BYU, UCLA meet for third time in year

PROVO, Utah (AP) -Just when BYU was getting familiar with UCLA, the Bruins changed coaches.

No. 18 BYU hosts UCLA on Saturday in the third game between the two teams in the last year, but BYU can't base much on last year's regular season meeting and rematch in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Former Bruins quarterback Rick Neuheisel is coaching his alma mater and after just one game has already restored some hope for a program that lost 13 games over the last two seasons.

UCLA's 27-24 overtime win over then-No. 18 Tennessee on Sept. 1 was a grand return for Neuheisel and gave the Cougars (2-0) some new worries as they prepared for the Bruins (1-0).

"I think they're a whole different team this year," BYU linebacker David Nixon said.

The Cougars are just 2-7 all-time against UCLA. BYU won the first meeting in 1983 and the most recent, blocking a field goal attempt on the final play for a 17-16 win in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 22. UCLA won everything in between, including a 27-17 victory over the Cougars at the Rose Bowl just over a year ago.

Neuheisel joked that Saturday is the rubber match, but there have been some significant changes in the short time since he was hired to replace Karl Dorrell.

"There is a renewed enthusiasm and excitement for their program," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "As I watch the players play, they're playing hard. They're playing excited and their confidence is gaining."

Mendenhall can only base his assessment on one game because that is all the Bruins have played under Neuheisel and offensive coordinator Norm Chow, an assistant at BYU for 27 years.

UCLA's defense hasn't changed. Neuheisel kept defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, who was the interim coach for the Las Vegas Bowl. The Bruins held BYU to 265 yards - 200 fewer than average - and shut out the Cougars in the second half while rallying to set up Kai Forbath's 28-yard field goal attempt to win it.

Ethyn Manumaleuna saved the Cougars by blocking the kick, much like BYU defensive end Jan Jorgensen did last week in a 28-27 win at Washington when he blocked a long extra-point attempt after a disputed touchdown celebration penalty on the Huskies.

"I thought DeWayne's defense did a great job keeping them in the game," Neuheisel said. "But as BYU did just this last week, they blocked a kick when they absolutely had to."

Kevin Craft, the third-string quarterback who became the starter because of injuries, will be making his second start for the Bruins. His debut was against Tennessee and started with four interceptions in the first half, but Neuheisel stuck with Craft and it paid off the rest of the game.