Don't confuse this with a Neu Era. I think Rick Neuheisel is the best option for UCLA as far as head coaching goes. I think he will lead us out of the dark ages of Bruin football.

But I am ready to see some change. Kevin Prince is not getting the job done. Yes he is a talented young kid who has shown flashes of being a decent Pac10 quarterback. But I think the time is now to see what Richard Brehaut can do. Coming in, Brehaut was labeled as the best prospect that UCLA had at quarterback, it was just going to be how long would it take him to get the playbook down. Well, after losing four in a row in the Pac10, I think it is time to see what the kid can do. He has been at UCLA since January, competed in spring ball, and gained some playing time. It is now time to see what he can do as the number one quarterback option.

Today Neuheisel said that Prince would be the starter for the Oregon State game, but that Brehaut would see meaningful snaps. I think, in looking at the situation, Prince is Norm Chow's guy and Brehaut is Neuheisel's guy. I think Brehaut is going to be the better option in the long haul. The thought coming into this year is that Kevin Craft knew the play book the best and Brehaut was the best athlete, but that Prince was just good enough in the playbook and just good enough athletically that he won the starting job. If Brehaut is the better quarterback in the long run, he needs to be playing.

I think looking at last weeks opponent, UCLA can learn a lot about their own quarterback situation. Arizona named Matt Scott as their starting quarterback coming into the season over Nick Foles. But after throwing interceptions and a poor completion percentage in each of the teams first three games, Scott was benched for Foles who had shown glimpses in games despite looking bad in practice. The result is a 3-1 record since the switch and much improved scoring by the team as a hole.

I am not saying that UCLA can solve all its problems by putting Brehaut in the game, but if the Bruins want to have anything to build on for the future, they should let Brehaut be the guy and see what he can do. I feel the UCLA coaching staff has a poor view of where they are as a program. This season is over, the best the Bruins can hope for at this point is 6-6, 7-4 if there is a miracle. And I hate to break it to Bruins fans out there but 6-6 in the Pac10 will not get you to a bowl, so if UCLA wants to salvage the season and have something to show recruits, it should be what Richard Brehaut can do.

After a third straight loss, the young Bruins sit at 3-3 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Not something to be too excited about. A 45-26 loss to Cal at home is something that the Bruins should be embarrassed by. Jeff Tedford won his first game against a Los Angeles based team on the road. Yep, up until Saturday, Tedford was 0 for his career when taking Cal to LA.

0-3 in Pac 10 play is a scary thing to face because to be honest it is doubtful that 6-6 (3-6 in Pac 10) will get UCLA to a bowl game. For UCLA to achieve its goal of a bowl game, they need to go 4-2 to finish the season. It is easier said than done, but it is possible.



UCLA must first split one of its next two games at Arizona and at Oregon State. I think that both games are winnable but it is doubtful because both venues tend to be hard to play in. The Bruins then have back to back games against the Washington schools, both winnable games, followed by a game against Arizona State, also a winnable game. The Bruins close their season as they always do with a matchup against the Trojans where anything can happen.



I see winnable games in each of the next six. But we cannot afford another off day by the defense. Lets face it, the defense blew the Cal game for the Bruins. Kevin Prince had his best day as a Bruin, Jonathan Franklin showed his homerun hitting ability, and Taylor Embree showed that he is ready to be a valuable weapon for this team. But the defense gave up three passing scores to a mediocre quarterback and gave up 35 points in the first half, all where plays over 20 yards. The Big Play has killed the Bruins in their three losses.



Against Stanford it was the flea-flicker that got the defense out of position. Against Oregon it was the 21 second half points in the first four minutes. Against Cal it was five touchdowns in the first half without one snap in the redzone. It would appear that our defenses greatest strength, the ability to swarm to the ball, is also it's greatest weakness, the swarming has a tendency to over pursue.

I know it's too soon to be talking about next year, but going back to the start of this season the thought going in was this team has eight win potential, but they are too young and is still probably a year away. After going 3-0 against two BCS conference schools, those expectations where thrown out the window even though the Bruins really didn't play anyone that was that talented. Now after going 0-3 since, I think we are seeing what we thought we would, a young team that is not quite ready to make the big step.



Franklin, Prince, Embree, and many of the other youngsters on offense will only continue to grow this year. Next year they will be even better. Throw in another top-20 recruiting class and it is hard to believe this team is not on the upswing. Just talk to Malcolm Jones, the highly touted running back that just committed to the Bruins. He will tell you that the reason why he wants to be a Bruin is because they are on the way up.



And I agree, but maybe that's just me being relentlessly positive.

When?  Saturday, October 24, 2009; 3:30 PM
Where?  M.V.P. Sports Grill, Downtown Sacramento
How much?  No host

Come out to MVP's at 17th and Capital to root on the Bruins. We have the back room reserved.

After starting 3-0, the Bruins have dropped two in a row in Pac-10 play. Their 3-2 record is not as nice as we would have hoped, but it is also not something to be down on.

Yes the Bruins started strong, but the competition they played against was not good. Yes we won at Tennessee, but aside from it being a road win against an SEC opponent, there is not much else to be happy about there.

Against Stanford, the offense looked sloppy and conservative. The defense looked tired and unemotional. Against Oregon, 4 minutes is all the Ducks needed to string together three big plays to win.

Now if anything this has reiterated to us what we already knew: UCLA is not there yet.

Yes we could still win anywhere between 6-8 games, but UCLA is still at least a year away from competing in the Pac-10. But that hasn't stopped the players from giving up on this season. They called a players only meeting this week to get their minds ready for Cal.

The Bruins have also been making some much needed noise in the recruiting world.

The number one running back on the west coast, Malcolm Jones committed to the Bruins last week after taking his official visit to watch Stanford beat the Bruins. Jones comes out of Oaks Christian, a football powerhouse that UCLA has been notorious for recruiting poorly. In fact Jones is only the second prospect from Oaks to commit to the Bruins. The other is Senior Safety Aaron Ware.

The Bruins also got a huge commitment from offensive linemen Chris Ward. Ward comes from USC pipeline school Mater Dei. Mater Dei has produced Trojan quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Matt Leinart. But now with the commitment from Ward, hopefully the Bruins will be opening up that school to more Bruins in the future.

Also news has leaked that the Bruins also have two silent verbal commits from players that the coaching staff covets. We don't know when those players will be made know, but at this point it seems apparent that although the Bruins have been struggling the past two games, we must not forget the bigger picture that Coach Neuheisel has. That plan is for the Bruins to be a power for the long haul.

I for one, trust that he is doing things right.