Bruin Friends: Do you remember Sept 23, 2000?

UCLA at Autzen.

Oregon had lost the 3 previous games to UCLA.

UCLA was ranked #6 in the nation, Oregon unranked.

Pac-10 opener, and ESPN’s College GameDay in Eugene for it all.

That’s the game Autzen first became nationally recognized for being amongst the loudest stadiums.  Bob Toledo said it was as though Oregon had a 12th man on the field.

Oregon demolished UCLA 29-10, and signaled there was a new force in the conference:  Oregon, who would end up at 10-2 with a win over Texas in the Holiday Bowl – its best record in over 50 years, never looked back.

Why do I bring this up?

Well, because October 10, 2026 could very well be UCLA’s moment in the sun, harkening back to the days of Coach Donahue, a re-birth of UCLA football and apt revenge over my quacks 26 years later, effectively shutting us out, a previous #2 team, from the playoffs.

Color it the end of the long Bruin drought, setting you Bruins up for great things going forward, and perhaps signaling a slow demise to what Oregon had been the past couple of decades.  Yep.  That’s how much I like your coach, Bob Chesney, and think he will do great things in Westwood.

But for my own personal sanity, hopefully not as soon as this Saturday…

I don’t know if Oregon wins, but I know it will be a great game at Autzen.