojans once and it is
not a coincidence that The Trojans have dominated The Bruins in
recruiting. When former Trojan head coach Pete Carroll took over at USC
in 2001, he was able to develop a pipeline of talent to The National
Football League that The Bruins have not been able to match. In the past
ten years, The Trojans have produced a long list of players who were
drafted in the first round of The NFL. Brian Cushing, Tyron Smith, Mike
Patterson, and Keith Rivers are only four of many Trojans that have been
drafted in the first round. At the same time, The Bruins have only been
able to produce one first rounder in Marcedes Lewis.
Carroll had previous experience as a head coach in The NFL and
players knew that if they went to USC Carroll would prepare them for a
chance to play in NFL which is something that players love to hear as
they are coming out of high school. The Trojans have been hit with
sanctions by The NCAA which includes a two-year bowl ban and a reduction
in scholarships. This hasn’t stopped The Trojans from succeeding as
they have been able to have better recruiting classes than The Bruins in
the last two seasons. Under current head coach Lane Kiffin, The Trojans
have been able to land two top 25 classes according to ESPN.com while
The Bruins are not even on the radar. It is not a good sign for any
college football team when they are losing out to their main rival off
the field for recruiting and on the field while that rival is being
sanctioned by The NCAA.
The Bruins are not only losing out on recruits to USC, but also
fellow Pac-12 members such as The Ducks, Washington Huskies, and
California Golden Bears. These schools have been able to get some of the
top talent out of The Southern California region while leaving UCLA
searching for answers. Running back Kenjon Barner from Riverside,
California has been a key contributor this season for The Ducks as they
are trying to win three consecutive conference championships. The
Huskies went to Redlands, California to get running back Chris Polk. In
his three seasons with The Huskies, Polk has gone over 1,000 yards
rushing in each season and has helped the turnaround for Washington.
This turnaround has also seen The Huskies bring in quarterback Keith
Price from Compton. The Golden Bears have been able to get future NFL
stars right out of UCLA’s backyard. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson from
Los Angeles and Alex Mack from Santa Barbara decided to head north to
Berkley instead of staying in Southern California. We are only left to
ponder what could have been for The Bruins if they were able to keep
some of these players at home.
Going forward UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero will definitely
conduct a national search for the next head coach. The Bruins will have
to spend the money to upgrade the facilities as well as spending the
money for a head coach. The tradition that was laid out at UCLA by
former players such as Troy Aikman and Johnathan Ogden is a distant
memory to high school football players of this generation. The Bruins
must find a way to create that buzz again for the program. The Bruins
currently play at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena which has a seating capacity
of 92,542. The Bruins have struggled to get 50,000 fans for their home
games in the last few seasons. The only time that The Bruins have been
able to sell out is when they play The Trojans.
The Bruins will have to bring in a big name coach that will put life
into the fan base and spark recruiting. Boise State Bronco head coach
Chris Petersen will definitely be a name that will be thrown around as
well as Houston Cougar head coach Kevin Sumlin in the coming weeks. It
might be tough to lure these coaches away from their respective programs
as they both have built solid foundations and the pressure to win would
increase tremendously at UCLA. The Bruins could also look to The NFL
ranks at Jim Mora Jr. Mora Jr. played collegiately at The University of
Washington before becoming a head coach for The Atlanta Falcons and
Seattle Seahawks. In order for The Bruins to compete with Oregon and USC
they must figure out what is unique about UCLA. The Ducks give players a
chance to wear numerous uniform combinations while The Trojans will get
players ready for The NFL. In the last decade both teams have dominated
The Pac-12 and each school has become a regular participant in The Rose
Bowl Game while The Bruins have been fortunate to get a bid to The Las
Vegas Bowl.
The Bruins have gotten lost in the shuffle of The Pac-12 with the
likes of The Oregon State Beavers and Arizona Wildcats. It will take a
big financial commitment from UCLA to get the ball rolling once again.
The Bruins may not be able to prevent prize recruits from the state of
California from going to USC, but they must play prevent defense from
other schools in The Pac-12 from taking talent away from The Southern
California region. The Ducks and Huskies are able to recruit California
and corner off their respective states which has worked as an advantage
to them. Hopefully UCLA can take the appropriate steps needed or they
will continue to be looked at as USC’s little brother in Southern
California.
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