Sixteen days ago, on October 20, the UCLA Bruins were embarrassed on national television in Tucson with a 48-12 loss to the Arizona Wildcats. It led some, like Bruins Nation, calling for regime change in Westwood. Now, somehow, two weeks later, the UCLA Bruins are tied for first place in the Pac-12 South Division.
Even better for the Bruins, they are in the driver's seat, in control of their own destiny with the tiebreaker over Arizona St. Sun Devils. Their next two games are against conference newcomers Utah and Colorado, who have combined for two conference wins, though the trip to Salt Lake City next week against the Utes won't be easy. Here's a look at the standings in the Pac-12 South Division:
| Pac-12 South Division Standings | |||
| Team | Conference | Overall | Remaining Games |
| UCLA | 4-2 | 5-4 | at Utah, Colorado, at USC |
| Arizona St. | 4-2 | 6-3 | at WSU, Arizona, Cal |
| USC* | 4-2 | 7-2 | Was, at Oregon, UCLA |
| Utah | 2-4 | 5-4 | UCLA, at WSU, Colorado |
| Arizona | 1-6 | 2-7 | at Colorado, at ASU, Louisiana-Lafayette |
| Colorado | 0-6 | 1-9 | Arizona, at UCLA, at Utah |
| *USC is ineligible for postseason play | |||
The inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game will be held on Friday, December 2 at the home stadium of the division winner with the best record (in other words, the winner of Stanford vs. Oregon next Saturday). UCLA still has a long way to go before booking team travel plans for December 2, but the fact that they are in this position is a story in itself.
For more UCLA football news, be sure to read Bruins Nation.