So Kyle over at Dawg Sports had an interesting poll up last week. He was asking Dawg fans to vote on which team they would like to see Mark Richt (great football coach IMHO) schedule in the future. That inspired me to put up a similar poll here this week and see what everyone thinks about the topic here on BN.
Of course this season we are going to playing against the Irish, kicking off a much anticipated home and home series, which I believe was scheduled back when I was in college (mid 90s). A trip to South Bend is going to be awesome and lot of fun for the lucky ones who are going to make it. I had a chance to visit a friend who attends law school at ND last year, and it was a great experience taking in Touch Down Jesus, the Dome, and not to mention some tasty beverages at the Linebacker's Lounge. No doubt Bruin travelers (hopefully they will be few thousands of them) are going to have a lot of fun, and they are going to represent us with class and dignity which is usually missing from the imbeciles who follow the lawless, thuggish, goon squad from South Central.
But if you look at our future schedules (still tentative) there are not that many exciting out of conference (OOC) matchups in the horizon. The most exciting OOC matchup we have scheduled so far is a home and home with the Longhorns for 2010 and 2011 seasons. That should be very cool. Of course we don't expect the results the last time we faced off against the Longhorns in a home and home series. They don't have Mackovic to embarrass their school any more, while we figure out how long we are going to continue with the current (so far failed) experiment with Karl Dorrell. Anyways ... Austin should be a fun roadtrip, one I will try to make. Of course last time the Bruins went down there, it turned out to be one most famous road wins in the history of UCLA football:
UCLA WR Jim McElroy Having His Way w/ a Longhorn DB - AP
Well this time we are sure it is not going to be an reenactment of Route 66, but it still should be a fun road trip. I have heard nothing but great things about a city that is vibrant with all kinds of great bars (I am getting thirsty just thinking about margaritas and some good Tex Mex), restaurants, and a sweet music scene. Austin is no boon-docks as some uncultured, ignorant morons would like you to believe.
But besides Texas we don't have much else going on in our OOC. We have a home and home with Tennessee, which if you click here, you will see why it can be a horrifying experience. We have a home and home with BYU. That's nice, but I am not sure I want to spend a scintillating weekend hanging out in Provo, Utah. So what other teams can we schedule? I think there are so many options. Here are some of my picks:
*Virginia: This could be a great home and home between two of the best public universities in the country with big time athletic programs. Charlottesville is simply beautiful. Just 60 miles outside DC. If we schedule a Saturday game in Sept., you can bet you will have the huge alumni base out of DC, NYC, Boston and everywhere else in Eastern Seaboard making this trip. Also this is a game a UCLA football team should be able to win against a quality opponent from the powerhouse ACC conference. And for those single Bruins did I mention Southern Belles in sun dresses? This could be a no brainer.
*Boston College: This would be an awesome home and home series IMO, pitting against two great institutions with a great combination of academics and athletics. I spent 3 years in Bean town, close to BC's Chestnut Hill campus. School of Flutie is a beautiful campus, which reminds me a little bit of our majestic campus tucked in Westwood. BC may not be ND, but there is nothing like partying in Boston. This would another one of those perfect weekender OOC games for all the Bruin alums in the East Coast, as they would caravan, fly up to Bean town, a city that will have something for every Bruin age group.
*LSU:I went out to Tuscaloosa back in 2001 for the last Bruin roadie into SEC territory, and it was an amazing experience. If you are a college football fan you must take in a tailgating experience outside a SEC venue. It's surreal. And after being done with Tenn., perhaps LSU would be a natural fit. Hey we have some common ground already. But to add in to that we are already doing some recruiting in Louisiana thanks to some connections Eric Bienemey established while he was the recruiting coordinator in Westwood. We have kids like Horton, Markey from the Bayou state who are destined to be key players (and perhaps Pac-10 stars) in this program, perhaps this would be an opportunity to get more attention for UCLA program in that state. And not to mention the food - crawfish etouffe, shrimp powboy, jambalaya - my mouth is watering. This would be a perfect OOC.
*Georgia:Why not? Apparently UCLA and Georgia had been talking last season featuring a series in between the Hedges and the beautiful mountains in Pasadena. This would be a no brainer. Great programs. Great tailgates, and who knows we may be constantly subject to Kyle's guest blogging on BN featuring lots of talents. Read this post and you will know what I mean when I write "talents."
*Michigan: My personal choice. I love Ann Arbor. And I think Michigan and UCLA are pretty much same institutions in different regions (ok ... our girls are in a different league) with same fan dynamics when it comes to being fed up with underachieving football programs. A college football game at the Big House is a holy experience.
*Wisconsin:I have heard nothing but rave reviews about tailgating outside Camp Randall and partying it up in Madison, Wisconsin. Any state that gives us this guy is just fine with me. Seriously Wisconsin-UCLA could be a natural OOC matchup given our recent history. We have some paying back to do. Moreover Wisconsin fans are classy and fun to tailgate with. I still remember our first Rose Bowl against them in 1994 and how they brought along a giant cow balloon which hovered over the Rose Bowl. I'd love to see a Badger-Bruins home and home sometime down the line.
*North Carolina:This could be an interesting OOC matchup for us and a fun one. UCLA should be able to handle a UNC program while at the same time getting some points for scheduling games against a power conference. Also lot of the factors mentioned above is in play as well. Chapel Hill is a fun town, and right in the Raleigh-Durham-CH Research Triangle, which has a lot going on.
Those are some OOC matchups I can think off. I didn't mention any Florida teams (dunno not really all that excited about roadies to Miami, Gainesville or Tallahassee). Perhaps Syracuse would be a good game (but who really wants to hang out at Syracuse). Northwestern would be an exciting matchup if they actually field a legit football program. So I don't know ... any other teams that could be interesting roadies? Interested in hearing your thoughts.
GO BRUINS.