First and foremost, the changes in schedule were all for exposure purposes, and they’re, in a word, stunning.

UCLA picks up a MAJOR ABC game with Texas and two big ESPN gigs, including a crucial Thursday night matchup with Oregon. Then there’s the Friday, day-after-Thanksgiving game. These are the kinds of moves that take teams from also-rans to major players. Even if UCLA loses these games, the visibility rises.

Also, however UCLA picks up an extra bye week and a headstart on the Pac-10 schedule, with an early game against Stanford. Getting another game to prepare for Texas will help as well, and the Bruins could go into the Texas matchup at 2-1, and 3-0 isn’t a major leap.

Just a major move for the UCLA program.