Oregon football head coach Mike Bellotti has beaten UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel just once in five meetings between the Ducks and Neuheisel-coached teams.
It’s understandable, then, that Bellotti would have respect for Neuheisel as a coach – but has The Golden Boy matured?
“Rick has moved around a little bit, and that’s been his choice, but I think he’s matured,” Bellotti said. “Obviously I have respect for him as a football coach and a recruiter in college football.”
By the numbers
| 24-2: | The Bruins’ record when they have fewer turnovers than their opponent in the past five years. |
| 148: | Total yards by Oregon’s offense against UCLA last year. Oregon played the game without quarterback Dennis Dixon. |
| 110: | Oregon’s national pass defense rank. |
| 267: | Oregon’s rushing average per game, down from its average of more than 308 yards a week ago. |
| 97.4: | Rushing yards averaged by UCLA this season, 109th in the nation. |
| 3-12: | Oregon’s all-time record against UCLA at Autzen Stadium. |
| 162: | Career catches by Jaison Williams, tied with Cristin McLemore and Demetrius Williams for third. He is 16 catches away from tying the all-time mark by Samie Parker. |
So while Oregon fans may point to Neuheisel’s fake-punt call in the 1996 Cotton Bowl, or one of his Husky teams celebrating raucously on the midfield “O” at Autzen, as perfectly good reasons for hating him, Bellotti seems to harbor no ill will.
In fact, he said the two have a good relationship and any enmity between them is purely a media creation.
“I don’t even think about that, to tell you the truth. That is primarily a media apparition. I know that Rick and I are solid in that regard,” he said. “The perception of that is the perception of any coach and rival coach … people have to have that side-line. I’d like to just focus on football.”
The friendship takes root in the offseason, as both coaches enjoy golf as a hobby and have played with and against each other on several occasions.
“I’ve played golf with Rick several times over the past 10 or 15 years. We are members of the same country club in Oregon. We’ve played there and at tournaments together and against each other,” he said. “We are friends, off the football field. Obviously we’re competitors on the football field.”
Oregon fans might be itching to get a piece of Neuheisel and his Bruins this weekend from their seats in the stands, but Bellotti doesn’t think it will have much of an impact, if any, on the game.
“The fans’ appreciation or lack of appreciation for a coach, I don’t think, has any effect on a football game,” Bellotti said. “It’s the players that play. The fans, all that stuff, is way overblown.”
[email protected]
