Strange: UCLA will be a true test for Vols : govolsxtra.com

Preseason Game No. 5 is in the books. The video has been graded. Now, Tennessee moves on to the real season.

Lane Kiffin didn't use that terminology. He didn't call a 63-7 romp over Western Kentucky on Saturday a preseason game, as he had UT's August scrimmages.

There were, after all, 98,761 witnesses in the stands. Folks in Boca Raton and Bessemer were able to watch the rout on TV. So were folks in Marina del Rey, if they had the proper satellite coordinates.

And, bottom line, there is a 1-0 attached to Tennessee's 2009 schedule and Kiffin's ledger as a college head coach.

But as much fun as Saturday was for the victory-starved Vols and their excitement-starved fans, the real work begins today.

UCLA is up next and it won't be that easy. It won't be easy at all.

Which might or might not come as a surprise to Tennessee's precocious rookie class that played such a prominent role in Preseason Game No. 5. It's difficult to tell what's rattling around inside the head of a freshman flush with success.

"Western Kentucky was a good team today,'' David Oku said Saturday after scoring two touchdowns in his college debut. "They're not a terrible team.''

Ah, from the mouths of babes.

"It was their first game and they didn't know what to expect,'' senior linebacker Nick Reveiz said of his freshmen. "I'm not worried about them. They're great guys and they work hard.''

All the same, Reveiz and the other veterans will take the lead when the Vols hit the practice field today:

"We've got to really set the tone the first day of practice this week and let 'em know, 'Hey, these guys are going to be tough. They're going to be good.' ''

Even if the Bruins are only average, they'll be a quantum leap above the Hilltoppers.

UCLA and Tennessee have an unusual history for programs three time zones apart. Tennessee leads the series 7-5-2.

Saturday's 4 p.m. ESPN game finds the Bruins and Vols with more similarities than striking differences. Both have seen better days. Both have entrusted new coaches to do something about it.

The rivalry had sat dormant for 11 years until UT went to Pasadena last year as the favorite. UCLA sprung the upset for new coach Rick Neuheisel, 27-24.

The Bruins danced off the field - and then got poleaxed 59-0 by BYU the following week.

That should be the first reminder that opening-day success has no shelf life whatsoever.

UCLA's initial glow faded to a 4-8 finish. Tennessee never did recover, finished 5-7, and got its coach fired.

Now it's Tennessee with the new coach promising to restore the program to past glory.

That coach, Kiffin, can count UCLA among the opponents from whom he does not receive Christmas cards.

In 2005, as Southern Cal's offensive coordinator, Kiffin called the shots as the Trojans routed their crosstown rivals 66-19. He was also on the staff of USC teams that beat the Bruins by the likes of 27-0, 52-21 and 47-22.

"I tell you what, you will not find anybody else in the world that wants to beat UCLA more than Ed Orgeron and Lane Kiffin.''

That was Orgeron on Kiffin's TV show Sunday morning.

Orgeron, UT's recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach, was 6-1 against UCLA in his tenure at Southern Cal, part of which overlapped Kiffin's. Suffice it to say he won his share of recruiting wars with the Bruins.

Neuheisel, meanwhile, moves forward into Year Two of his rebuilding plan. The Bruins opened with a 33-14 win over San Diego State on Saturday and by all accounts are a better team than the one that beat UT last season.

The Vols, too, look improved from 2008. Just how much is still debatable, given Western Kentucky's deficiencies.

Chew this nugget for perspective:

The last time UT scored more points than Saturday was a 70-3 slaughter of over Louisiana-Monroe in 2000. The next week, the 11th-ranked Vols lost to unranked LSU 38-31 in overtime.

So the old heads, guys like Reveiz and Wes Brown and Jonathan Crompton, had better enlighten the freshmen this week.

Not all Saturdays will be like their first one.

Mike Strange may be reached at strangem@knoxnews.com or 865-342-6276.