What a dad! Colorado’s Jon Embree helps out son Taylor

Jon Embree’s first thought was about his Colorado team. The second thought: what a great father he had been.

Colorado’s 17-14 victory over Utah on Friday ended the Buffaloes’ 24-game losing streak outside its home state. And it also put Embree’s son, Taylor, in the Pac-12 Conference championship game.

UCLA, which starts Taylor at wide receiver, was handed a spot in the title game as the South Division representative when the Utes missed a last-second field-goal try against Colorado.

“I got a text from him after the game,� Jon said by phone Saturday.

“Thanks� was Taylor’s first word, followed by “congratulations.� His father understood.

“Taylor is happy and excited, as is the rest of the UCLA football team,� Jon said. “They get a chance to play for a ring. All you can ask is for the opportunity.�

And his message to his son?

“Go get it now,� Jon said.

The Bruins will be a huge underdog against Oregon, but so was Colorado against Utah at Salt Lake City. It was the Buffaloes’ first victory outside of Colorado since they beat Texas Tech in 2007.

“That was a stain on our program,� Jon said. “We have won a national championship, a Heisman Trophy, the Thorpe Award, the Butkus Award, the Mackey Award, so to have a senior class go through here and never win on the road would have been unbelievable. This is huge.�

And it included a big family perk, though Jon doesn’t believe he can get away with calling it an early Christmas present. “I’m sure he will want more for Christmas,� Jon said of Taylor.

Nor does Jon expect that helping the Bruins will cause Taylor to take it easy on him. UCLA routed Colorado, 45-6, in a game both viewed as a chance for family bragging rights.

“He’s still going to wear me out, and rightfully so,� Jon said. “We got hammered.�

Colorado has a weekend full of recruiting coming up, but Jon still hopes to attend the Pac-12 title game. “It would be a great experience, as a coach and as a father,� he said.

Catching up

Nelson Rosario’s 14-yard reception in the second quarter moved him past Flipper Anderson into eighth place on UCLA’s season list for receiving yards. Anderson had 903 yards in 1987.

Rosario finished with a team-high seven catches for 118 yards against USC, giving him 1,008 yards this season and moving him past Jim McElroy into seventh place. McElroy had 989 yards in 1997. Rosario also moved past Brian Poli-Dixon and Freddie Mitchell into fifth place on UCLA’s career list for receiving yards. Rosario has 2,209 yards in his career.

Quick kicks

UCLA had a couple of chances in the first half against USC, but the Bruins were stopped on fourth down inside the USC five in the first quarter, and Kevin Prince had a pass intercepted in the end zone in the second quarter UCLA lost safety Tony Dye in the second quarter when he injured his right leg while tackling USC’s Marc Tyler. Dye, a senior, returned from a neck injury last week against Colorado.

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