First quarter, first play, a kickoff bends into the Rose Bowl air and settles into the arms of UCLA's Terrence Austin.
This is supposed to be the start of a nice stroll for the hometown Bruins, who, despite their woes, are favored by 17 points against lowly Washington State.
That's what you're thinking -- how easy this will be -- when Austin streaks down the sideline for a nice gain and then UCLA follows with a first down.
But then the Bruins that we've become too familiar with crop up: The offense drags to a halt. On the sideline, Rick Neuheisel's face glows red with anger and frustration. Punt.
It's an odd evening in Pasadena. Light rain at first, mist, cold, the stands nowhere near full, most of the fans seemingly more concerned with the Dodgers game than the action before them. This is a lazy night, the kind that can knock the favorite asleep and allow an upset.
Cougars ball. Third and one at their own 36. With a stop, the Bruins' defense could put a stamp on this game. That's the way it was supposed to work all season, defense first, remember?
This time, again, it doesn't happen -- Washington State runs for a two-yard gain. A thought passes through your mind: Oh no, not again. Then the Cougars grind to a halt. Punt.
Can UCLA do better on offense? Nope. They clunk forward, lurch, stop dead.
It goes like this for some time, a battle of punts. Ten minutes march off the clock. You wonder what's wrong?
Remember, this is Washington State. At quarterback, they start a redshirt freshman who was third-string until injuries gave him playing time. The Cougars lost to California by 63, to Oregon by 49, Baylor by 28. They began the game 96th in the nation in total offense, 106th in total defense. There are 119 teams at college football's highest level. Enough said.
But on the Bruins' sideline now there are more grimaces, more heads down and sloped shoulders, just like the last few games.
Maybe it's bad luck. A Cougar fumbles. The ball squirms around like a salmon tossed on a fishing boat deck; there it goes, through one UCLA defender, then another, then another -- right through what must be scores of hands, until a red-helmeted Cougar picks it up.
Ugh. That hurts.
After the upset of Tennessee, more was expected. But maybe, as none other than John Wooden wondered aloud while watching at the Rose Bowl last week, that win was the worst thing that could have happened to this young team. Maybe they thought it was somehow easy, maybe they somehow fell into a trap opened by ego.
