I assume they were going to shoot off fireworks no matter the final score. This being the end of the Labor Day weekend, and all.  And an inducement to come out and see a UCLA team that went 6-7 a year ago.

Who knew the bombs bursting in air were the exclamation mark to UCLA’s 27-24 overtime victory over 18th-ranked Tennessee at the Rose Bowl tonight?

It was a great start for coach Rick Neuheisel, whose team rallied from 14-7 and 21-17, erasing the latter deficit in the final two minutes of regulation. Then winning in overtime.

He may still be slippery as a banana peel and as sincere as a politician kissing babies … but he can coach.

And so can the guys he hired.

1. Norm Chow took a wreck of an offense and squeezed 20 points out of it — even with the JC transfer he had at quarterback (after Ben Olson and Patrick Cowan went down with injury) threw FOUR first-half interceptions. I wonder how Pete Carroll feels about having to face Mr. Chow, his former OC, at the end of the regular season.

2. DeWayne Walker managed to take an undersized and not-all-that-fast defense and make Tennessee struggle like mad for two touchdowns and a field goal. (Tennessee’s other TD came on a 61-yard pick-six chucked out there by UCLA QB Kevin Craft.)

3. Special teams coach Frank Gansz Jr. dissected Tennessee’s goofy split-wide punt cover team and turned it into a blocked punt and a 21-yard return for touchdown that kept UCLA alive in its offensively inept first half.

The Bruins severely outcoached Phil Fulmer & Co., and those guys have been around the block a time or two in the SEC.

UCLA won with a smaller, younger team, and one that had little or no speed advantage. It won with backups and first-timers all over the field. UCLA doesn’t have all that much skill to begin with, then lost tight end Logan Paulsen (who is on the cover of their media guide), starting tailback Kahlil Bell and starting receiverMarcus Everett in the first quarter.  None ever returned.

They already were down to their No. 3 quarterback, JC transfer Kevin Craft.

And UCLA won, anyway.

We have to credit Neuheisel for assembling the staff that took Karl Dorrell’s leftover talent, and his own first recruiting class (well, actually, that was Dorrell’s, too) and wrangling them into a winning organization from Day 1.

This is big. It doesn’t turn UCLA into a powerhouse, but it establishes them as competent right this minute. Not in Year 2 or Year 3 of the Neuheisel regime. Right now.

Of course, Slick Rick may screw things up by cutting corners or just doing the sleazy things he’s tended to do in the past.

It would be too bad,  because he’s off to a great start here, and he might be able to do some damage in the Pac-10 — maybe even in the BCS.

“For an opening act,” he said, “it was a lot of fun.”

This was after he did the ESPN interview, ran over to the UCLA sideline and grabbed a mike and addresses the roaring crowd, saying, “It’s great to be a Bruin! I’m proud of this team and the fans. You kept fighting. I’m proud and pleased to be standing in front of these guys as their head coach.”

And not to throw too much cold water on UCLA’s big night … but Neuheisel has something of a reputation for great starts … and ugly finishes.

We shall see.