Perfect Weekend 2014 Recap

This is exactly how I felt watching UCLA lose on Friday.  Perfect Weekends are difficult to come by, so it was extremely fulfilling to get one during Thanksgiving and our last weekend before the bowl game.  I can't believe how long Notre Dame was able to hang on this season before such an epic collapse to 7-5.  In all honesty, after UCLA was bounced from the Pac-12 Championship game and any outside chance to back into the playoff, I didn't much care how Saturday went.  Dismantling Notre Dame's defense on our first 6 possessions reminded me of 50-0 & UCLA's all-white uniforms.  That's always a good thing.  Instead of midget on a tricycle, Kevin Prince in UCLA's all-white uniforms will forever be running for his life in my Happy Place.

It gets even better when you take a look at some of the quotes coming out of UCLA.  Mora gave a laundry list of excuses including age, depth, recruiting, not enough time with the program, etc - only to follow that list up by saying, "These aren't excuses. These are just facts."  That made me laugh.  "It's brutal," said Jeff Ulbrich, defensive coordinator. "We're all crushed in a lot of ways."  "We had higher expectations than that, we disappointed this year" said Hundley.  "We wanted the Oregons and Stanfords, that was our motto, we figured this was the year. The reward we would have got for winning this game, it hurts," UCLA linebacker Myles Jack said.  Hundley was 0-6 vs. Oregon & Stanford in his career.  UCLA is 1-6 in games played a week or less after facing USC, and those losses were by an average of 18 points.  Going from visions of the playoff to spending New Years Eve in San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl definitely stings, and I love it.  I will never be able to read enough quotes about their hearts being ripped out.  And lastly here's a perfectly spiteful letter to the editor of the LA Times:

As season five of USC's sanctions comes to a close, what has UCLA accomplished in the years its main rival was on NCAA-mandated life support?

Have a 10-win season? Once, just like USC.

Finish with the best record in the Pac-12 South? Once, just like USC.

Win a bowl game? Once, just like USC.

Upset a top-10 team? Once, but USC did it twice.

Be ranked AP No. 1? Nope, but USC was.

Be ranked in the AP top 10? For four weeks, vs. USC's eight.

Win the conference championship? Nope.

Play in a BCS bowl? Nope.

Ban the USC drum major from stabbing the field in 2012? Yes!

Plant the UCLA flag midfield at the Coliseum in 2013? Yes!!

Deface the Arizona State logo in 2014? Yes!!!

Send an injured walk-on receiver to "protect the logo" last Saturday? Yes!!!!

Clearly, the standout accomplishment for UCLA football in the five seasons it had a chance to dominate the Pac-12 South was "protecting the logo."

When will the banner-raising ceremony for the "Undisputed Logo-Protecting National Champs 2012, 2013, 2014" be scheduled?

Dan Schwartz

Tempe, Ariz.