I am not saying that with tongue in cheek. The Bruins open with Kansas State this year and the anticipation for that game is many rungs below what Bruin fans were feeling before the games with Tennessee the last two seasons. I think it is always easier to get through late July and August when you are anticipating a game with an opponent from a storied program.
As a general rule UCLA schedules one quality OOC opponent each year. In recent years those have been Oklahoma, Michigan, Alabama (twice) and Tennessee (twice). If memory serves me correctly we won all of those games - primarily because we happened to catch those storied programs in down years.
Part of UCLA's OOC scheduling stems from the olden days when UCLA's greatest coach of all time, Tennessee-born Tommy Prothro, liked to schedule a good OOC opponent each year in order to get a good gauge on his teams' strengths and weaknesses. In those days if you won more PAC-8 conference games than any other school in the conference you went to the Rose Bowl regardless of your OOC record. Very few schools have that scheduling philosophy in today's BCS era, and more's the pity.
We are playing Texas this year (in Austin) so our tradition of quality OOC opponents still seems strong. I was at the last UCLA game in Austin in 1997, which the Bruins won 66-3. They say that score cost John Malkovic his job as Longhorn head coach.
In any event, it's been fun to come here the last two years and participate in this forum. It is truly a fun place for any college football fan, regardless of his/her Alma Mater. I shall miss it this year.
We will do our best to beat Kiffin and the hated Trojans in December. Some local pundits - not many - have picked us to win that game.
Ironically, I will not be able to see the game live because on game day I will be taking an exam to become a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park. Let's hope that the Bruins can pull off the same upset in December that the Army of the Potomac pulled off 147 years ago.
But what this really means is that I will not be able to be in the stands at the Rose Bowl and put on my Vols jersey when UCLA scores it's first touchdown against USC, as I had planned to do. I'll try to get to a USC game earlier in the year and wear it then.
Good luck to you all.
As a general rule UCLA schedules one quality OOC opponent each year. In recent years those have been Oklahoma, Michigan, Alabama (twice) and Tennessee (twice). If memory serves me correctly we won all of those games - primarily because we happened to catch those storied programs in down years.
Part of UCLA's OOC scheduling stems from the olden days when UCLA's greatest coach of all time, Tennessee-born Tommy Prothro, liked to schedule a good OOC opponent each year in order to get a good gauge on his teams' strengths and weaknesses. In those days if you won more PAC-8 conference games than any other school in the conference you went to the Rose Bowl regardless of your OOC record. Very few schools have that scheduling philosophy in today's BCS era, and more's the pity.
We are playing Texas this year (in Austin) so our tradition of quality OOC opponents still seems strong. I was at the last UCLA game in Austin in 1997, which the Bruins won 66-3. They say that score cost John Malkovic his job as Longhorn head coach.
In any event, it's been fun to come here the last two years and participate in this forum. It is truly a fun place for any college football fan, regardless of his/her Alma Mater. I shall miss it this year.
We will do our best to beat Kiffin and the hated Trojans in December. Some local pundits - not many - have picked us to win that game.
Ironically, I will not be able to see the game live because on game day I will be taking an exam to become a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park. Let's hope that the Bruins can pull off the same upset in December that the Army of the Potomac pulled off 147 years ago.
But what this really means is that I will not be able to be in the stands at the Rose Bowl and put on my Vols jersey when UCLA scores it's first touchdown against USC, as I had planned to do. I'll try to get to a USC game earlier in the year and wear it then.
Good luck to you all.
