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How much can we really learn from spring? Funky scrimmages with backwards scoring systems; depleted depth charts; completely new installs for four teams. Actually, more than you'd think. Here are five things we learned about the Pac-12 during spring.

1. Quarterbacks are still in limbo: Be it Stanford, Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon or Colorado, almost half of the teams still don’t know who is going to be under center when the season starts. Stanford funneled its list of five down to two, Josh Nunes and Brett Nottingham. ASU still has a three-way battle with Michael Eubank, Mike Bercovici and Taylor Kelly -- though coach Todd Graham said they have a better idea than they are probably letting on publicly. The very private competition between Marcus Mariota and Bryan Bennett at Oregon remains in question -- though Mariota was spectacular in the spring game while Bennett faltered. Still, coach Chip Kelly said that one game isn’t going to be his basis for comparison. UCLA coach Jim Mora wanted to name a starter by the end of spring, but no one has “grabbed” it, so we’ll have to wait until August before learning whether Brett Hundley, Kevin Prince or Richard Brehaut gets the gig. And at Colorado, the competition was put on hiatus when Nick Hirschman broke a bone in his foot and couldn’t compete in spring drills. One has to think that was a huge advantage for Connor Wood to get almost all of the reps with the first-team offense.
2. Not everyone has quarterback issues: Teams thought to have quarterback question marks heading into spring seemed to have resolved them. In Utah, Jordan Wynn is completely healthy, and both coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson have declared Wynn their guy. While Mike Leach hasn’t officially declared Jeff Tuel his starter, it’s hard to imagine anyone else winning the job in the fall, short of Tuel suffering a significant injury or amnesia. He had a splendid spring, and appears to be a great fit for Leach’s offense. And at Arizona, Matt Scott seized the job early and left little room for any competition. Coach Rich Rodriguez has been gushing about how quickly Scott has adjusted to the offense. At Cal, Zach Maynard, once thought to be challenged by freshman Zach Kline, appears to not only have held on to the job, but distanced himself from pursuers.
3. Wide receivers aplenty: And there are plenty of those in the conference. USC has probably the best tandem in the country in Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Cal’s Keenan Allen (though he missed spring drills) should continue to put up big numbers, and Washington State’s Marquess Wilson should flourish in the Cougars’ new system with Tuel as his quarterback. Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks could challenge the USC duo statistically if quarterback Sean Mannion continues to develop. There are stars on the rise at Arizona State (Jamal Miles) and Stanford (Ty Montgomery), and a potential star at Washington (James Johnson). Look out Biletnikoff, the Pac-12 is a comin'…
4. The conference of defense? The Pac-12 might never bunk its reputation as an offensive-centric conference (especially when it keeps churning out offensive talent). But there is a surplus of talented defenses and defensive players who were on display this spring. Washington seems to have plugged its leaks with new defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. There’s a 3-4 trend sweeping the conference, and with notable playmakers like Star Lotulelei (Utah), John Boyett (Oregon), Dion Jordan (Oregon), Chase Thomas (Stanford), Josh Shirley (Washington), T.J. McDonald (USC) and DeAndre Coleman (Cal), it’s easy to see why some of the Pac-12 defenses will get the same kind of love as the offenses do in 2012.
5. Confidence is at an all-time high: As it should be in the spring. The four new coaches all feel confident about the systems they have installed. Stanford feels as good as it ever has about its running game. USC and Oregon should get lofty preseason rankings, and this is the time of the year when fans go through the schedules game by game and always seem to come up with a minimum of six wins. Sorry to say, there are teams in the conference that won’t make it to a bowl game this season. But when you hear the coaches talk about their teams, you’d think the conference is going to go 12-0 in the postseason. This is a magical time for fans filled with hope and possibility. Enjoy it while it lasts.

There were a lot of new and few answers this spring in the Pac-12.

The new is four new coaches: Rich Rodriguez at Arizona, Todd Graham at Arizona State, Jim Mora at UCLA and Mike Leach at Washington State. The lack of answers comes mostly at quarterback, though it now seems in vogue for coaches to downplay -- or refuse to provide -- a post-spring depth chart, thereby leaving just about every position allegedly up for grabs.

Or as Oregon coach Chip Kelly cryptically explained when asked if any Ducks questions were answered this spring, "I don’t know what that phenomena is, but we don’t have answers that are answered after spring, Grasshopper."

He didn't say "Grasshopper," but it seemed to be strongly implied.

USC and Washington entered and exited spring with QB certainty, with Matt Barkley and Keith Price ranking among the nation's best. California, Utah, Arizona and Oregon State appear solid at the position. Washington State is just short of set with Jeff Tuel, as Tuel's lights-out performance in the spring game -- 19-of-21 for 285 yards and two touchdowns -- made his position seem strong with an injured Connor Halliday on the sidelines.

That leaves Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford and UCLA. All five entered spring with QB uncertainty, and they exit it that way.

The Ducks QB situation was a national story after Darron Thomas surprisingly -- and unwisely -- opted to enter the NFL draft. Before spring began, Bryan Bennett, who played well in relief of Thomas last year, seemed like a strong frontrunner over Marcus Mariota. But Mariota overwhelmingly outplayed Bennett in the spring game, an ESPN3 broadcast that was the Ducks' only open practice, looking good as a runner and passer.

Still, Kelly only acknowledged what everyone saw and said onward to the summer.

Arizona State and UCLA started spring with three legitimate challengers at QB. While it seemed as though there was daily speculation of an emerging pecking order, both programs placed "ORs" between their troikas on their post-spring depth chart. While it would seem that Mike Bercovici and Michael Eubank are ahead of Taylor Kelly for the Sun Devils, and Brett Hundley and Richard Brehaut are ahead of returning starter Kevin Prince for the Bruins, those competitions are unresolved, according to both head coaches.

Same can be said for Stanford, though the Cardinal only have a two-man race with Brett Nottingham and Josh Nunes. Neither played terribly well in the spring game, so Andrew Luck's very, very large cleats remain unfilled.

Still, know that the coaches have a pretty good idea of the pecking order, even as they opt to be coy. Mora said he'll name his starter by Aug. 16, while Graham intimated his ultimate decision isn't far away.

"We're a lot closer than what it appears probably from the outside," he said.

Colorado's QB competition never really got started. Pre-spring frontrunner Connor Wood, a Texas transfer, was pretty much handed an opportunity to take the job with Nick Hirschman out with a foot injury, but Wood failed to break through. While Wood may well still be the frontrunner, it's also possible incoming freshman Shane Dillon could get into the mix, as could Jordan Webb, a former starter at Kansas who may end up in Boulder via transfer.

Embree isn't eager to prolong the indecision.

"If it's a clear cut deal, I'm not going to waste time," he said. "I think it's important that the team knows and that quarterback know that they're going to be leading the team."

What this all means is that nearly half the Conference of Quarterbacks is undecided at the position and likely will remain that way until mid-August. Or later.

Of course, feel free to consult the heavens -- or the message boards -- for hints at what might lay ahead.

1. College football administrators worry that if they adopt a four-team postseason playoff, fans may have trouble coming up with the time and money to travel to a conference championship game, a bowl semifinal and a championship game. Washington athletic director Scott Woodward is not among the concerned. “Man, I’d love to be in that situation, to travel three times,” Woodward said. “At the end of the day, (only) two teams have to do it. It’s a hell of a problem to have. I’d love to have it.”

2. Maryland coach Randy Edsall, like most coaches, is not happy that recruiting now begins with sophomores. To solve that, Edsall suggested that a scholarship offer may be made only by the university financial aid office. That means a prospect will have to have filled out an application. In other words, he would be a senior. “It’s got to slow down,” Edsall said. “There’s too much pressure. Now the parents get involved and they want to be more recruited than the kid. Are we really helping these guys when they are 15 or 16?”

3. Another year, another UCLA quarterback competition that no one wants to win. As Pac-12 blogger Kevin Gemmell wrote Wednesday, veterans Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut are being pushed by redshirt freshman Brett Hundley. Bruin fans are used to lacking a standout. No UCLA quarterback has thrown for 2,500 yards since Drew Olson did so in 2005. That’s a passing total surpassed by 58 FBS quarterbacks last season alone.

LOS ANGELES -- To illustrate UCLA's quarterback dilemma, head coach Jim Mora told the parable of Andre Carter. It was spring workouts of 2001, right after Mora -- then the defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers -- and Bill Walsh drafted the defensive end out of Cal with the No. 7 overall pick.

Mora had Carter running with the second-team defense -- his thought was to make the rookie earn his place. Walsh had another idea. Mora recalls the conversation going a bit like this:

Walsh: Jim, why isn't he with the first team?
Mora: I want to make him earn it.
Walsh: We drafted him in the first round, he's earned it. Is he better than the other guys?
Mora: Yeah.
Walsh: Then put him in there. He needs to get used to playing with the guys he's going to play with. More importantly, the guy who he replaces, he needs to start understanding what his new role is.

Mora tells the story to illustrate a very blunt point. If he chooses redshirt freshman Brett Hundley as his quarterback, he wants -- check that, needs -- Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut to start understanding what their place is on the 2012 Bruins team. If he picks either Prince or Brehaut, he needs Hundley to understand that it's because he still has work to do in the offense.

"You don't want to force the issue," Mora said. "But the longer you wait, the harder it gets. Your team needs to know who that guy is. And that guy needs to know who he is."

Prince can only offer up a begrudged laugh at the situation he now finds himself in. After all, he was a redshirt freshman when he took the starting job from senior Kevin Craft. And the irony is not lost on him.

"There was no animosity whatsoever," Prince said. "He was the most supportive person ever. His whole goal was to make sure I had fun. He knew as a young quarterback, he'd been through it, he knew how stressful it could be. He just wanted to make sure I had fun and could relax. If that situation does arise, I'll take that role and I'll be Kevin Craft."

Not that he wants that. Neither does Brehaut, or Hundley or Jerry Neuheisel, who continues to hang on in the competition.

"The funnel is narrowing, but it's not narrow enough yet that all four still can't fit through the spigot," Mora said.

The three frontrunners all agree the new spread offense suits them better than the pistol offense of the old regime. And why not? It accentuates the quarterback and historically produces big numbers. And that's another backdrop to this whole story. Experience counts, but not as much as it used to given the new system.

"It's something that I'm used to," Brehaut said. "Every single year I've been here I've been in a competition. It's something I'm accustomed to. I can only control the reps that I get. I can't worry about the other three guys and what they're doing with their reps. I have to take full advantage of mine."

Mora concedes that it would just be easier to hand the job to Hundley and let him grow into the gig. But that would be "cheating" the rest of the players who are in their last year. He's taking a more tactical, Walshian approach.

"Walsh never looked at a player and saw what he could do right now," Mora said. "He considered what a guy would look like in three games, seven games, a year, two years.

"That's how we have to look at it, at trajectory. If player A has the same trajectory all year long, but player B can meet that trajectory after three games, than exceed it, you have to go with that player."

The question is whether Hundley can exceed the trajectory of Prince and Brehaut, who are both in their final seasons. And with four guys fighting for reps, that's not always easy to determine.

"That's definitely the hardest thing," said offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. "If it were two guys, things would be going much faster. At the end of the day, life is performance-based, so we're going to play the guy who can run the offense the best. I actually think this competition has accelerated their learning curve."

Hundley understands that if he gets the job, it's going to be a little awkward. At 18, he's the youngest of the quarterbacks. But he says that the older players have done what they can to help him along.

"We're all friends," Hundley said. "But we all know we are here for a reason, and that's to be the quarterback of the UCLA Bruins. Business is business and we all want that starting job."

Earlier in the week, we noted that Athon Sports ranked Pac-12 QBs 1-12.

Here's the Athlon ranking again:

1. Matt Barkley, USC
2. Keith Price, Washington
3. Jeff Tuel, Washington State
4. Sean Mannion, Oregon State
5. Bryan Bennett, Oregon
6. Zach Maynard, Cal
7. Brett Nottingham, Stanford
8. Kevin Prince, UCLA
9. Jordan Wynn, Utah
10. Matt Scott, Arizona
11. Mike Bercovici, Arizona State
12. Connor Wood, Colorado

For one, Athlon went ahead and named QBs for teams with on-going QB competitions. Obviously, many of you had thoughts on the pecking order. It should come as no surprise that we did, too. So here's what we think.

Kevin Gemmell: Here are my thoughts.

[+] Enlarge
Kirby Lee/US PresswireNot many would argue with USC's Matt Barkley being ranked as the Pac-12's top QB.
• I don't think there is any debate about Nos. 1 and 2. That's where I'd put them.
• Whoever wins the Stanford job is way too high for No. 7 -- considering neither Nottingham nor Josh Nunes have even started a game. Until proven, Stanford's QBs belong in double-digit country.
• Jordan Wynn is ranked too low. As the Athlon folks admit, he's a tough one to gauge simply because of his past injury problems. But when he's healthy, he's one of the top five quarterbacks in the conference. And right now he's 100 percent healthy. I'd put him in the Nos. 4 to 5 range.
• I like Jeff Tuel and I like his potential. And I think that's what these rankings are banking on -- what he'll be able to do in Mike Leach's system. But he's still a first-year player in the system and he'll still have Connor Halliday clawing for the job in the fall so I'm not sold on the No. 3 spot. Probably 6 or 7.
• I think Mannion is poised for a big year. If the offensive line can get squared away and he has the time to throw in relative comfort, he'll have a big season. The 4 spot seems about right, give or take.
• Due to the media blackout at Oregon, we don't have much of an idea of what's happening with Bennett or Marcus Mariota. I can only go on what I saw from Bennett last year and he was very capable of running the offense. And anyone capable of running Oregon's offense is going to be good. If it's Mariota, that means he's played better than Bennett and that's impressive. I'd bump Oregon to No. 3.
• Maynard has a good running back, good receivers and he ended the year on a decent clip. Middle of the pack seems about right.
• Like Tuel, I think Scott is loaded with potential. Plus he's a veteran guy with some experience under his belt. Doesn't belong in double digits.
• UCLA just escapes double digits in my opinion because at least there is some experience within the three-way competition. If it ends up being Brett Hundley, it's because he beat out two guys with starting experience. And we all know what Noel Mazzone can do with an offense.
• ASU is another major question mark. Inexperience plus a new system equals potential quarterback struggles. But whoever gets the job at least has some good weapons around him and an offense that is potentially explosive.
• Colorado's quarterback to be has a tough road, no matter who wins the job. I've read mixed reports about Wood, but had the chance to speak with him and he comes across as confident and poised. Unfortunately, confidence and poise doesn't equal receivers.

So, with that said, here's my list as of right now.

1. Matt Barkley, USC
2. Keith Price, Washington
3. Oregon quarterback to be named
4. Jordan Wynn, Utah
5. Sean Mannion, Oregon State
6. Jeff Tuel, Washington State
7. Zach Maynard, Cal
8. Matt Scott, Arizona
9. UCLA to be named
10. ASU to be named
11. Stanford to be named
12. Colorado to be named

The floor is yours, Mr. Miller. Have at it.

Ted Miller: I can't wait for this: "Miller, you're an idiot. Our TBA QB is way better than their TBA QB! DO THEY PAY YOU FOR THIS!!! I HATE YOU!!!! ARRRRRR!"

I ditto Kevin on Nos. 1 and 2. Barkley is the No. 1 QB in the nation and Price is in the preseason top 10. After that, well, things are pretty fluid.

Here's my ranking:

1. Matt Barkley, USC
2. Keith Price, Washington
3. Jeff Tuel, Washington State
4. Jordan Wynn, Utah
5. Oregon QB to be named
6. Matt Scott, Arizona
7. Sean Mannion, Oregon State
8. Zach Maynard, California
9. UCLA QB to be named
10. Stanford QB to be named
11. Arizona State QB to be named
12. Colorado QB to be named

I've typed this before, but folks forget how good Tuel is when healthy. He's passed for 3,845 yards in his career with 25 TDs. I think he will get drafted in 2013.

Wynn is a lot like Tuel: When healthy, he's good. He's passed for 4,390 yards in his career with 31 TDs and 16 interceptions.

Not a big fan of giving a high ranking to a TBA, but Oregon's TBA gets special consideration at No. 5 because Chip Kelly has yet to fail when it comes to breaking in a new QB. We know Bryan Bennett is capable based on what he did when Darron Thomas was hurt last year, so if he gets beaten out by Marcus Mariota, well, Mariota will have to be pretty good, too. Still, this is an unknown with two ultimately unproven players.

Scott, with just five career starts, at No. 6 might surprise some folks. Here's my thinking. In 2009, Scott initially beat out Nick Foles for the starting job. In 2010, he came off the bench for an injured Foles and won a pair of starts, playing just short of brilliantly. His 150.95 efficiency rating would have finished fifth in the Pac-12 this season. He threw for a career-best 319 yards against UCLA, and won Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week with a near-flawless performance against Washington (just ask Huskies fans). Finally, he's a great fit for Rich Rodriguez's spread-option offense.

Mannion and Maynard were a toss-up. Maynard had better numbers overall and surged late in the regular season, but Mannion has better upside. What tipped my rating to Mannion is his better receivers. They should help Mannion put up big numbers in 2012.

Then we come to the TBAs, non-Oregon. UCLA is tops among them because you have two veterans with plenty of starting experience in Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut. If redshirt freshman Brett Hundley is good enough to beat out both, well, then he'll be pretty promising.

I think, at worst, Brett Nottingham or Josh Nunes, both once top recruits for Stanford, will be at least adequate. But neither has started a game or even seen meaningful action.

I also don't think Arizona State is in a jam at QB. Mike Bercovici, Michael Eubank and Taylor Kelly all have their pluses. But each is inexperienced.

As for Colorado, the job was Texas transfer Connor Wood's to win this spring, and it appears he was not consistent enough to do that. He remains the favorite though, and there's no question about his potential. Still, as Kevin noted, the Buffaloes have receiver issues.

Points, points, points. This is the Pac-12 after all, where offense rules. Last season, five Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 30 in scoring average. Others, however, weren't as explosive. Colorado (12th in the conference/109th nationally), Oregon State (11/100), UCLA (10/88) and Utah (9/tied for 74th) all had trouble consistently finding pay dirt. So this week we're looking at which of these four teams has the best chance to show significant offensive improvement.

Ted Miller: Oregon State’s offense was bad last year. That’s the obvious bad news. More obvious bad news: It was bad for a fundamental reason: It couldn’t run the ball, ranking 118th in the nation with just 86.9 yards per game. The end result was an offense that ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring (21.8 points per game) and 10th in total offense (373.7 yards per game). And while we’re being party poopers, why not note there are only eight healthy offensive linemen this spring, which makes it impossible to field a full second team?

Ah, but we come not to bury the Beavers, but to praise them! This half of the Pac-12 blog is providing Oregon State fans an iron-clad guarantee: The Beavers' offense will be better in 2012. Perhaps much better. And that’s why we believe they will win enough to earn a bowl berth after consecutive seasons at home during the postseason.

Why? Let’s start in the cockpit with quarterback Sean Mannion, who won the starting job as a freshman over returning starter Ryan Katz, only to discover THE NEW CAR! he’d been given the keys to was a Pinto. With little support from a running game to keep defenses honest, Mannion threw a lot but not always successfully, ranking ninth in the conference in passing efficiency with 16 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. But two numbers are notable: First, he completed 64.5 percent of his passes and was sacked just 27 times in 473 attempts. That suggests two things. Mannion is both accurate and has good pocket presence. Accurate? That completion percentage ranked fifth in the conference, ahead of Oregon’s Darron Thomas and Arizona State’s Brock Osweiler. As for pocket presence, the Beavers ranked fifth in the conference in sacks surrendered despite ranking third in pass attempts. And that was with no running game.

Mannion’s supporting cast at receiver is strong. Three of the top four receivers are back, including Markus Wheaton and speedy flanker Brandin Cooks. And essentially the entire cast at running back is back.

So, really, it comes down to the offensive line, where three starters are back, not including tackle Michael Philipp, a 2010 starter who is trying to get a once-promising career back on track. Don’t expect to hear glowing reports this spring. Tackle Colin Kelly and guard Grant Enger, both returning starters, are out with injuries, so there’s a lack of bodies. But in the fall they should be healthy just as a pair of intriguing reinforcements arrive: touted freshman Isaac Seumalo, rated the No. 19 overall player in the nation in 2012 by ESPN Recruiting, and junior-college transfer Stan Hasiak, who saw plenty of action during his tumultuous time at UCLA. Both are potential – even likely -- starters.

Mannion flashed plenty of potential in 2011. He will be far more seasoned in 2012. The offensive line will be better, too, which means at least a mediocre running game to keep defenses from pinning their ears back and going after the quarterback.

In other words, the Beavers offense will be much improved overall in 2012. Now ... about that defense ...

Kevin Gemmell: I'm glad you brought up Osweiler, because he's somewhat pertinent to the team I'm picking to improve offensively -- UCLA.

All together now: "Ding, dong, the pistol is dead." And not a half-snap too soon. Time to make way for the shotgun.

To see where the Bruins are headed on offense, you need only to look back at what Osweiler did the past two seasons with the Sun Devils -- specifically what he was able to do with Noel Mazzone running the show.

Now Mazzone is new coach Jim Mora's offensive coordinator at UCLA. I know there is a multi-quarterback competition in the works. That certainly will have some bearing. But even so, it's almost impossible for the Bruins not improve on last year's 23.1-ppg scoring average with this time-tested offense.

Consider the Sun Devils of 2009, pre-Mazzone: 90th in total offense (334.4 yards per game) and 91st in scoring average (22.3 points per game). Now, look at Mazzone's first season in 2010: 29th in total offense (425.6) and 28th in scoring average (32.2). Last year: 25th in total offense (445.8) and 28th in scoring offense (33.2).

Translation: The guy knows how to move the ball and create points.

I talked earlier this week with Brett Hundley, one of those quarterbacks in the hunt for the starting gig, he says this offense is much simpler and allows the quarterback to play more quickly and think less. Makes sense. And whoever wins the gig will have an experienced running back in Johnathan Franklin beside him. The fifth-year senior was 24 yards short of a 1,000-yard season despite an impressive 5.9 yards per carry average.

But this offense is about moving the ball in the air. And finding three or four receivers to consistently perform is going to be just as important as finding the right guy standing five to seven yards behind the center. Mazzone has said he's not married to four- or five-receiver sets. So bona-fide talent Joseph Fauria should get plenty of chances to catch the ball from the tight end position. Devin Lucien, Shaq Evans and Ricky Marvray are the likely wide receiver trio. But unlike the previous offense, the receivers won't be square pegs in round holes. This offense should accentuate the speed and athleticism that UCLA always seems to have, but never knows quite what to do with it.

The Bruins were in the bottom half of the nation in sacks allowed last year, but the return of tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo, who is back after an LDS mission, should help bolster the line. All indications out of spring are that he looks solid. Jeff Baca and Greg Capella both saw significant playing time last season (Capella started 14 games and Baca 13), so that experience should help cut back on the sacks.

Now, to the quarterback spot. Kevin Prince has the most experience, followed by Richard Brehaut. Both are seniors. But there is a call from fans to completely cleanse themselves of the previous regime and start fresh with Hundley, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound dual-threat quarterback who might be the most athletic of the bunch.

Whoever wins the job is destined for a pretty good season. Because given Mazzone's history of turning slugs into sluggers, UCLA looks like the team to drag itself up from the Pac-12's offensive cellar.

Not unlike his pop -- "Playoffs? Playoffs?!" -- Jim Mora can be kind of a grump. Not in a "I hate the world" sort of way. More in a football coach-y way.

Which is why I got a kick out of Jon Gold's description of Mora from spring practice No. 1 for UCLA -- Mora's first practice since his ugly departure from the Seattle Seahawks.

The huge smile on Jim Mora's face after the first practice of UCLA's spring football campaign really told the whole story. Perhaps no one was more excited to be back out on the field than he was.

It's been more than two years since he's been on the practice field -- two years, three months, as Mora pointed out, and yes, it appears he's been counting -- and he took out all his frustration on his throat. He was more hoarse than an auctioneer by the time he addressed the media, after spending 2+ hours sprinting everywhere on the field.

Every coach is motivated to win. For one, it's the only way to avoid getting fired. But the very circumstances surrounding Mora's hiring -- his being a lifelong NFL coach who's been out of the game for an extended period of time -- could actually become a positive here. For one, he's hungry to re-enter a competitive environment. Instead of feeling entitled, he's grateful for an opportunity. He's eager to teach, which is more a part of the college game than in the NFL. And, though he likely would never use the term, he also wants to take control of his coaching legacy. Yes, Mora is well aware that some doubt him.

Of course, we typed just about the exact same thing when Rick Neuheisel returned to his alma mater to redeem himself in 2008. At the time, I must confess I -- wrongly -- felt a high degree of certainty he would succeed. (Though, as I've told Neuheisel, I was skeptical about the initial mix of coaching personalities around him, notably the so-called dream team of offensive coordinator Norm Chow and defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker.)

It seems like we've been talking about a "culture change" with UCLA football since the declining years of the Bob Toledo administration, which ended nearly a decade ago. But that's Mora's chief task. It's the Point A even before Mora and the Bruins can turn their attention to that school across town, whose (again) rising fortunes don't make anything easier in Westwood.

Gold provides a nice preview of specific -- and less philosophical -- issues the Bruins face this spring. More than a few fans would say the chief task is developing competency at quarterback, which is the primary challenge for new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. Mazzone is best known for transforming Arizona State's Brock Osweiler from a basketball player who dabbled at quarterback into a potential first-day NFL draft pick this spring.

Gold's take on the quarterback competition is interesting. While many Bruins fans -- and not a few reporters -- are eager for the newness of touted redshirt freshman Brett Hundley to overtake the more experienced but inconsistent Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut, Gold sees Prince and Brehaut as the front-runners.

Brett Hundley and T.J. Millweard will vie for the position in spring ball as well, but it will likely come down to the two seniors, Prince and Brehaut. Prince gets the first snaps, but Brehaut should follow close behind. If one of them shows tremendous consistency with the short pass and develops a good rhythm early, it will go a long way in the coaches' eyes. They're certainly going to be looking out for it.

A single practice, particularly one not in full pads, doesn't reveal much. But here are three positives culled from reports from those on hand: 1. A demanding practice tempo -- a recurring theme among just about every observer -- should make it hard for the malaise of past years to endure; 2. Left offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo, fresh off an LDS mission, looked fit and motivated. That could be transformative for the O-line; 3. Mazzone wants to spread the field. He needs guys to catch the ball. Devin Lucien, Shaq Evans and tight end Joseph Fauria are fully capable of helping him do that. Now he only needs four more guys.

Recognition is so important for an offense. Think Andrew Luck -- or Peyton Manning -- wildly gesticulating at the line of scrimmage.

Or, for that matter, Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas doing the same thing.

That was something that stuck with me after I chatted with Oregon sophomore center Hroniss Grasu a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about how he improved at making line calls during the 2011 season, but he went out of his way to note how good Thomas was at helping out, at identifying last-second changes a defense made that perhaps hinted at its ill intentions.

The point: Centers and quarterbacks are the brains of an offense. The center typically makes the calls at the line of scrimmage that make sure everyone is accounted for. And quarterbacks communicate to both the skill players and the line about check and audibles.

The QB and center work in tandem. They need to be in sync. And having smart, experienced signal-callers and centers is a big deal for an offense. It means an offense can go to the line with more options, and it can check into the right option more often than not. That breeds confidence, both among players and with their coaches.

So which Pac-12 teams are experienced at QB and center? Who has both back, one back or neither?

Thanks for asking.

Arizona: Center
Skinny: While Nick Foles was the Wildcats' quarterback last year, Matt Scott has started five games, so the offense is not in inexperienced hands. Senior center Kyle Quinn did a solid job in 2011, earning honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors. On the downside, the Wildcats are installing a new offense with coach Rich Rodriguez, so past experience isn't as helpful.

Arizona State: Neither
Skinny: QB Brock Osweiler is gone as is center Garth Gerhart. Kody Koebensky likely takes over at center, while the quarterback competition continues to be wide-open. Of course, the Sun Devils are installing a new offense under new coach Todd Graham, so being green isn't as much of an issue.

California: Both
Skinny: QB Zach Maynard should be much more in control as a second-year starter. While center Dominic Galas is back, he's sitting out spring due to a shoulder injury, and it appears he will switch over to guard. Galas, some of you Bears fans might recall, did have some issues with shotgun snaps last year. Chris Adcock or Mark Brazinski could end up winning the job.

Colorado: Center
Skinny: Tyler Hansen is almost certainly going to be replaced at quarterback by Texas transfer Connor Wood, a sophomore with no game experience. It should help Wood, however, to have junior Gus Handler back making the line calls. Daniel Munyer, who's slated to start at guard, also has starting experience at center.

Oregon: Center
Skinny: Center Grasu's first start as a redshirt freshman was against LSU's beastly defensive front. That was a baptism by fire, but he consistently improved throughout the season. QB Bryan Bennett has some experience, including one start, but he will be challenged this spring by redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota.

Oregon State: QB
Skinny: Sean Mannion is back at QB, but center Grant Johnson is gone. The frontrunner to win that job is sophomore Roman Sapolu. The Beavers have injury issues on the line this spring, and that likely will slow down the unit's -- and Sapolu's -- development.

Stanford: Center
Skinny: You might have heard that Andrew Luck is gone. Brett Nottingham and Josh Nunes look like the favorites to replace him, but neither has significant experience. Senior Sam Schwartzstein did a fine job stepping into Chase Beeler's shoes in 2011, but life was, naturally, easier with Luck at QB. More will fall on Schwartzstein in 2012.

UCLA: QB
Skinny: The Bruins have two quarterbacks with significant starting experience back: Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut. But redshirt freshman Brett Hundley might end up winning the job. All three are learning a new offense this spring under new coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. Sophomore Jacob Brendel -- or perhaps junior Greg Capella, who mostly started at guard last year -- are the frontrunners to replace Kai Maiava at center.

USC: Both
Skinny: You've maybe heard of Trojans QB Matt Barkley and his receivers, Robert Woods/Marqise Lee, being the best pass-catch trio in the nation. Well, Barkley and senior center Khaled Holmes are the perhaps the best QB-center combination in the nation. Holmes was second-team All-Pac-12 in 2011, and he's probably the best center in the conference.

Utah: Both
Skinny: Junior Jordan Wynn, a three-year starter, only needs to stay healthy for the Utes to get at least solid QB play. Center Tevita Stevens is solid, but he will be breaking in a pair of new OTs.

Washington: Both
Skinny: Junior QB Keith Price was a revelation last year as a first-year starter, far eclipsing the production of his celebrated predecessor, Jake Locker. Senior center Drew Schaefer is a 30-game starter. So this is a strong combo for the Huskies.

Washington State: Both
Skinny: Jeff Tuel feels like a decided frontrunner to retain his starting job at QB, while junior Matt Goetz returns at center. A junior-college transfer in 2011, he started the final nine games of 2011. A year of seasoning -- and in the weight room -- should help Goetz in 2012.

Noel Mazzone doesn't care how many touchdowns Kevin Prince or Richard Brehaut threw. Or how many Brett Hundley didn't throw, for that matter.

He doesn't care about how many yards Johnathan Franklin ran for, or how many catches Joseph Fauria made or how many holes Greg Capella opened.

He simply doesn't care.

"To me, it's all a clean slate," said UCLA's new offensive coordinator. "I purposely don't spend time studying film from last year. Never mistake potential for performance. Everything is performance-based. All I know -- all I care about -- is what started on Jan. 9 for me. I don't care what you did last season. The question is, are you performing now?"

The Bruins don't open spring ball until April 3. But that doesn't mean Mazzone and new head coach Jim Mora aren't watching, evaluating, making mental notes about who is grinding and who is goofing. Mazzone didn't go so far as to say a culture change is needed at UCLA. Rather, it's an attitude change.

"Whatever school, high school, college, or NFL team you go to, you want to create an attitude," he said. "That's our purpose. We want to create an attitude and find the qualities we're looking for to be a UCLA football player. That's all I concern myself with.

"Be physical. Be fast. And finish. The football plays will take care of themselves. If we can get our kids to play with great tempo and great toughness and learn to finish what they start -- whether it be a play, a drive, in the weight room or in class or whatever they do in life -- if we can get them into that kind of mindset, that's our priority."

Mazzone, a seasoned offensive mind with more than 30 years coaching offense, comes to UCLA after spending the last two seasons with Arizona State, where he was widely credited with turning around the Sun Devils' once anemic offense. In the two years before Mazzone arrived (2008 and 2009), ASU ranked 100th and 90th, respectively, in total offense. In 2010, Mazzone's first year, the Sun Devils improved to 29th. Last season, 25th.

He said UCLA fans can expect a similar scheme.

"It's the only thing I know," he said. "I can't do anything else. I don't know anything else."

Though based on the personnel, the Bruins probably aren't going to be the spitting image of the 2011 Sun Devils. Once UCLA starts up spring ball, Mazzone said he'll have a better idea of which direction the team is going to take schematically.

"My philosophy is I want to get the best players on the football field," he said. "If it happens to be a tight end and two wides and two running backs, that's what it will be. If it's a running back and four wide receivers, that's what it will be. If I'm lucky enough to have good players at several positions, we'll have multiple sets. I just want to get the ball in the playmaker's hands."

And like the majority of the conference, UCLA's future at quarterback isn't set. Sticking to his guns, Mazzone said his decision is not going to be weighted by experience or inexpereince. He has only one preference when picking a quarterback.

"I prefer guys that can score points," he said. "I don't care who it is. I'm not too worried about experience. I'm looking for productivity and the ability to move the football and be a leader for our offense. I don't care if it's a true freshman or a redshirt senior. It really doesn't matter. I'll let them compete and let the best guy that fits that criteria be our guy."

Pac-12 spring preview: South Division

Spring practice is almost here. Here's a snapshot at what to expect from the Pac-12 South in the coming weeks.

ARIZONA

Spring practice starts: March 4

Spring game: April 14

What to watch:

• Hello, my name is ... Like the other two teams in the South Division with new head coaches (Arizona State and UCLA) much of Arizona's first few weeks will be Rich Rodriguez evaluating his personnel and getting to know what he has to work with. Likewise, the players are going to have to figure out what this new coaching staff is about. Everything from how they do pre-practice stretches to how they call the cadence is going to change.
• New scheme and a new scheme: A spread option on offense and a 3-3-5 on defense. That's a lot of new material to digest on both sides of the ball. Until Rodriguez can recruit the players he likes into his scheme, he's going to have to make it work with the players he has. Fortunately on the defensive side of the ball, Arizona has good depth in the secondary with Cortez Johnson, Marquis Flowers, Shaquille Richardson, Jourdon Grandon and Tra'Mayne Bondurant. The Wildcats should also get a boost with the return of injured players Jake Fischer (LB), Jonathan McKnight (CB) and Adam Hall (S).
• Perfect fit? Former starter Matt Scott, who was beaten out by Nick Folesin 2009, is expected to reprise his starting role under Rodriguez. He redshirted the 2011 season and -- magically -- Foles never got hurt last year despite taking 23 sacks and countless hits. Scott is considered the more versatile quarterback and should fit nicely into the new run-based spread attack.

ARIZONA STATE

Spring practice starts: March 13

Spring game: April 21

What to watch:

• QB competition: We know what kind of offense new coach Todd Graham is going to run; now it's a matter of figuring out who is going to run it. Graham has his choice of three players -- Mike Bercovici, Taylor Kelly or Michael Eubank -- to replace NFL-bound Brock Osweiler. Graham said earlier this month that there are no favorites heading into the competition and each one brings his own skill set to the table. Eubank has the size (6-foot-5, 235 pounds), Bercovici (6-1, 205) is a mechanic and Kelly (6-1, 202) is a little bit of everything.
• Get the locker room: By the end of the 2011 season, ASU's locker room wasn't just divided, it was completely splintered. Graham's task -- and that of his new coaching staff -- is to pick up the pieces, mend internal fences and find some chemistry on both sides of the ball. Linebacker Brandon Magee, long considered a great locker room leader, should help get the Sun Devils back on track as he returns from a season-ending Achilles injury.
• Hands competition: The Sun Devils lose three of their top four wide receivers from last season -- Gerell Robinson, Aaron Pflugrad and Mike Willie. Jamal Miles returns after finishing second on the team last season with 60 catches and six touchdowns. Rashad Ross figures to be the No. 2 guy, but establishing depth in that corps -- especially if Graham wants to be up-tempo -- is key.

COLORADO

Spring practice starts: March 10

Spring game: April 14

What to watch:

• Momentum, maybe? For as rough as 2011 was for the Buffs, they ended the year on a high note, winning two-of-three down the stretch -- including a 17-14 win over Utah in the season finale. But there is also the possibility that things might get worse before they get better. With just four returning starters on offense, spring in Boulder will likely be more about teaching and less about refining.
• Where to start (offense)? Well, quarterback might be a good place. In the court of public opinion, Connor Wood, a transfer from Texas, seems to be the favorite. Nick Hirschman appeared in five games last season, mostly in mop-up time when the game was already out of hand. It's also possible a starter could be named by the end of spring ball. Finding offensive weapons to surround the new quarterback will also be a challenge. Wide receiver Paul Richardson caught 39 balls last season, and running back Tony Jones showed a flare for catching the ball out of the backfield. He'll likely step in as the new workhorse back for the departed Rodney Stewart.
• Where to start (defense)? Last in this. Last in that. Last in almost every team statistic the Pac-12 has to offer. But there are some intriguing youngsters on the roster. Cornerback Greg Henderson was all-conference honorable mention as a freshman with a team-high nine passes broken up. Jered Bell also returns from injury after blowing out a knee last preseason. If healthy, he's expected to be a big contributor in the secondary. Linebacker Jon Majorreturns as the team's leading tackler, and if Doug Rippy is fully recovered from his knee injury, he'll look to build on what was a pretty good season last year before getting hurt.

UCLA

Spring practice starts: April 3

Spring game: May 5

What to watch:

• QB up for grabs: Like the majority of the conference, UCLA enters spring with a quarterback competition. New offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said he doesn't care how much experience (or lack thereof) a player has -- if he can play, he wins the job. So don't be surprised if Brett Hundley passes Kevin Prince and Richard Brehautas the new man leading the Bruins. Fans have been clamoring for a change. Hundley might be it.
• Attitude adjustment: One of the first things new head coach Jim Mora did was slam the team for its tradition of going "over the wall," a time-honored senior ditch day, saying if they want to jump the wall, they should just keep on going. How's that for sending a message? UCLA has earned a reputation for being soft and underachieving despite good talent. Attitude and toughness is needed -- and so far, Mora appears to be hammering that point home.
• Speaking of toughness ... The defense has to get tougher. No two ways about it. It was weak against the run last season, allowing more than 190 yards per game on the ground; couldn't get to the quarterback; and couldn't get off the field almost 50 percent of the time on third down. It's time for potential all-conference players such as defensive end Datone Jones to start living up to the hype and the defense as a whole to stop getting pushed up and down the field. At 6-5, 275 pounds, Jones has the physical makeup to be a major force in the conference and catapult himself into the elite class of collegiate defensive players.

USC

Spring practice starts: March 6

Spring game: April 14

What to watch:

• Ignore the hype: Few teams ended last season hotter than USC and returning quarterback Matt Barkley. The Heisman talk has already started, the way-too-early rankings already have the Trojans as national championship contenders, and the public perception is that the offense is unstoppable. Nice to hear, but hype is a double-edged sword. Head coach Lane Kiffin has a knack for deflecting hype. This season will be his toughest test to date.
• Insurance? The Trojans are loaded on both sides of the ball with returning players. But after the starting 22, things start to get dicey. Developing depth and keeping the starters healthy is a top priority -- particularly on the offensive and defensive lines and at running back, where experience is thin outside of the starters. The entire back seven returns on defense -- headlined by hard-hitting safety T.J. McDonald. Stopping the pass has been a major priority for Kiffin, and if this group stays healthy it should see the pass-efficiency numbers improve even more.
• Other options: Along those same lines, wide receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee make up the most feared receiving duo in the conference -- maybe the country. But who are the Nos. 3 and 4 receivers behind them? George Farmer? Victor Blackwell? De'Von Flournoy? Don't overlook the tight end duo of Xavier Grimble and Randall Telfer, which should rival Stanford's Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo as the best tight end tandem in the conference.

UTAH

Spring practice starts: March 20

Spring game: April 21

What to watch:

• Youthful approach: Head coach Kyle Whittingham turned some heads by naming former Utah quarterback Brian Johnson as his offensive coordinator. Johnson, who recently turned 25, said he's not looking to make wholesale changes to the offense, though he wants to put his stamp on it and continue to build around running back John White IV, who had a breakout season in his first year of major college football. Having quarterback Jordan Wynn back healthy should also help as the team transitions to Johnson running the offense.
• Fixing the line: Who is going to protect Wynn (if he does indeed win back the starting job) and make holes for White? That's a major concern heading into spring as the Utes have to replace a pair of all-conference linemen in Tony Bergstrom and John Cullen. The Utes should be set at the interior but have to adjust to a new position coach, with Tim Davis leaving for Florida after just one season and Dan Finn -- a former Utah graduate assistant who was brought on to help Davis -- taking over the whole line following a one-year stint at San Diego State.
• Work the experience: The defensive line should be one of the best in the conference, especially with the return of Star Lotulelei, who won the Morris Trophy last season as the conference's best defensive lineman. With the Kruger brothers returning to the line -- Joe at defensive end and Dave at tackle -- Derrick Shelby is the lone starter who has to be replaced. There's also some pretty good depth in the secondary that was tops in the conference last season in pass-efficiency defense.

It wasn't random that Jim Mora, a NFL coaching lifer, ended up in college football. It was his specific plan. When his ill-fated, one-year tenure as the Seattle Seahawks head coach ended, he almost immediately started eyeballing the college game.

There was, however, no rush to jump at the first new coaching opportunity. He almost immediately was hired for broadcast gigs with the NFL Network and Fox. And the Seahawks were on the hook for the final three years of his contract -- a cool $12 million. So he studied the college game from afar and waited for an appealing opportunity.

"I felt like [college football] would be a good fit for my personality and what I was trying to get out of my career," he said. "I feel like I've got a lot to give kids this age... What's happened in the NFL, to a certain extent, because of the money involved, because of free agency, is there is a little less trust at times between players and coaches. That was bothersome to me. These guys are anxious to use you as a source of wisdom. And that is appealing to me."

Mora went full-throttle after the UCLA job. He wasn't the first choice. Or even the second. And his hiring was initially greeted with skepticism. But the momentum is on a decided uptick.

First, he hired an impressive staff, tapping coaches with significant NFL and Pac-12 experience, as well as coaches known for being outstanding recruiters.

NFL experience? How about 90 years and five Super Bowl rings? Pac-12 experience? Five of the nine have either played or coached in the conference. Ace recruiters? Adrian Klemm and Demetrice Martin, hired away from SMU and Washington, respectively, are widely considered two of the best in the business.

And then Mora and his staff transformed what might have been the worst recruiting class in the conference when he was hired into one of the best. ESPN Recruiting ranked Mora's first-ever class ranked 19th in the nation.

"Everybody seems happy now and we haven't even won a game," said Mora, perhaps a bit surprised by how quickly recruiting can enliven a fanbase.

The NFL experience was a boon in recruiting. It gave Mora and his staff credibility. When asked how he overcame questions about UCLA's recent run of mediocrity, Mora just waved away the issue.

"I didn't worry about the past," he said. "It's irrelevant to me what any team has been in the past. It's what they are going to be in the future. We talked about future. We're not going to wait to win. You have a chance to get in on the ground floor of something that we believe can be special. If you're a competitor and you like challenges, this is for you."

Now the focus turns to spring practices and the football part of football. Mora said he'll watch film over the next few weeks to get an idea of his personnel. Heading his to-do list: He has to figure out who his quarterback is going to be, with incumbent starter Kevin Prince trying to fight off what figures to be a strong challenge from redshirt freshman Brett Hundley. Richard Brehaut might not be a factor because he plans to play baseball.

As far as new schemes, offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone is a spread guy and defensive coordinator Lou Spanos is a 3-4 guy, but Mora resists any attempt to pin him down on schemes. A defensive specialist, he's been successful with both 4-3 and 3-4 looks, and he said he expects the offense to be "multiple."

"We're going to do what our players do best," he said. "There is no name for what we do. We're not pistol. We're not West Coast. We're not spread. We're not wishbone. We're not this, we're not that. We're just going to be a good, fundamentally sound football that takes advantage of the skill sets our players present to us."

The college game is very different than the NFL. There's recruiting. There are limits on practice time. There are boosters to deal with and academic demands for players.

Still, Mora is well aware that the ultimate measure in Pac-12 football is just like the NFL: You've got to win.

Two things happened at UCLA today.

One thing was about the dreary present: Backup quarterback Richard Brehaut has been suspended for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, and three Bruins have been ruled academically ineligible.

The other is about a potentially better future: The Bruins acting Tuesday on their "tradition" of "going over the wall" made new coach Jim Mora want to claw his eyes out, just like it did many Bruins fans.

Said Mora: "It's completely unacceptable and it will not be part of the program going forward."

Good. End of "tradition." Mora immediately sends a message that should resonate in a locker room that needs some resonance.

Now on to the bad stuff. Joining Brehaut in time out are, are safety Tony Dye, starting offensive lineman Albert Cid and backup linebacker Isaiah Bowens, who are the academically ineligible for the Dec. 31 bowl game.

Without Brehaut, starter Kevin Price will be backed up by either Nick Crissman or Darius Bell. There is zero chance that talented true freshman Brett Hundley will play after redshirting this season.

“All four of these student-athletes are disappointed that they will miss the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, but they all understand that they have let their teammates and the program down and that there are consequences for their actions,” interim coach Mike Johnson said in a statement.

Question: Do you think Johnson, who was only with UCLA during this one miserable season, is eager to get this bowl game over and get on with his life?

Brehaut played in seven games, starting four, and completed 67 of 121 passes for 948 yards and six touchdowns. Dye played in five games, starting all of them during an injury-plagued season, tallying 23 tackles. Cid participated in nine games, starting five of them. Bowens played in 12 games coming off the bench, making nine tackles and recovering two fumbles.

UCLA's visit to Arizona on Oct. 20 was a complete disaster for the Bruins. The 48-12 blowout defeat to a team that had lost 10 consecutive games to FBS teams and had just fired its coach had no redeeming value for the program and its embattled coach, Rick Neuheisel. ESPN's typically measured Rece Davis, who was doing play-by-play, opined: "Somebody in a gold helmet has to show some pride."

He was right. The Bruins looked like they were tanking it. That they didn't care. And that almost certainly would earn Neuheisel a boot out of Westwood.

But there's often a disconnect between easy fan and media judgments and the reality of a locker room. UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince called the loss at Arizona "devastating," but he firmly rejected the notion of the Bruins mailing it in because they no longer cared about Neuheisel's fate.

"We definitely like Coach Neuheisel and want him to stay. There's no question about that," Prince said. "There was nothing like us going into the Arizona game and saying, 'Hey, let's tank this so Neuheisel doesn't keep his job.' That's absurd. I know that fans probably think that. The Arizona game? Sometimes things just happen. Fans will make up conspiracy theories, but at the end of day we want to win games and we don't want any changes here. We like the coaches we have."

That, of course, could just be good-soldier speak. After all, Prince isn't the sort to trash talk his coach, or even provide a non-answer that allows folks to read between the lines. It strains credulity to believe that Bruins are in lockstep in support of their coach and his staff, which features two new coordinators this season.

But then a 31-14 win at California happened, the first time this season the Bruins played well in all three phases.

Further, the Bruins' season could be transformed -- and Neuheisel resurrected -- if they beat No. 19 Arizona State on Saturday. Not only would a victory improve their record to 5-4 overall -- just one win away from bowl eligibility -- it would give the Bruins control of the Pac-12's South Division. UCLA and Arizona State would be tied atop the division at 4-2 in conference play (USC isn't eligible due to NCAA sanctions), but the Bruins would own the tiebreaker due to head-to-head victory.Rick Neuheisel badly needs a win when the Bruins take on No. 19 Arizona State Saturday.

Which would mean that the Bruins actually control their Rose Bowl destiny. They are a six-game winning streak away from being the Rose Bowl champs.

Ridiculous? Perhaps. But Neuheisel could tell you about a team that started 0-3-1 in 1984 and won the Rose Bowl. So this isn't the most ridiculous scenario ever.

One of them. But not the most.

Things already are pretty odd. Who thought after Prince started 3-of-7 with three interceptions against Texas and got benched that we'd ever hear him receiving justified praise again as the Bruins' quarterback?

Prince has thrown just one more interception since his ill-fated afternoon against the Longhorns. He was the difference-maker against Cal, rushing for a career-high 163 yards on 19 carries, just as he was while leading a comeback victory over Washington State after Richard Brehaut was lost for the season with a broken leg.

His career, which includes 20 starts, has been star-crossed, riddled with injuries and inconsistency. And yet here is. Again.

"No. 1, he hasn't given up on himself," Neuheisel siad. "He believes he's got what it takes, and we do, too. No. 2, he's healthy. It's not been that way for most of his career. And I was really pleased that he ran as physically as he ran the other night. That's got to be where we plant our flag."

In other words, even with the Bruins getting four receivers back from their suspensions for their parts in the brawl with Arizona, the Bruins are not going to start passing a lot. They average 196 yards passing per game, but their most effective plays seem to be runs out of the pistol formation. With Prince being an increasingly legitimate run threat, that should make things easier for running backs Johnathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman.

"Prince is playing extremely well right now," Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson said. "If they can run the football, they can create a lot of problems for you."

The Sun Devils have been just OK against the run this year, yielding 141 yards per game.

Of course, entertaining grand notions for UCLA remains a stretch. The program has failed to post a signature conference win under Neuheisel and has been excruciatingly inconsistent. More than once, talk of a corner-turn has been hushed by a dreadful performance. Beating Arizona State is the sort of thing Neuheisel hasn't done in three-plus seasons at UCLA, though he's posted some nice nonconference wins over Tennessee and Texas.

One of many big changes Neuheisel made this year was taking over coaching his quarterbacks. He is notoriously hard on QBs, having been one himself for the Bruins, and cameras eagerly seek him out when his quarterback makes a mistake. The sideline jabbering is not terribly distinguished, and more than a few folks have seen it as a significant problem on multiple levels.

But Prince feels like his relationship with Neuheisel has gotten stronger this year.

"I feel like it's been better because he is now the quarterbacks coach," Prince said. "The communication between us is better. We don't see eye-to-eye all the time, but we can communicate and work things out."

They also are on the same wavelength when it comes to dealing with criticism, which both know well.

Said Prince: "I don't listen to the criticism. I just continue to play the game and try to have fun and win."

Said Neuheisel: "The only thing you can do is ignore that .... It does me no good. I can't answer all the critics. All I can do is my best. I wake up every morning excited about going to work."

It appears Prince and Neuheisel are in sync when it comes to dealing with criticism. But can they -- and the rest of the Bruins -- get in sync and string a few consistent performances together?

If it happens, there may be a shocker in the South Division, and part of that would be Neuheisel keeping his job.

Issues to consider heading into the eighth week of games.

Price vs. Luck: Think back to your college football brain in August. Now look that bolded intro. Who would've thunk it, right? Well, turns out that Andrew Luck is a heck of a quarterback, but at present not only is Washington's Keith Price nipping at his heels in terms of passing efficiency, but he's also got more touchdown passes than the leading Heisman Trophy contender -- 21 vs. 18. Luck is almost certain to play well at home against a fair-to-middling Huskies defense. To lead the upset for Washington, Price will need to match -- if not exceed -- Luck's numbers.

Barkley to Woods: USC QB Matt Barkley and WR Robert Woods are the best pass-catch combination in the Pac-12, and one of the two or three best in the nation. They've combined for six TDs and 130.5 yards per game. But they were not in sync last week against California. It's likely the Trojans will struggle to run against a tough Notre Dame front seven. So the way USC wins in South Bend is Barkley to Woods, Barkley to Woods.

Who starts at QB, RB for Oregon? Not much to this one: Do Darron Thomas (knee) and LaMichael James (elbow) start for the Ducks at Colorado? Or do their backups: Bryan Bennett and Kenjon Barner? This pretty much is the only expected intrigue in Boulder on Saturday.

Hays or Maynard? While there's no single reason Utah and California are both 0-3 in Pac-12 play, the biggest is inconsistent play at QB. Utes QB Jon Hays replaced injured starter Jordan Wynn for the second half against Washington and has mostly improved in two starts. Cal's Zach Maynard started the season well but has struggled since the conference slate began, bottoming out last Thursday with three interceptions against USC. With two good defenses at AT&T Park, it's unlikely either offense will be able to run the ball 40 times and win. The team that is more efficient passing the ball likely ends up smiling.

Wildcats set free? There's a feeling that Arizona's players were playing tight -- more worried more about mistakes than focused on making plays -- in recent weeks as the losses piled up and coach Mike Stoops got more frenzied on the sidelines. We'll get a better feel for that Thursday night. The Wildcats have started slowly all season. If they get off to a quick, enthusiastic start against UCLA, you'd have to think a lot of players have loosened up since Stoops was fired. That shouldn't be over-construed as an indictment of Stoops, by the way. After all that losing and a coach firing, sometimes it becomes easier to play when you have nothing to lose.

Tuel time: Washington State QB Jeff Tuel didn't pick a great team for his first start since a fractured clavicle forced him to miss the Cougars' first five games: Stanford. While Tuel had his moments, he looked a little out of sorts against an A-list defense. But after getting his game legs back, Oregon State's defense offers a much softer landing. Tuel is the Cougars unquestioned leader. This is a must-win game for the Cougs' bowl hopes and for coach Paul Wulff — and in such games, unquestioned leaders step up, lead and make plays that turn must-wins into victories.

Hogs on the Farm: While the rise of Stanford football is not unreasonably connected to Luck, more than a few folks will tell you a culture shift was more important. A program that was seen as soft, one populated by smart young men with aspirations other than pro football -- because they wanted to make more money than the NFL could pay them -- transformed into an edgy, physical and, yes, maybe slightly dirty unit that played until the very echo of the whistle. Washington coach Steve Sarkisian has been talking about the Huskies playing physical football since he was hired to take over a team that went soft under Tyrone Willingham. The Huskies have taken some big steps forward -- see the dominant victory over Nebraska in the 2010 Holiday Bowl. But they aren't there yet on either line. Or are they? We'll see Saturday in the trenches.

Prince wears the crown: Kevin Prince is (again) UCLA's quarterback. While this has many Bruins fans slapping their foreheads, Prince was a capable passer in 2009 and ran the pistol offense well in 2010. He's just never been consistent and, most important, never stayed healthy. Well, Richard Brehaut is out for the year, so the QB job is (again) Prince's. At least as long as he can stay healthy, and barring any horrible play -- see Prince against Texas -- that forces embattled coach Rick Neuheisel to turn to true freshman Brett Hundley. Yet there is a potential positive spin here. What if Prince rises to the occasion? A UCLA win at Arizona would set the Bruins up nicely for a second-half run.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel could spin a happy yarn about a flattened bunny rabbit on the highway. A empty glass is something that, heck, could one day be half-full! Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Are you sure they just aren't misunderstood?

So while most feel like Neuheisel is engaged in a high-stakes, win-or-else season that at this point could go either way, the Bruins coach claims he's oblivious to the negative chatter. Nor does he feel the pressure that most would assume is consuming him.

"I don't," he said. "Maybe that is naive on my part. Maybe that's the early onset of some sort of dementia. I don't know. I just am enjoying coaching this football team and I'm enjoying trying to keep ourselves in the race. It's an exciting time for us."

That could be coachspeak -- or Neuheisel-speak -- but that's his story and he's consistently been on message with it this season and throughout his Bruins tenure: Relentless optimism.

Of course, Neuheisel won't have to look too hard Thursday to understand the less cheerful side of his business. When UCLA visits Arizona, Wildcats coach Mike Stoops will no longer be raging along the opposite sideline. He was fired after a 1-5 start and replaced by former defensive coordinator Tim Kish.

"There was a grieving process in there," Kish said. "But we couldn't sit on that. We had to get the healing process started as soon as possible."

Of course, the healing process at Arizona could spell doom for Neuheisel. If the Bruins lose to a team that just fired its coach, well, it's hard to imagine that going over well with already frustrated Bruins fans. No one is saying Neuheisel would get canned the following Monday, as Stoops did on Oct. 10 after a loss at previously winless Oregon State, but it wouldn't be completely shocking if it did happen.

Kish wants his team to loosen up and have fun. He admits they've played tight much of the year as the losses -- 10 consecutive games to FBS teams and counting -- mounted up. But if they do that and the scoreboard smiles back at them, their redeeming performance would plant a heavy axe blow into Neuheisel's and the Bruins' fortunes.

"Unfortunately, that's just the nature of the beast in our business," Kish said. "That's what we signed up for when we became coaches. We know how this works."

Yet if we bracket off the recriminations in Westwood for a moment, Neuheisel does have a point about one thing: The Bruins are squarely in the Pac-12 South Division race. While they are just 3-3 overall, they also are 2-1 in conference play. If they beat the Wildcats, they will be tied with Arizona State atop the conference heading into next week.

While UCLA still has to play USC -- a team the Sun Devils beat -- the remaining schedule is forgiving. It's possible that the division will be decided on Nov. 5 when Arizona State visits the Rose Bowl, where the Sun Devils have lost five of their past six games.

If the Bruins win the rest of their games, including the ASU game, but then lose at USC in the season-finale -- "ARRRGGHHH!" say Bruins fans -- guess who, nonetheless, would represent the South Division in the Pac-12 championship game? That's right, UCLA.

So if you ask Neuheisel about his players getting distracted by the negative chatter, well, let him tell you about uplifting opportunities!

"I think my guys are excited about being in the race," he said. "We've got a chance with a victory this week to be in first place. That's what we are focusing on."

As far as the football side of this, both teams are playing terrible defense. The Bruins have been less terrible, but also not as good on offense. Things may come down to whether or not the Wildcats and their run defense, ranked last in the conference and 100th in the nation, can slow down a good Bruins running game, which ranks second in the conference.

Of course, the Wildcats do also rank 117th in the nation in pass-efficiency defense, so even the passing-challenge Bruins and QB Kevin Prince, who's back as the starter after a season-ending injury to Richard Brehaut, might want to test things with some shots downfield.

In what might seem like an oddity, Arizona is favored by four points.

No matter. Questions, doubts, negativity -- none of that concerns Neuheisel. His focus is on the positive, on winning Thursday and on winning the South.

Said Neuheisel, "I don't know where your focus is. Our focus is only on that."