"We've been so busy recruiting, just trying to take care of finals and all that. Now we'll start getting into it, and focus on that. Friday will be our first practice against UCLA. They're talented. The league [Pac-10] they play in, their losses were to some really good people. So it's going to be a challenge."
The Bruins, under second-year coach Rick Neuheisel, finished 6-6. They closed with a 28-7 loss to Southern Cal, after beating Washington, Washington State and Arizona State. They opened with wins over San Diego State, Tennessee and Kansas State. Then they lost five in a row, to Stanford, Oregon, California, Arizona and Oregon State. All but Cal finished in the Top 25. The Bruins were 2-4 on the road.
On many levels, though, it's not as much about UCLA as it is about Temple.
"A lot of our kids, because it's not the same structure, or the same schedule we've had all year, we're finding we're having some distractions," Golden said. "You've got to get that under control. If you can't do it here, you can't expect to do it in Washington. We have to have some guys that have to trust [us]. For the most part, this group has. But they've never been here. With success, you have kids who start thinking [it's about them]. We can't have that. This team is really good enough to put a beating on us, if we're not ready to go."
Golden, of course, interviwed for the UCLA job when Neuheisel, a former Bruins quarterback, got it. Now Golden's name is coming up with the Cincinnati vacancy, as it did with the Virginia opening (which has been filled). Or even Notre Dame, which interviewed Golden (in New York) before going with Cincy coach Brian Kelly.
