SB Nation - Kevin Craft

Spaulding Roundup: QB Uncertainty For UCLA, Owls Practicing In Double Sessions & Other Notes

Nestor — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:48:35 -0000

Looks like Bruins are gradually getting back to regular game week rhythm with usual suspects taking over the reps with first team. Obviously the spot everyone is keeping an eye on is at QB. Kevin Prince increased his reps to further test out his injured shoulder, while Kevin Craft not surprisingly is back in the mix (getting more reps than Brehaut with the first team).

Meanwhile, over in Philadelphia a fired up Temple Owls program continue to prepare for its first bowl game in something like 3 decades and are getting ready to play a game that would suit their style of fundamental and physical football. Of course the weather just might play into this. Here in DC we are getting ready for a foot of snow this weekend (possibly screwing my plans to fly home to LA), and it will not be a surprise if we continue to get more of the same type of weather when the Bruins get here after X-mas.

So with those toplines out of the way here is the latest on Prince. Apparently he "increased his workout" yesterday taking more reps with the first team. From the LA Times:

"We'll watch, not just to see his velocity, but more the confidence," Neuheisel said. "We'll watch the willingness to let one go, knowing that's on the other side of that throw. Does he grimace?"

Prince has undergone extra treatments to loosen up his shoulder since being injured against USC on Nov. 28. He said he felt comfortable throwing the ball Thursday, except on one play.

"One throw I made today on the run absolutely killed it," Prince said. "But I just have to make every throw, not necessarily pain free, but with manageable pain. I need to do everything -- hand the ball off, going on the run, throwing deep balls, trying to put velocity on the ball without it hurting too much. Once I can do it without too much discomfort, I can play."

Neuheisel sounds "optimistic" in his comments in the Daily News report, which detailed the type of difficulty Prince is having to date:

Holding Prince back is the more difficult throws, those that test the inside of his shoulder.

He feels fine chucking the ball straight down the field, but throwing on the run and throwing across his body is giving him fits.

"He had another good day; it got sore on him when he made a throw across his body," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. "That's to be expected. He's just kind of breaking down some scar tissue now. I'm optimistic after the last two days."

Hmm. I still think after it is all said and done we should go with Kevin Craft. If the weather continues to remain the same here in DC (freezing with mix of snow and rain) in the coming days, I don't think it makes sense to throw Prince out there with a recovering shoulder injury. We know what we will get from Craft at this point. Even though rest of the country (and many of us) have the memories from last year burned into our brains, this year's Craft actually did a serviceable job of managing the game, minimizing mistakes, which included getting two important wins against Kansas State and Washington. More including notes on Temple after the jump.

So speaking of the Owls they didn't get to practice this week. No they were not appearing on TV shows or lounging around the City of Brotherly Love. They were taking finals and Golden is making up for lost time due to finals:

The Temple players, who did not practice earlier this week as they took final exams, will watch film of UCLA for the first time today and then hit the practice field.

"We're calling it a four-day minicamp," Golden said. "We'll have some double sessions in there. We'll break by 1 p.m. Monday, and the kids will get two days off. And we'll leave here on Thursday."

Golden has also quashed all the coaching rumors swirling around him (at least for now) to focus on the game:

"I think there's relief," Golden said about no longer having his name mentioned in the media in connection with other jobs. "But we really don't live in that world.

"There were reports coming out, and my wife was saying there was this report and that report, and 'You better know that this is out there.' My wife has my back. But these reports are breaking, and I'm supposed to be in Cincinnati, and I'm not. I'm out recruiting and in kids' homes. I was in Connecticut. I was in New York City. I was here all [last] weekend, and we had 20 recruits and their families in. But I'm glad that it's over, and we're moving forward."

And here is the style of game Owl are looking to play in DC:

"I think the key for us is just to play our style of game," said senior linebacker John Haley. "We've got to play physical, play fast and show the type of team that we are and have been all season."

Added senior offensive lineman Devin Tyler: "We have to believe we can win."

Well interestingly these guys are coming into this game with a loss (just like the Bruins) which kept them out of the MAC championship game. The Sporting News has a preview on our bowl game which gives the following report on Golden's team:

Temple ran for more than 200 yards (in 17-35 loss against Ohio) for the sixth straight game even though it was without Bernard Pierce, sidelined by a left shoulder injury. The MAC freshman of the year should return for this matchup after leading the conference with 1,308 yards rushing and finishing second with 15 touchdowns.

Matt Brown, another Owls freshman, is second on the team with 455 rushing yards, 328 over his last two games. Temple is ranked 23rd in the nation in rushing, averaging 192.3 yards a contest.

The Owls' defense, meanwhile, is ranked 19th against the run, giving up an average of 108.8 yards.

Sophomore Adrian Robinson, who had 12 sacks and was picked as the conference's defensive player of the year, is one of a school-record eight players named to the all-MAC first team.

It is going to be interesting to see how our defense responds to these guys in their very first series. Honestly, I am not really getting the sense right now that our team is in the right, focused mindset to take on these guys. I really hope I am proven wrong. But the feeling I get is that I sense a team on our side which might not be ready (at least from the outset) to take on the determined ferocity of an underdog team which will be looking to a make huge statement on national TV.

Add to that it sounds like our QB situation is uncertain and our coaches are taking their time to make their decision. Perhaps Neuheisel and his staff are playing a little coy by projecting a relaxed, "fun," Southern California vibe around the program. That is fine as long as we can pull out a win in a well played football game (without sloppiness and silly mistakes indicating a lack of focus and concentration).

For the Bruins to win this game on 29th they will have to make a statement early on by taking control of the trenches on both sides. Otherwise, if they come into this game and get caught flatfooted by a well prepared, drilled, and inspired underdog football team, it is going to be long and bitter cold afternoon at RFK.

GO BRUINS.

Who Were the Worst Performers in the Pac-10 in 2009?

Avinash — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:30:02 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Meet the Pac-10 MVP of interceptions!

Browse more photos »

It's always hard to measure the value of good teams in football. It almost always starts with a good quarterback, followed closely behind by an offensive line and a running back. Then you want a strong front seven, with receivers and secondary coming somewhere after that. You can build a good team around the front four, a great one with everything else coming together

So in determining a football MVP (or I guess for college football, Heisman), we're looking at people from the first three or four categories strongly. In the next two days we'll start counting down the best players and o-line/defensive units in the conference to try and figure out who deserves to be the Pac-10's most valuable player

That's right, instead of doing a national college football consensus (which would be tedious and terrifying), let's go with what we know well. This is all Pac-10.

Because most of us are sick inside, we'll start with the worst Pac-10 performers. What player or unit (offensive line, particular aspect of defense, coach, other thing, etc.) do you feel played the worst this season? Did I leave anyone off that requires mention? Discuss in the comments!

USC--Matt Barkley

Wait a second. Didn't Barkley just beat Ohio State in the Horseshoe? Nothing can stop him now! He's on his way to college football greatness!

Anyway, it seems like Carroll's petty anger at Mark Sanchez was a bad sign of things to come. I'm not saying that Sanchez could've saved USC from the avalanche at Autzen, but he should've outdueled Luck and Foles with essentially the same offense from last year. It would've been a B- version of the 2005 team, all offense and average defense. And they'd probably have ended up in Tempe.

If Sanchez was like an ice cream sundae at Fenton's (a little bad here and there, but still a tasty ride the whole way), Barkley was like a strawberry cream pie shake at Sonic's (tantalizing at first taste, but man would it make you sick down the road). He threw the most interceptions in the Pac-10, more than Sullivan, Prince, and any of the Wazzu troupe. His four turnovers in the Cardinal romp led to 28 Furd points, and he threw another killer pick against Arizona that led to what turned out to be a crucial seven points for the Wildcats. His 4th quarter stats were abominable--50% completion rate, one touchdown, SEVEN interceptions, 83 passer rating, which is good for 117th in the country, only about a drop of about a hundred in the rankings from the season before. His most memorable touchdown throw of the year was only meaningful in the sense that UCLA's defense will be headhunting him in eleven months.

Add in these continuing rumors from Thoroughbred that many of his teammates despise him, and all is not well at Heritage Hall for the first time in...well, a decade. The rest of the Pac-10 couldn't be more delighted.

Note: Thought about the Trojan run defense here, but come on, those guys got DECIMATED (entire front seven gone, plus another four or five guys injured). They had no chance against the Quack Attack or the power run game of the Furd.

UCLA--The entire Bruin offense

via cache.daylife.com

Man, it was brutal watching these guys this year.

Some more fun stats:

There were four teams in the Pac-10 (Oregon, Arizona, USC, Cal) who had two rushers that ran for more than UCLA's leading rusher (Johnathan Franklin)
The Bruins leading man in yards for scrimmage was Nelson Rosario, who finished 19th overall. There were seven teams in the Pac-10 with two or more players with more yards from scrimmage, and four (Furd, Oregon State, Arizona St., Oregon) with three.
Navy threw the ball 96 times this year, Army 161 (http://www.cfbstats.com/2009/leader/national/team/offense/split01/category02/sort06.html), Kevin Prince 267. Navy and Army scored 5 touchdowns apiece on those passes. Prince scored 6. Somewhere Norm Chow is wringing his neck (could be either Prince's neck or his own).
The USC game perfectly encapsulates UCLA's offensive abilities: To prevent from being shutout by their crosstown rivals, the Bruins needed a 13 play, 65 yard, five and a half minute drive that included two fourth down conversions, and two forced fumbles.
Bruins fans are actually calling on Kevin Craft for the bowl game. Yes, THAT Kevin Craft. (Okay, they only want him to start because he wasn't happy at playing hookie, but still). You know your offense is in desperate straits when your fans are ACTIVELY CALLING for Kevin Craft.

Furd--The ENTIRE CARDINAL DEFENSE

via www2.pictures.zimbio.com

Exactly the same thing we did for UCLA. Let's just rattle off the numbers...

A few examples of their defensive fails:

Their defense never forced a fourth down in the first half at Corvallis; five times Oregon State got the ball, five times they marched down the field and put points on the board, 31 in all.
The Cardinal surrendered not one, but two 40+ yard rushing touchdowns to Arizona to blow a two score lead in the 4th quarter, the last one on a 50+ yard scamper by Nwoko on THIRD AND SEVENTEEN.
The Cardinal took a 14-0 lead on the Bears with 6 minutes left in the first quarter; Cal responded by holding onto the ball for 35 of the final 50 minutes, including ripping off 24 unanswered points and scoring on five of their next six drives.

Perfect example of their horrid season came against Notre Dame. Toby Gerhart rushed in the go-ahead touchdown with a minute left in a tied game against an awful Irish defense, and Harbaugh looks about as pleased as Michael Corleone finding out Kay had an abortion. Why? The Cardinal could have kneeled down three times and kicked a chip shot extra point-type field goal at the buzzer to win. The touchdown put the Cardinal defense back on the field against Jimmy Clausen. Sure enough, after getting pinned at their own ten, in TWENTY SECONDS the Irish are at the Cardinal 24 and nearly pull a win out of their asses. All thanks to the Cardinal's hideous defense.

Yeesh. Maybe Gerhart did deserve the Heisman. But we'll get to the MVP candidates soon enough.

Oregon State's September swoon

via blog.oregonlive.com

This isn't really a unit fail as opposed to a team fail; the Beavers suck in September EVERY SINGLE YEAR. They could never get going against Cincinnati even though they were at home. They allowed Nick Foles in his starting debut in Corvallis to complete 74% of his passes at 7.5 YPA with 3 touchdowns and no picks. And they needed a last second Kahut field goal to beat a 5-7 UNLV squad. And these guys plan to play TCU in Dallas and Boise in the Smurf Turf next September?

Cal's pass defense not named Syd'Quan Thompson

via cdn2.sbnation.com

108th in passing yards given up; 103rd in completion percentage; 81st in passer rating. The Bears dropped from 3rd in the country in INTs to 71st, from 1st in the country in passes defended to 47th. So let's say they regressed a little.

(You might say the offensive line deserves this...but Cal still ranked top 40 in rushing yards per game and top 25 in yards per attempt. You might even say the special teams, but they didn't have as much impact as our defense, plus their general incompetence over the past half-decade deserves its own post. A lot of that had to do with Best and Vereen, but that's still only a mediocre unit, not an awful one. Nothing hurt the Bears more in 2009 than their pass defense...the offensive line just exacerbated the situation.)

Washington--Nick Holt

This one's hard to say. Holt's defense was much improved from last year, especially in the run game. USC, Cal, Wazzu, Arizona all fell. On the other hand...his defense still got ripped apart by the Oregon schools and the Furd. They weren't that bad, but they weren't that good either, so it's hard to call them the worst. So I'll go with the easy to hate Holt here.

Ultimately though, Holt's defense still provided us with the most comical college football moment of 2009, which could've been the difference between Locker and his first bowl game...

Arizona State

Only four games into the season, Pitchfork Nation wrote an open letter to his beleaguered starting QB withdrawing his support.

I retract anything positive I said about Danny Sullivan. Not only are you not physically talented enough to start for a Pac-10 team, but as you proved last night, you’re what we call in my family a "mental midget."

..

Instead, you exhibited the same physical problems we saw in each of the Sun Devils first three games. You sailed balls, you completely missed wide open receivers and left your pass catchers out to dry with several horribly thrown balls. Your most accurate pass was one you threw away in the 3rd quarter that perfectly nailed the "C" on the Muscle Milk sign on the side of the east bleachers.

Well, that sucks.

The numbers don't get much better for Sullivan: He never threw better than 56% in any quarter, he threw well on 1st down but didn't make much of a dent otherwise, and he generally struggled with everything. He hit 60% completions in only three of his games, all against bad pass Ds (Cal, Furd, Oregon State). For God's sake, he struggled against Wazzu. Shouldn't there be a shaming list for athletes who struggle against Wazzu?

And it wasn't like he was throwing to turds out there; both Kyle Williams and Chris McGaha notched 57 catches, and Dmitri Nance was a capable runner. No, it looks like most of the wounds were self-inflicted.

Wazzu--Everyone?

via cache.daylife.com

I'll save those poor Cougar fans an explanation; I really don't want to go over this hundred car pile-up, and they've suffered enough. At least they have Klay Thompson.

Oregon: LeGarrette Blount?

via www1.pictures.zimbio.com

He's probably the Ducks Least Valuable Player. I'm not happy stating it since the dude got a huge punishment for a totally surreal moment, but he redeemed himself, so that's always good.

But I put a question mark there...because for not-so-obvious reasons, you could make the case that he's the unintentional Pac-10 MVP. Why?

1) The Punch changed the whole Oregon running dynamic. For nearly a month Oregon struggled to get past the rust, but slowly things started to click and their offense got back in sync for the Utah game; once James and Masoli started operating in tandem the Quack Attack began rolling.

So...does Oregon win close games versus Purdue and Utah if Blount is in the backfield? Do the Ducks slow the pace down against Cal, USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State instead of attacking, attacking, attacking? Does James get going at all? Does Barner break out as a pure speed demon? Would Oregon have gone 10-2 without the Punch? I doubt it. In a strange way, Blount's actions made his team BETTER in the long run--the Ducks were able to play that fast up-tempo offense that Kelly relished, and they blew through the Pac-10 relatively unscathed.

(I will always believe that if the Bears had played Blount and Masoli that we could've snuck that game out--not necessarily won, but the opportunity would've been there. We could've bottled up Blount the way we held Gerhart in check, play deliberate 3-4 football and wait for Blount to find the hole before matching him at the line of scrimmage. Of course, we still wouldn't have been able to defend Ed Dickson, but at least it's a step up from defending no one.)

2) The media hatefest gave the Ducks an 'us against the world' mentality. You can't underestimate the power of ESPN and the Internet on these guys--when Oregon became the dominant storyline of the opening college football weekend, when they heard about how they stunk and that their coach should be fired...it's not implausible they didn't rally around the hate and use it to fuel their overall mission. It's hard for me to say that Chip Kelly didn't use that to motivate the Ducks to play better, execute better, keep the pace going; they only let down once (the Cardinal), rolled everyone else and delivered in what amounted to Rose Bowl quarter and semifinals against Arizona and Oregon State.

If it had just been an awful loss the Ducks would've been forgotten by the national media--the Punch gave it the attention, gave Oregon the fire they needed to run through the rest of the season. It was the perfect black swan event. Everything went wrong on the first day of the season, and the Ducks spent the next three months trying to prove that it was an aberration. Didn't do too shabby, did they?

Of course, you could say he would've been theoretically least valuable; were the Ducks a better team if Blount wasn't playing? We'll never totally know, but the fact they barely missed a beat without him says a lot. They probably beat the Furd with him, but do they blow out USC, Cal, Arizona State, Washington and UCLA? I'm not so sure about that.

So Blount gets his team's LVP...only because the rest of the Ducks played like MVPs the rest of the year. For some reason, I feel he won't mind it that much.

Tomorrow: Pac-10 MVP honorable mentions

Dear Coach Neuheisel: Start Kevin Craft In Washington DC

Nestor — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:11:59 -0000

Let me repeat the line from the LA Times posted in the updated section of my last post concerning the latest debacle involving the joke that is UCLA football:

Not all players seemed on board with the plan. Asked if he was aware of the plan, senior quarterback Kevin Craft said, "no," tersely. Senior tight end Logan Paulsen declined to comment.

If Rick Neuheisel is really committed to cleaning up the culture of mediocrity, laziness that has turned the Bruin football program into the laughing stock of all of college basketball, he needs to do lot more than share sweet, sugary sound bites in the traditional press.

He made a commitment to changing this culture and so far based on his words and actions from today, it is not looking good. If he wants to send a message regarding accountability, he needs to do lot more than sounding like Steve Lavin about how he was "pleased" with "leadership" and waxing poetic about Kenny Easley. Unless the seniors issue an apology on behalf of the entire program, they shouldn't be dressing up for the bowl game.

If Kevin Craft, indeed objected to this shenanigans from today, he should get the start over Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut during this bowl game.If the bowl games are supposed to opportunities for teachable moments, well Rick Neuheisel is not going to get a better opportunity than this. He should start Craft and set an example for the underclassmen about how he will no longer tolerate the culture of laziness and mediocrity that were factors in the current batch of seniors leaving with a losing record including a pathetic 1-3 record against the Trojans from Southern Cal.

Like I said, we will be watching closely. So far today, his words has been just as disappointing and discouraging as the ones committed by the clueless players in his joke of a football team.

GO BRUINS.

[UPDATEx2]Reggie Carter, Logan Paulsen & Bruin Seniors Let Down UCLA Football

Nestor — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:44:59 -0000

This is unreal:

The UCLA players decided not to practice today. They didn't tell anyone. Certainly not the coaches.
They jumped over the wall on the side of Spaulding Field and took off.
So, no practice update today.

If this is true Reggie Carter, Logan Paulsen - the captains of this team - and the entire senior class should be ashamed of themselves. This was a ridiculously, stupid tradition established during Donahue era, that epitomized UCLA football for being mediocre, mentally soft, and lazy. After the shenanigans from CRN's first year the senior "leaders" of this team swore it wouldn't happen again. Here is Reggie Carter in the DN last April (emphasis added):

"We were 4-8 last year. We can't afford to miss a practice," Carter said Friday. "Some guys argue it's tradition. Well, tradition started when they were winning. … Coach Neuheisel talked to me, and I said, `You don't have to worry about it. We're not going to do it.' If some guys try to slide away and organize it and do it anyway, we'll just go back in the locker room, rally them up and get back out here and practice, and deal with them after practice."

And Logan Paulsen:

When the Bruins did it last spring, the coaching staff was visible upset. Paulsen was one of the most upset about it, and has been a proponent of abolishing it this spring.

"My mentality regarding the wall is I enjoy coming out here (to practice)," Paulsen said. "Every one of these practices is special to me, and I don't want to be wasting an opportunity. I understand there's a lot of things that go into the wall, a lot of tradition, a lot of camaraderie and team building, but in my opinion these spring practices are too valuable to pass up on."

Well I'd like to hear from them what happened this time around. What changed guys? So were you guys lying back in April? Hey, here is a news flash Reggie and Logan. You are 6-6. We gave you benefit of the doubt and took encouragement as sign of progress. However, here is a news flash, you guys still haven't established any kind "winning" tradition yet and not living up to your own words is not going to help you either. This only makes you look like a total joke and full of hot air.

If I were Neuehisel I'd make sure to sneak in some two-a-days in next two weeks. This sends a pathetic message from this football team to rest of the world. It deservedly makes them look like bunch of phonies without any kind of substance.

The way it looks from outside, it doesn't look pretty and sends wrong messages from a program that is trying so desperately to get back on track. Again, Carter, Paulsen, ATV, Austin and the entire senior class should be embarrassed of themselves. This is not the way to go out and set examples for the underclassmen. Just pathetic. It will be interesting to see how Neuheisel treats this development.

GO BRUINS.

UPDATE (N): Neuheisel has made statements and frankly he sounds underwhelming:

Opening thoughts:
"A deal's a deal. When they were talking about it in spring practice, I said, 'Listen, the wall thing started in bowl practice. You get to bowl practice, then you can start to thinking about things like this.' So they did."

On the players keeping it quiet (as Kai Forbath walks by smiling):
"They did a nice job of this one, keeping it under wraps. Look at Forbath with the big grin. I do compliment them on the choice of days. When you're still in kind of the get-back-into-football mode, and young guys are getting their chances to work, I think it was a wise day to pick. I'm pleased with the leadership in terms of the choice. But obviously I would have loved to practice."

On the history of The Wall:
"This happened many years ago. Kenny Easley led the group over the wall, and it was a good thing. I enjoyed it more as a player than as a coach, though, I'll be honest with you. There's no question about that. Sometimes coaches forget what it was like as a player. I try not to do that."

If this is all we get from CRN, it will be the first strike against him as the head coach of this football program. If he and his coaches were involved in this, then they also look like total hypocrites after talking up the importance of bowl practices in public.

He needs to hold players like Carter and Paulsen accountable, who right now looks like total liars based on their actions. I don't care Kenny Easley did this back in the day. I care that Carter and Paulsen straight up lied on this issue. We shouldn't accept that and Neuheisel needs to hold them accountable for it. If he doesn't, I will lose a lot of respect for him from hereon out. GO BRUINS.

UPDATE II (N): LAT has more on this and it's not pretty. First up, here is senior "leader" Terrence Austin:

“We kind of wanted to have a complete season and decided to get this in,” Austin said. “We promised coach we wouldn’t do it unless we got a bowl. We decided to get it out of the way early so we could get back to work for the Washington, D.C. game. We didn’t want it to interfere with business.”

That sounds as lovely as Austin's punt and kickoff returns. Way to show leadership Terrence. Not. Apparently Kevin Craft might not have been on board while Paulsen gave a "no comment":

Not all players seemed on board with the plan. Asked if he was aware of the plan, senior quarterback Kevin Craft said, “no," tersely. Senior tight end Logan Paulsen declined to comment.

Not good enough and it's reflective of their mediocre play on the field. It still looks make Paulsen look like a liar based on what he said this past spring. Meanwhile, Neuheisel sounds underwhelming and frankly weak:

“They caught us all by surprise with this one,” Neuheisel said. “I do compliment them on the choice of days, when we are still getting back into football mode. I am pleased with the leadership in terms of the choice.”

Not the kind of "leadership" we want to see around UCLA football coach. That explanation doesn't fly and will not do much to gain confidence in a football program, which at this moment looks like a total joke. Pathetic. GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Practice For Youngsters, QB Updates, Golden's Wandering Eyes & Other Bowl Prep Notes

Nestor — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:43:15 -0000

Let's start the Monday with a football roundup. We have lots of bits and pieces of news coming out of Spaulding (and out of Philadelphia) as the Bruins get ready for their first bowl game under Rick Neuheisel in Westwood. We all desperately wanted this bowl game because it would provide a big opportunity for coaches to get the underclassmen in this program additional practice time. Well from the first reports, it looks like the coaches are doing just that. Meanwhile, out in Philadelphia, an interesting subplot is shaping up around the Temple Owls, as it appears that they will have to deal with constant chatter of Al Golden exploring other head coaching opportunities (just like he did when the UCLA position opened up little more than two years ago).

So, speaking of youngsters getting more practice time here is Jon Gold from the Daily News:

With a still-young offensive unit that can use every second of the team's nine practices before it leaves for Washington on Christmas Day, the evaluation period has once again resumed.

"These first four days are about getting these young guys some reps," junior defensive tackle Brian Price said. "It's just about getting back rolling. We had two weeks off, we worked out, but nothing more. We had a chance to focus on school, which is good. I'm glad it's over with, though; two weeks of nothing is painful."

Richard Brehaut is one of the young guys who is getting to take advantage of additional practice time. He is trying to take advantage of the opportunity as Prince is still recovering from his injury. From the LA Times:

Freshman Richard Brehaut took the majority of the reps Sunday during a light workout that seemed more a chance to stretch out.

"This is a chance to get a better look at him," offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. "We can look at how he manages the team in practice. He looked good today."

Chow said there is no alternative plan at the moment in case Prince is sidelined for the game.

"We can wait and see how Kevin is later this week," Chow said. "We haven't really worked on anything about Temple yet."

Guess we will have to keep a close eye on the QB situation because late last week we thought Prince might have been ready by middle of this week. Now it looks a little uncertain. More on that after the jump.

From Gold's report (and from the LA Times) it looks like there is uncertainty as to whether Prince will be ready by middle of this week:

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince (right shoulder) did not throw any passes Sunday and said he still feels sharp pain when he does. Though Neuheisel said UCLA's medical staff expected Prince to return Wednesday, that status is in question.

"It's been better," Prince said. "It's not full-go yet. I wasn't able to throw today. It's just a nagging pain. I've been getting treatment every day; it's starting to get better, it's kind of just lingering right now at the same point of pain. It's a little disappointing."

Guess we will have to keep a close eye on this.BTW there is another little note in the LAT about quarterbacks. Apparently Nick Crissman underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder keeping him out from any action for at least 8 weeks. Feel bad for the poor guy because he has been dealing with one injury after another since coming to Westwood.

Meanwhile, going back to Prince, I think if he is not ready by middle of this week, I would prefer that coaches go with Kevin Craft to start the bowl game (and mix in Brehaut if necessary). Considering the circumstances, I think Craft did a great job his senior year and it would be the perfect closure and bridge to the next step in Neuheisel's tenure at UCLA, if Craft led the seniors in finshing up their career with a memorable win in DC. Anyway, we will find out more on this later this week.

In terms of practice energy, ever quotable Reggie Carter gave a little peak into players' mindset heading into this bowl game:

"I get one more shot to go out there and hit somebody," Carter said. "I hear Temple runs the ball a lot. That happens to be what I like to do the most, hit people with the ball. Hopefully they'll come visit me a couple times before the game is over.

"They're like 23rd in the country in rushing, I hope they run the ball every play. I'll be waiting."

I think it is going to be very interesting to see how Carter performs in this game. There was no question he was banged up during the last few games of the regular season. He had a solid game against Southern Cal, however, he was not as effective as he had been in the past in games leading up to that due to his injury. It looked like he was just gutting it out. I am hoping the time off will enabled us to see a fresh and rejuvenated Cater, who will be able to make an impression on national TV.

Shifting our attention across the country, Temple is dealing with Golden coaching rumor/chatter:

Golden, of course, interviwed for the UCLA job when Neuheisel, a former Bruins quarterback, got it. Now Golden's name is coming up with the Cincinnati vacancy, as it did with the Virginia opening (which has been filled). Or even Notre Dame, which interviewed Golden (in New York) before going with Cincy coach Brian Kelly.

"I just haven't had any contact with anybody [from Cincy]," Golden said. "Right now I'm just going about my business. I don't know what the future brings, but I'm just trying to get ready to play UCLA."

Several sources have indicated that Cincinnati has asked for permission to talk with Golden. Understandably, neither Golden nor athletic director Bill Bradshaw, the man who hired him, will talk about ongoing searches. But Bradshaw in the past usually has given Golden permission to at least explore the interest level.

So, would Golden talk to Cincy?

"I don't know," he said. "I don't know."

That was from the Philadelphia Daily News, which has a report on how Golden is working hard to get Temple to focus on UCLA. I doubt this chatter will linger on for a long time. I have to guess Golden will shut it down throughly in the coming days and get his team locked on to UCLA. This game is basically going to be the Superbowl for Temple program (and an career defining game for Al Golden).

Last time, we were in a bowl game situation like this, we laid egg in Las Vegas against Wyoming Cowboys. We need this win just as badly as the Temple Owls. A win in this game will not only excite our alumni/fan base, I think it will inject even more energy into an already jump charged recruiting effort by Neuheisel and his coaching staff. So, I really hope our coaches and players can match the sense of urgency that will be felt from the Temple program.

GO BRUINS.

USC 28 - ucla 7 - The Rivalry is Definitely Back ON!

Paragon SC — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:59:08 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Browse more photos »

First, A big thanks to DC Trojan for running the thread tonight so I could relax and watch the game...Thanks Bud!

Lets get this out of the way first...I am not sure what Pete Carroll was trying to prove with that last TD pass to DWill. I mean, I get it...the game was in hand but Neuheisel decided to call a time out thus prolonging the game. Pete aired it out...I understand it but I don't agree with it. This was the same type of "gamesmanship" that went on between Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh last year in Palo Alto... And I would agree with the announcers that it does take the luster off a very good effort by both defenses.

Guess I am not getting it...

Lets just say I am amused (rubs chin) but not pleased. Though, I will say this...the rivalry is BACK ON in L.A.! and I would not have it any other way!!!

So let the bad blood flow!! It is on the players and coaches to back this one up. I sure hope Pete knows what he is doing... because this will be put on the locker room back at ucla TONIGHT!

Anyway...about the rest of the game.

What an absolutely ugly offensive game....by both teams. This game was so ugly on offense that I can't even gloat over the win in good conscience....I'll try though!

It was hard just what to make of it. There were some flashes from both offenses. There were some times that both teams could move the ball but for most of the night it was defensive battle.

I get it that there were times that Bates wanted to be conservative (until that last throw) but there were some plays that were just mind boggling. For most of the game neither team really moved the ball well. SC got an offensive TD because of a short field after a turnover in the 3rd quarter and that added to the pick-six by Malcom Smith in the first half.

Matt Barkley is still a freshman and man did it show tonight. Until that final drive that sealed the win Barkley just never got into a groove that showed he was comfortable and to me it does look like he has stalled a little bit. Again he had some flashes (that last throw) but there were some moments that made me scratch my head.

The defense played out of their minds tonight. They were getting pressure on the QB all night. They went after the ball and grabbed three turnovers...but there were a ton of penalties that either extended ucla drives or stalled USC drives...That is still very frustrating.

Props to Kevin Craft, he came into the game for the injured and ineffective Kevin Prince and gave ucla a spark. He sputtered on a few drives right after he came in but he finally drove them down to get them on the board with about 6 minutes left in the game.

SC went right down and scored the TD that seal the win...

The rest we all saw for ourselves.

Oh well...I don't blame ucla fans for being pissed, I would probably be pissed too.

So discuss it here. I am sure there will be a fair amount of scorn thrown our way.

FIGHT ON!

Not Our Night: Bruins Come Up Short Against (SPTR Blessed) Classless Trojans

Nestor — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:53:02 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

26 days ago: USC running back Allen Bradford, left, dives just short of the end zone as UCLA safety Tony Dye knocks him out of bounds during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, in Los Angeles. Bradford scored one play later. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Browse more photos »

The final score was ~~21-7~~ 28-7 in favor of the bad guys tonight. Not surprisingly Chetey Petey being the hypocritical, SCumbag that he is poured it on when the game was already decided with a long bomb to the endzone (I wonder if Pom Pom's lapdogs - Bill Splashme or the TJ Slimers - will be crying about sportsmanship tomorrow). There is not much to say about that TD at this point because we know Chetey's true colors and what a classless jerk throughout his stained, corruption tainted career in South Central. What goes around, comes around and we will leave it that

Anway, as for the game, here is the box score from tonight's ball game in which the Bruins got killed by two crushing turnover that turned out to be the difference makers. The Bruin defense came out inspired playing their best half of the season and then continued it throughout the game gutting out a performance in which they held the Trojan offense to 14 points. I am not going to count the last 7 given at that point our defense didn't think the Trojies would be that classless even by their standards.

Mad props to Brian Price, Reggie Carter, Akeem Ayers, ATV, Kevin Craft, Chane Moline who gave everything they had today. The defense held the Trojies to less than 300 yards (not going to count that BS 48 yard bomb) and kept us in the game. While Kevin Craft came in and gave it everything he had to give us a legit chance when we closed it within 7. More after the jump.

The difference tonight was turnovers and mistakes. Bruins turned over the ball 4 times leading to 14 Trojan points and also killing a promising drive at the end of the first half. Prince came out looking erratic, overthrowing his receivers and then throwing a pick-6. Then in the second half he was undone by costly mistakes by his senior team-mate - Logan Paulsen (who has been making those mistakes all year) - that completely killed any sense of offensive momentum early on. He then got banged up by the Trojan defense, which led to his second pick (throwing with a bad shoulder).

Of course Bruins also got hosed (which seems to be a tradition against us in this particular game) by clueless refs that missed Mays' late hit, managed to get lobbied by Pom Pom to turn over a Rosario catch, and then completely blow a call on lateral which Jet Ski advanced for 26 yards. Depsite all the TOs and the surreal SPTRing, somehow the Bruins kept gutting it out thanks to gutsy peformance by the Bruin offense which under Kevin Craft closed it with 7 (7-14) with about 5 mins left in the game.

Still it just wasn't enough at the end. Our defense played prevent in the drive that really mattered and the Trojans used the cushion our DBs gave them to drive it down for a TD and put the game out of reach. As I mentioned up top, the Trojies went on to probably make the most classless move in this series, and a hypocrtical one given all the crying they did with Harbaugh's 2 point coversion just 2 weeks.

Obviously, there are strateiges on our coaches' part we can question. Off the top of my head, I don't get why we keep seeing Moline in Cheetah formation, and why we didn't see more speed from our side in the form of Jet Ski, Knox and Thigpen (although JetSki's fumble kined of answer that question).

Anyway, at the end this wasn't our night. As for the immediate future, I am not losing sleep tonight over whether we will make a bowl game. I hope we will but will let it all playout. However, I can definitely sense tonight how the team has taken a legit step forward, improving upon the season from last year. That much was clear otherwise the Trojies wouldn't have felt compelled to make that classless move at the end. They are clearly a little worried. The way those SCumbags behaved at the end of the game, you've got to believe karma will have a way of evening up the scores in the long run.

That said ... I will leave it to you to thread the night away. Post your quick fire takes in the comment threads. If you have extensive reflections to share, fire them up in the FanPosts. Thanks again for a great regular season. Let's do it again.

GO BRUINS.

ESPN's Ted Miller Debunks LA Times UCLA Beat Reporter's Latest Hitjob On Rick Neuheisel

Nestor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:32:20 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

"OMGZ! Rick Neuheisel (a former Rose Bowl Winning MVP QB) communicates passionately with his QB on the sidelines," reported LA Times "UCLA Beat Reporter" Chris Foster!

Browse more photos »

I am sure many of you have already read the latest piece of trashy reporting from Chris Foster today in the LA Times. Chris Foster is the same beat reporter who has been pushing misinformation on Stan Hasiak in recent weeks.

Well today Mr. Foster wrote a huge story on - get this - a college football head coach (who was a former Rose Bowl champion/MVP quarterback) being tough on his QBs! It's an epic piece for the LA Times. They had their UCLA beat reporter (who hasn't provided anything of substance on UCLA's upcoming opponent on what is shaping up to be the biggest regular season game to date) write up 1,109 word novel on how UCLA head football coach communicates with his quarterbacks.

It's huge expose! Foster tried to get something negative out of both Kevins (Craft and Prince) on Neuheisel but neither Prince nor Craft bit on Foster's gotcha game (no link for trashy articles per BN rules so I am just going to bold the parts I would have linked if it were a legitimate news story):

"It took me a little bit of time to understand why Coach Neuheisel does that," says Kevin Craft, who was often the object of red-faced, drill-sergeant-like rants when he was the starter last season. "He's passionate about this and wants to coach us, and he's doing it in a manner that it's on you." [...]

"You just have to play like you know how and accept the criticism when things go wrong," Prince says. "That's the way Coach Neuheisel coaches. He gets riled up and wants to win badly."

So then Chris tried to get something juicy out of former UCLA QBs. Unfortunately for the so called beat reporter, the former Bruin QBs essentially validated what CRN has been doing by comparing him to legendary Homer Smith (the best OC UCLA had in last 20-30 years prior to arrvial of Norm Chow):

"Homer Smith demanded you soak up knowledge," says former Bruins quarterback Tom Ramsey, who entered UCLA with Neuheisel in 1979.

"You not only had to know what 11 guys were doing on the field, you had to know what all 22 guys were doing. If you didn't, you weren't going to be on the roster."

So nothing there either. So Foster then called up CRN's former QB at Colorado to find out whether he would dish out some dirt on CRN:

Hessler remembers that in 1995, after he threw for five touchdowns in his college debut, an upset over 10th-ranked Oklahoma, Neuheisel told him, "You deserve it, kid. You deserve all this."

But then, two years later against Michigan, a national television audience watched the coach rail at his quarterback before Hessler even got to the sideline.

"We had a love-hate relationship for a long time," Hessler says. "He chewed on me harder than any steak I have ever chewed on. It's because he expects a ton."

Well nothing unusual there either. So then Foster tried to dial up another former CRN coached QB and OMG looky here apparently he found some dirt!:

Another former Neuheisel quarterback doesn't seem as forgiving. Toronto Argonauts quarterback Cody Pickett, who played four seasons for Neuheisel at Washington, declined to be interviewed for this story, saying through a team official that he was uncomfortable talking about his former coach.

Oh man. There it is! Did you catch it?! Neuheisel's former QB is not "forgiving"!! The LA Trojan Times found the big scoop!.

[Serious news face via MainStreet Photo Galleries]

So Chris Found this huge scoop! Apparently one of Neuheisel's former QB is not so "forgiving" for the interaction he had with CRN during his time at Washington. Except uhm not so much per Ted Miller on ESPN, who covered Neuehisel for years when he was the beat reporter for Washington Huskies (HT to Centric.):

I covered the Huskies when Cody Pickett was the quarterback, and I don't recall Neuheisel being terribly hard on Pickett. What I do remember is Pickett hating interviews, which strikes me as a more likely reason he turned down an LA Times interview request.

So what's next?

Will the ~~Los Angeles~~ Trojan Times sports editor issue another update or correction to fix the latest ~~bit of shoddy reporting~~ hitjob on Rick Neuheisel's football program?

GO BRUINS.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: UCLA Bruins (with audio!)

Dancing Football — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:24:40 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince has been limited due to injury at times this season. Even if he isn't able to go on Saturday, it probably won't make much of a difference.

Browse more photos »

Head Coach: Rick Neuheisel

Record: 4-5 (1-5)

Offense: 20.3 PPG, 5.1 YPP

Like many of their Pac 10 brethren, the UCLA Bruins have chosen to go with youth at the quarterback position. Freshman Kevin Prince was named the starter at the beginning of the season over senior Kevin Craft. Craft still has had opportunities throughout the season, as Prince has missed time due to injury. In that time, Craft has put up numbers that are very comparable to Prince's.

Name	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Yards/Att	Int	TD
Kevin Prince	184	105	57.1	1264	6.9	5	5
Kevin Craft	89	51	57.3	624	7.0	2	2

In fact, the numbers are nearly identical. The two combined for over 300 yards in UCLA's last game vs. Washington and Prince three for over 300 against Oregon State two weeks ago, so it appears the Bruins may be hitting their stride in the passing game. Expect Prince to start on Saturday, as he returned to practice Tuesday after suffering an injury against the Huskies, but if Craft is forced to play there shouldn't be too much of a drop off.

The Bruin passing game has been forced to carry the offense so far this season, as the running game has struggled mightily. UCLA is picking up just 3.16 yards per carry. In an effort to improve, Neuheisel has named Sophomore Derrick Coleman the starting running back for Saturday's game against the Cougs. The Bruins should expect to see an improvement this week, as Washington State usually brings out the best in their opponents.

Going forward, changing the running back may not be the solution UCLA is looking for. Looking at the stats, it appears the offensive line has struggled, giving up 25 sacks on the season and that small yards per carry average quote above.

Whoever the starting quarterback is for UCLA is on Saturday, they should enjoy success. WSU has shown little ability to get in the backfield, and the they should have the time in the world to throw. Moving the ball on the ground should not be a difficult task either against Wazzu's depleted defensive line.

Defense: 23.0 PPG, 5.3 YPP

UCLA's defense has looked very stout at times, but overall is right around the nation's average in yards per play. They are not the dominating force that Paul Wulff made them out to be in his presser this week, but they do force turnovers and they do well against the passing game.

One of the players that has been key in pass defense and forcing turnovers is sophomore free safety Rahim Moore. He has been able to pick off a remarkable eight passes and also leads the UCLA with six pass breakups.

While Moore has been spectacular, Brian Price is man to watch for the Bruins on defense. At tackle, he is one of the top defensive players in the nation. He uses his 6'2". 300 pound frame to overpower offensive guards and also has a suprising amount of quickness and agility. He has used all this to rack up 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks so far in 2009. Price will be in the Washington State backfield early and often on Saturday.

As is the norm, the Washington State offense will struggle on Saturday against a bigger and more athletic UCLA defense. Look for either Jeff Tuel or Marshall Lobbestael to be running for their lives and Dwight Tardy and company to struggle for yardage.

UCLA is in trouble with: Kenny Alfred is somehow able to neutralize Brian Price, freeing up the running game and giving Cougar quarterbacks more time to throw. Also, UCLA turns the ball over five times or more and the Cougs are able to turn at least two of those into scores. Then, we may have a game on our hands.

From the other side ...

For this week's interview with the opponent, Nuss caught up with Ryan Rosenblatt (aka ryebreadraz) from BruinsNation.com. Topics covered include the chances the Bruins stub their collective toe in Pullman, how the UCLA offense seems to be coming together, and what a beast Price is.

And as a reminder, you can subscribe to us on iTunes (why wouldn't you want to carry our pretty little voices with you everywhere you go?) or go to our podcast site here for other subscribing options.

BN Pac-10 Power Poll: Week 10

Ryan Rosenblatt — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:00:38 -0000

Well, if we weren't already sure of it, now we know. In the Pac-10, nothing in guaranteed and on any day, anything can happen. A week after Oregon looked unbeatable, they were beaten and not just on the scoreboard. Toby Gerhart and Stanford pounded the Ducks physically and took down the team atop the Pac-10. Elsewhere, USC looked less than impressive in beating Arizona St., UCLA picked up their first Pac-10 win, Oregon St. beat Cal in Berkeley and Arizona cruised past Wazzu to move just a half game behind Oregon in the conference. The unpredictability of the conference and depth from top to bottom that makes winning out so difficult has once again cost the conference a chance at a National Title Game representative as the teams are now squarely focused on a Rose Bowl berth.

Player of the Week: Toby Gerhart, Stanford- The best player in the conference's biggest game. Gerhart ran by Oregon defender and more often, through them as he racked up 223 yards and three touchdowns while carrying the ball 38 times. That is the definition of carrying the load. Now second nationally in yards per game with 16 touchdowns, he has to be a Heisman candidate, right?

Stat of the Week: 2001- The last time Stanford was bowl eligible was in 2001. In just his third season, Jim Harbaugh has the Cardinal bowl eligible at 6-3 and they trail Oregon for the conference lead by just a half game.

Game of the Week: Stanford at USC, 12:30 pm PST, FSN- It's a Stanford heavy "of the Week" list, but the Cardinal have the conference's best player and find themselves squarely in the conference title race as the head to the Coliseum for a match-up with USC. The last time the Cardinal went on the road to play USC, they came away with a monumental upset. This upset wouldn't be nearly as big, but a win may mean more to the program.

Pac-10 Power Poll

1) Oregon Ducks, 7-2 (2 first place votes)- Sure, they looked bad in their loss to Stanford, but over the course of the conference season, no team has been as good. Their dominating win over USC wasn't that long ago, although seeing their once dominating defense get torn apart must be a concern. The offense was still moving the ball against Stanford so not everything went bad. Returning home to play an Arizona St. team that has a poor offense on a good day will help. Last Week: 1

2) Arizona Wildcats, 6-2 (1 first place vote)- Yeah, they're pretty darn good. Ever since Nick Foles took over as QB, they're averaging 38 points per game and are 4-1. Thanks to their win over Washington St. on Saturday, they're only a half game behind Oregon and are in the thick of the conference race. With Cal, USC, Oregon and rivals Arizona St. left of the schedule, only one of which is at home, things will get far tougher now and their road to a Pac-10 title is the toughest among contenders. Last Week: 3

3) USC Trojans, 7-2 (1 first place vote)- It's been a while since the Trojans have put together back to back games as unimpressive as the past two. After being rolled over by Oregon, USC looked very poor in beating a bad Arizona St. team. Matt Barkley completed only seven of his 22 passes and the Trojans had only four first half first downs. At least the defense looked better and with a surging Stanford team on tap this week, both the offense and defense will have to be on their games. Last Week: 2

4) Stanford Cardinal, 6-3- Being the first Pac-10 team to top Oregon is a major accomplishment, but it was the manner in which they did it that impressed most. Not only did Gerhart run for over 250, but Andrew Luck threw for over 250 as the Cardinal racked up 505 total yards and held onto the ball for nearly 38 minutes. They cannot give up another 570 yards against USC this week though if they want to win their second consecutive game at the Coliseum. Last Week: 6

5) Oregon St. Beavers, 6-3- Sean Canfield continues to impress for the Beavers, racking up another 342 yards in their win over Cal while completing 29 of his 39 pass attempts. With the Rodgers brothers bottled up for the most part, the OSU offense didn't lose a step as Joe Halahuni stepped up with 128 yards receiving. As is always the case with Mike Riley teams, they're just getting better as the year goes on. They get Washington this week in their last home game of the year. Last Week: 5

6) California Golden Bears, 6-3- You would really expect a better performance from the Bears at home. I understand how Jahvid Best's scary injury may have changed the mindset of many Cal players, but Oregon St. was in control of that game already. The Bears' defense looks more porous each week and 436 yards by the Beavers continues that trend. Their final home game of the year comes up this weekend and it will be a tough one versus Arizona. Last Week: 4

7) Arizona St. Sun Devils, 4-5- You would think that Arizona St. would have a better offense than they do with Dennis Erickson at the helm, but it has been atrocious. Freshman Brock Osweiler came in and showed that he has some good tools, but he is a long ways off. On the bright side, their defense is as good as their offense is bad. Their four wins are still over Idaho St., Louisiana-Monroe, Washington and Washington St. though, all at home. At Oregon this week will be an uphill battle. Last Week: 7

8) UCLA Bruins, 4-5- How many points could the Bruins have scored had Kevin Prince understood when it's time to slide? The redshirt freshman was rolling and leading a suddenly explosive offense. Kevin Craft did what you'd hope for from a backup and that is give the receivers chances. The offensive line is really coming on, but the defense looks to have stagnated, which isn't bad, but not great either. A win in the Palouse on Saturday puts them on the brink og a bowl bid. Last Week: 9

9) Washington Huskies, 3-6- The Huskies run at a bowl looks to have come to an end, but those hopes were always a bit far-fetched. Jake Locker wasn't bad in Saturday's loss to UCLA, but for the Huskies to win games, he needs to be phenomenal. Chris Polk had himself a big game though and had UW been able to turn just one more of those five turnovers into points, they'd have had a W. After their game at Oregon St. on Saturday, they finish out with two at home. Last Week: 8

10) Washington St. Cougars, 1-8- Penalties. Turnovers. Inability to convert on third down. Only 18:41 of possession. You're not going to win many games like that and especially not on the road, where the Cougars were trounced by Arizona. The game started with Wazzu letting the opening kick off get run back for a TD and that was as close as it got. They still can't decide on a quarterback as they welcome UCLA to the Palouse on Saturday. Last Week: 10