Can’t say no one is watching

While Pete Carroll turned USC into a national power, UCLA’s football program has stuggled. Going into the 2007 season, however, the national college football media has more than noticed the Bruins.

Matt Hayes’s suggestion in the Sporting News that UCLA could be the darkhorse choice for the national championship on August 16 was one indicator.

Then came Adam Kilgore’s long article in the Sunday edition of the Washington Post – the Washington Post! – that focused on former Washington Redskins secondary coach and now Bruin defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, who is given substantial credit for last season’s win over USC.

"With the victory, UCLA stakes its claim in the once one-sided rivalry and, with a national-best 20 starters returning for this season, became a chic preseason selection. The Bruins have had an eye on this season since Karl Dorrell arrived as head coach. The senior class comprises the first group of players Dorrell recruited.

"The expectations are high for a team that went 7-6 a year and was shellacked, 44-27, by Florida State in the Emerald Bowl. But they definitely are there, outside UCLA’s locker room and in it. Some preseason publications picked the Bruins to receive an at-large bid to a BCS bowl. UCLA players expect the same."

And most recently, Pat Forde’s column on the Bruins on Monday on ESPN.com: "Now comes a season in which progress is expected to be measured in miles, not inches. With 20 returning starters and a bunch of winnable road games, the time is now for UCLA to win back a share of Los Angeles and make a push into the national elite."

Whatever the result this season, no one is overlooking the Bruins now. Hayes, in his pre-season Pac-10 Conference projection out Wednesday picked the Bruins second behind USC. That could mean playing in the Rose Bowl . . . in January.

Comments

[tRubRucRu]

Great story in the Washington Post on coach Walker. Why don't you return the favor and write a story about the Redskins on your blog? Or better yet on your website, thesportsexaminer.com! Isnt that what they call one scratching the other's back?