Sunday syllabus: the week that was and the week ahead

Even though the Fall Quarter doesn’t start for a month, UCLA’s fall teams finally got into action this past week and everyone will be engaged this coming week:

Football:

>> Last week: The Bruins are ranked no. 14 by the Associated Press and no. 17 in the coaches poll, they’re fairly healthy except at fullback. Quarterback Ben Olson has looked sharp in practice and the defense appears to be ready to pick up where it ended the USC game.

>> This week: UCLA opens its season on the road vs. Stanford on Saturday. The Cardinal was 1-11 last year, hired a new coach in Jim Harbaugh and is expected to be last in the conference again. The Bruins are a 16-point choice on the early line.

>> Of note: UCLA has sold more than 45,0000 season tickets, the most in its history, surpassing last season’s total of 44,777.

Men’s Basketball:

>> Last week: Junior forward Luc Richard Mbah A Moute helped Cameroon to its highest finish ever – second place – in the African Nations Championship in Angola. Although his team lost to host (and defending African champion Angola), Mbah A Moute averaged 13.2 points a game and started four of the team’s five games.

>> This week: things are quiet until practice starts in October.

>> Of note: Former Bruin Reggie Miller confirmed his retirement and said he would not return to the NBA. He told the Indianapolis Star, "Physically, I know I could have done it. But mentally, when you do something like this, you’ve either got to be all in or all out. And I’ve decided I’m all out." He added, "Please write, I will never, ever, ever try something like this again. Any of the 30 teams in the NBA, if you’re interested, please don’t call."

Men’s Soccer:

>> Last week: The No. 1-ranked Bruin men’s soccer team played to a 2-2 draw in an exhibition match with North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C.

>> This week: The Bruins get going for real at the adidas/IU Cred Union Classic in Bloomington, Indiana with matches against no. 9 Notre Dame on Friday and against Indiana on Sunday.

Women’s Soccer:

>> Last week: The Bruins have been ranked no. 1, 2 or 3 in the country depending on which poll you believe. Forward Lauren Cheney and midfielders Christina DiMartino and Danesha Adams were named as pre-season All-America choices by Soccer Buzz.

>> This week: The Bruins open on the road in Houston, Texas, facing the host Cougars on Friday night and then Texas on Sunday. Forward Kara Lang was named to Canada’s Women’s World Cup team and will be lost to the Bruins until the end of the tournament which runs from September 10-30 in China.

Women’s Volleyball:

>> Last week: No. 5-ranked UCLA (1-1) opened its season well, finishing second to no. 1-ranked Nebraska in the AVCA College Volleyball Showcase in Omaha. The Bruins swept past Utah in the semifinals in straight sets but then lost to the Huskers in four.

>> This week: The Bruins are on the road in Hawaii for the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic, facing Louisville on Friday, Kansas State on Sunday and host no. 10 Hawaii on Monday.

Also of note:

The men’s no. 3-ranked water polo team will play an exhibition against Stanford in Palo Alto on Saturday morning, September 1. The men’s and women’s cross country teams will be at the Nevada Twilight Cross Country Classic on Friday in their opening competition of the season.

Comments

[Mike]

Hey Rich, are student tickets counted in the season ticket totals, or are those different? Also, do you know how many tickets were allocated to Notre Dame for the big game on October 6th? Thanks for your great work....

[Rich Perelman]

Dear Mike:

Student tickets for football are counted in the season ticket totals IF it's a student =season ticket= as opposed to an individual game ticket. So, the accounting on the number seems legit to me.

We haven't been able to find out the ticket allocation made to Notre Dame yet, but it's undoubtedly larger than UCLA's allotment at South Bend last season since (1) the Rose Bowl is 11,000 seats bigger and (2) almost all of Notre Dame Stadium is reserved for season-ticket holders, so ND has less ticket flexibility for visitors than UCLA does.