It's safe to say that few, if anyone, are expecting UCLA Bruins to defeat the Oregon Ducks during Saturday's inaugural Pac 12 Championship Game. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisal will be on the sideline despite reports that he will be let go after the game, adding intrigue to what ought to be a blowout according to oddsmakers. Despite the negative press surround his team, Neuheisal stressed that the Ducks would receive nothing less than the Bruins' best.
Pac 12 Championship 2011, UCLA Vs. Oregon: Bruins Resilient Amid Turmoil
“I don’t care what people think,” Neuheisel said during a press conference Sunday in L.A. “As far as I know, they are sending a plane to pick us up and we’re going to get on it. ...
“The bottom line is we’re going to do the best we can, players and coaches alike. We’ll figure all that out when the powers that be figure all that out. It can’t be a distraction right now.”
Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince was equally resilient, saying that the team would not let any outside distractions take away from their preparation.
“We don’t have a choice but to ignore it,” UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince said. “Things like that can kind of tear us apart and that’s the last thing we need right now is to be torn apart as a team, so we’ve just got to continue to stick together and keep that noise out if we can. We’re not going to worry about what coach Neuheisel’s situation is.
“Obviously we want him to stay. We love having coach Neuheisel as our coach, but right now we’re just concerned about the game on Friday.”
Still, any objective look at Saturday’s game seemingly spells doom for the Bruins. Less objective sources, meanwhile, aren’t even bothering to break down the game.
For more on this game, visit UCLA blog Bruins Nation and Oregon blog Addicted To Quack. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Football for more on Championship Weekend.
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