Week 7: UCLA at Oregon

People in Eugene, Ore., don’t like Rick Neuheisel, who was merely disliked when he coached at Colorado and became public enemy No. 1 in this town when he took over at border rival Washington. He is reviled for ordering an onside kick with a big lead over the Ducks, for letting his players dance on Oregon’s midfield logo, for uttering “Scoreboard, baby,” in reference to a lopsided win over this team. He should get his comeuppance on this trip north to this Willamette Valley mecca, his first in six years.

In his first year as coach, Neuheisel brings a patchwork UCLA team to Oregon, a club just a step or two ahead of Washington and Washington State in terms of Pac-10 firepower. He’ll get no sympathy from the hometown fans when his offense bogs down under the direction of Kevin Craft, who would be his third-string quarterback if not for injuries to the other guys. No one will care much that the Bruins have a rebuilt offensive line that even features a true freshman in Jeff Baca and tries to run the ball with Kahlil Bell, a much more fearsome back before knee surgery eight months ago. UCLA is a little more presentable on defense, relying primarily on nimble defensive tackles Brigham Harwell and Brian Price to make things happen.

The Ducks have problems of their own, limping home from a 44-10 beating at the hands of USC in Los Angeles. That outcome might have been more of a function of the Trojans unleashing a little payback for their upset loss at Oregon State and Oregon just happened to be in the way. The Ducks normally are more sound on defense, particularly their secondary, which got zinged for four USC touchdown passes. Sophomore quarterback Justin Roper, out three games with a knee injury, should play for the first time since the mishap, either starting or in relief. Whoever is behind center will hand off mostly to senior tailback Jeremiah Johnson, with junior LeGarrette Blount slowed by a hip flexor. The Ducks generate 482 offensive yards an outing, while the Bruins permit 368. A mismatch looks possible. Oregon is a little beat up, but still should have more than UCLA can handle. Welcome home, Rick.
 
Notes:

UCLA leads this series 39-22, winning two of the past three games.

Oregon is expecting its 58th consecutive sellout at Autzen Stadium, a streak that goes all the way back to 1999 game against Nevada.

The Ducks senior center Max Unger and senior rover Patrick Chung have started every game they’ve played in, 44 and counting. Unger had 26 of his starting assignments at left tackle.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel is 4-1 against Oregon at previous stops Colorado and Washington. In his last visit to Autzen, his Huskies took a resounding 42-14 victory.

Bruins senior linebacker Kyle Bosworth, nephew of former Oklahoma and NFL linebacker and B-movie actor Brian Bosworth, had 19 tackles against Washington State, tying the most by a UCLA player in the past 19 seasons.

Key Player (Bruins) – Terrence Austin, WR-KR

This guy does everything for UCLA. He leads the team in receiving, with 27 catches for 257 yards; has run the ball four times, picking up 37 yards; returned 11 punts, generating another 91 yards, and returned 17 kickoffs for 456 yards, including a 73-yarder. He’s done it all except reach the end zone.

Key Player (Ducks) – Nick Reed, DE

The senior defensive leader has 41 career tackles for loss and 22.5 career sacks, 7 and 6.5 shy of matching school records. He’s an aggressive guy who doesn’t care who’s at quarterback. He crumpled USC’s Mark Sanchez with a sack, getting reacquainted with his former high school teammate. He finds his way into the backfield every game, currently sporting a streak of picking up a sack or more in five consecutive games. UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft will be looking over his shoulder for this man.

Oregon by 14