Looking ahead to Washington State

Good news, Bruin fans ... this weekend is as close to a "gimme" as there will be all year. The players sure can't look at it that way, but everybody else can.

The Bruins are a 17-point favorite in Las Vegas. If you listen to the podcasts on SportsHubLA.com, this will be the first week I'm predicting a UCLA victory.

And here's something few people would have predicted at the beginning of the year ... a win this weekend will keep UCLA tied with or put them ahead of USC in the Pac-10 standings.

Anyway, here's the forecast from Coach Rick Neuheisel ...

—Adam Rose

Sports panel meeting set at UCLA

The Sports Law Federation at UCLA will present a panel discussion titled "The NCAA: What's Amateurism Got to Do With It?" Cases such as Brandon Jennings, O.J. Mayo and Andy Oliver will be discussed, in addition to other topical trends in compliance.

Guests will include Tye Gonser, Dreier Sports Opportunities; Naima Stevenson, NCAA assistant general counsel; Rich Herczog, UCLA director of compliance; and Marc Isenberg, author of "Money Players." It will be moderated by Steve Derian, professor of sports law at UCLA.

The event will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, in Room 1430 at the UCLA School of Law.

Bonus: Refreshments will be served!

—Adam Rose

Neuheisel likes progress on offense

Along with a huge day from Terrence Austin on special teams, UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel also was able to smile about improvements on the offensive side of the ball against Fresno State:

Also from Monday's media conference, click here for the full 15-minute audio with Neuheisel:

And click here for the full 10-minute audio from Kahlil Bell:

—Adam Rose

Post-Fresno injury updates

A quick checkup on the health of the team, per Coach Rick Neuheisel ...

• C — Micah Reed has a MCL sprain.
• WR — Marcus Everett will return to practice this week.
• LB — Kyle Bosworth is still "a ways away."
• DE — Korey Bosworth should be fine by Tuesday.
• TE — Cory Harkey ran well Sunday and should be fine.
• TB — Andre Dean's return is hopeful.
• TB — Raymond Carter is fine.
• LT —Micah Kia's back is fine. He will be competing to get his spot back, or could spell tackles on both sides of the line.

—Adam Rose

Road trip: When in Wazzu...

Text and photos by Joe Connor, our eco-friendly road trip correspondent.

Where can you find some of the best game-day sports bars in the Pac-10 to throw back a few before kickoff? How about Pullman, Wash. OK, OK, OK now. I know what you're thinking, "Joe, stinking Washington State, are you kidding? Has the exhaust from the veggie mobile caused you to lose your sensibilities, dude?"

Well, yes, of course, only a freak of nature would drive a car running on cooking oil across the fruited plain to football games all season long. But, no, there truly are a couple of cool (well, there's only two really) sports bars in Pullman. Yes, Pullman.

"This is Siberia, man," said Oregon Ducks fan Jeff Betts. "We drove six hours to get here. Six hours. But this is one of the best places in the Pac-10 to come in and get a beer before the game."

Betts and his Ducks buddy Dave Martin should know. They've been to practically every Oregon away game in the Pac-10. And they also know that in Pullman it's best to tailgate inside — as opposed to among Cougars fans. Two years ago, Betts and Martin were walking on campus in their ducky green and yellow when a female student drove up alongside them, rolled down the window of her car and proceeded to say three words to them…

"(Bleep) the Ducks," Betts said. "Then she just drove off."

UCLA-Oregon game time set

The UCLA football game at Oregon on Oct. 11 will be televised nationally by Fox Sports Net, with the kickoff about 7:15 p.m.

—UCLA Sports Information

Bruins in the NFL: Week 4

Chris Horton (S, Washington) continues to impress in his rookie season, making three tackles and an interception in a 26-24 victory over Dallas.

Chris Kluwe (P, Minnesota) boomed six kicks for an average of 54 yards each. The Vikings fell to Tennessee, 30-17. Random fact: Two-thirds of ESPN fantasy leagues have a team with Kluwe on the roster.

Ricky Manning (DB, St. Louis) made three tackles and was credited with half of a sack in a 31-14 victory over loss to Buffalo.

Maurice Jones-Drew (RB, Jacksonville) played despite an ankle injury, picking up 32 yards on seven carries and two receptions for 17 yards in a 30-27 overtime victory over Houston.

Matt Ware (CB, Arizona) had four tackles, matching his career high, in a 56-35 loss to the New York Jets.

Jarrad Page (S, Kansas City) made four tackles in a 33-19 victory over Denver.

About that penalty decision

With about six minutes left in the third quarter and Fresno State leading, 23-22, UCLA made a mildly controversial decision to accept a holding penalty and back the Bulldogs up 10 yards.

Had the Bruins declined the penalty, it would have been fourth and 12 on the UCLA 15-yard line and the Bulldogs probably would have kicked an easy field goal.

There was a slight possibility that they might have gone for it, as Fresno State Coach Pat Hill is pretty unpredictable.

Instead, Fresno State was given a third and 22 from UCLA's 25. Taking advantage of the extra down, the Bulldogs completed a pass and reached the end zone.

Here's UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel explaining the reasoning behind the decision:

—Adam Rose

Neuheisel sums up loss to Fresno State

—Adam Rose

UCLA-Fresno State game day musings: second half

• Interesting halftime show ... the UCLA and Fresno State bands combined forces — and did the hustle.
• Brian Price might have had the wind knocked out of him earlier, but he's fine now. Micah Reed reportedly has a sprained left knee and will not return.
• Terrence Austin tore down the middle for a 56-yard return, then picked up 20 yards on an end-around. He's looking like the player of the game. His 195 kickoff return yards breaks the UCLA single-game record, which previously was 188 yards against Stanford in 1978 by Theotis Brown. Austin would have more, but his more than 100-yard return was called back on a penalty.
• Ironic: By accepting a 10-yard holding penalty on third down, the Bruins were hoping to back Fresno State out of field-goal range. Instead, the Bulldogs used the extra down to score a touchdown.
• With 4:25 left in the third, the Bruins are 1-of-8 on third-down opportunities.
• This game has had a little bit of everything. After another Bulldog touchdown, the PAT was blocked and Bret Lockett returned the ball 96 yards for two points. That got the crowd back into it.
• Pat Hill, like Neuheisel, gambled on a fourth and 1. The Bulldogs converted and clinched the game. We saw a lot of aggressive play-calling from both sides.
• The last Bulldog possession went 85 yards, and although it didn't result in any points, it did something far more important — eat up the remaining 8:55 on the clock.
• In the fourth quarter, I'm not so sure UCLA had home-field advantage anymore. The red wave was strong. And when UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel tried to give a postgame "rah-rah" speech to Bruin fans, he was almost drowned out by the Fresno State fiesta in the north end zone.
• UCLA had more offensive touchdowns in this game (three) than in the previous three games (two). The rushing game was drastically improved, and Austin had a huge game all-around.
• Kevin Craft has gone 14 quarters with only one interception. He had four in his first two quarters. He is starting to look like the team's best rusher.

—Adam Rose