After a five-year layoff, UCLA head coach Rick Heuheisel was finally back doing what he loves Monday night — coaching college football. Neuheisel led the Bruins to an upset victory in his first game as head coach of his alma-mater, beating 18th ranked Tennessee 27-24 in overtime.

“It was a thrill for me to be on the sidelines,” Neuheisel said. “At one point an official said, ‘Are you having fun?’ I said, ‘For an opening act, this is a lot of fun.’

The victory was sweet for Neuheisal, who was fired from the University of Washington five years ago for a smattering of NCAA violations and an overall aura of dishonesty that led University officials to pull the plug. 

After some time coaching in the NFL, Neuheisel was offered the UCLA job with the hopes that he could bring the University back to prominence and compete for top billing in L.A. with the formidable USC Trojans.  To help him in his quest Neuheisel brought in former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who is also serving as quarterbacks coach.

The game itself was a good one, as UCLA clawed back into the game in the 4th quarter and won via field goal in extra time. Bruins quarterback Kevin Craft threw for only 66 yards with four interceptions in the first half, one of which was returned for a touchdown as time expired in the opening half. At halftime, coach Neuheisel pepped up the struggling quarterback by explaining that he himself had thrown 4 Interceptions in his first game as quarterback and went on to have an excellent career. Craft responded by going 18-of-25 for 193 yards and one touchdown in the second half without an interception.