SB Nation - Taylor Embree

Spaulding Roundup: DC Thoughts, Verner's Views, Finals Week & Other Notes

Nestor — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:42:46 -0000

Can Bruins handle this (if it snows in DC)? Photo Credit: photoal (flickr)

Well yeah. It's not snowing in DC today but it did over the weekend a bit giving us our first snow of the year. The picture above is from another year though, which I think gives a little hint of what folks could expect in late December if we get a legit snow storm in Washington DC. Will the Bruins get to play in their first legit snow bowl (don't really count the one from Washington State during the regular season because it wasn't really snowing during the game) this December? Well as everyone know by now, we are not going to know until the end of Army-Navy game this upcoming weekend.

CRN is excited about rooting for the Midshipmen:

"Although we always support the men and women fighting for our country, on this particular three-hour stint, we're going to be anchor's aweigh ~~away~~," Neuheisel said on Sunday. "We're excited about the opportunity and looking forward to getting into the ball game. We know we need a little bit of help, but we're looking forward to a chance."

Interestingly, from the LAT report today, it sounds like the Bruins did have a chance to accept an invitation to the Humanitarian Bowl. However, the payout for that game ($700,000) wasn't enough for our program:

UCLA officials received interest from other bowls, as Neuheisel said, "I know there were lots of conversations and I was also told that UCLA was a desired team."

Humanitarian Bowl officials showed particular interest, and the Bruins might have gone there if Army lost, but the bowl payoff "wasn't right," said a UCLA official not authorized to speak about the situation.

UCLA officials turned down a Humanitarian Bowl invitation in 2001 after bowl officials asked for a $300,000 sponsorship from the university, a former UCLA administrator said.

Wonder who was that former UCLA administrator talking to the LAT. Anyway, if Navy does come through for the Bruins on Saturday (you never can take an outcome for granted in an intense, emotional rivalry game), Bruins will have interesting decisions to make re. the quaterback situation. CRN seemed to indicate that Prince might be ready for the bowl game:

"He told me it was getting better when I saw him last week," Neuheisel said. Given some rest, I think he would be ready."

Prince of course is still recovering from his mild AC sprain (considered a "slight separation") of his throwing shoulder. I personally think the Bruins should start Craft and prepare Brehaut as the backup option, and let Prince fully heal for spring ball. However, I feel comfortable in having Neuheisel and Chow making the call. More bowl related and end of season notes after the jump.

Players in general sound pretty excited about the bowl game. Taylor Embree "wants it really bad":

"I saw (offensive coordinator Norm Chow) today, too, and he said it looked like we had a really good chance," sophomore wide receiver Taylor Embree said. "We had a meeting with coach Neuheisel last Tuesday, and he just said, 'Focus as if we were going to a bowl.' We're prepared. If we go to one, it won't be a shock. We're ready for a bowl. We want it really bad."

While ATV thinks Bruins could be an "exciting" team to watch during the bowl season:

"We're fortunate to be put in the position to try to get one, though, and that's all we can ask for. I think we did enough to deserve it, showed enough promise through the course of the year with our youth, and we'll be an exciting team to watch come bowl season."

Oh and speaking of ATV, if you haven't done it yet, I think you will want to read the last edition of Verner's views:

[F]our years have gone by way too fast for me as a UCLA Bruin. I remember the times when I used to watch the Bruins play and wearing the #1 UCLA jersey to high school and stuff to now, when I am leaving UCLA with an interception touchdown record and lasting memories to all the Bruin Nation. My experiences here have been top of the line and something I will cherish forever. From academics - competing against the top brains in the world in my math major was always fun - just walking around campus and seeing the variety of people and cultures on campus, it was beautiful to see. Through all this intermingling, you realize that everyone is basically the same and they have the same struggles as you. You can be an athlete, a pre-med student, or grad student - it didn't matter. Everyone is fighting for their education and that is what created so many bonds with people in all areas of UCLA life.

Having the pleasure of being the student representative for the library catalogue a while back to now being spotlighted on UCLA Big Moment spots are two others things that stand out. My time with this sector of UCLA has been difficult, however all the more amazing!

Football, man it's been the craziest roller coaster, but one of those that was worth the wait, but so short that you almost missed the thrills of it. Being in the Rose Bowl with our wonderful fans that were there from the beginning, to putting on the Blue and Gold was just simply amazing. I had the honor to be coached by DeWayne Walker for most of my career and finished up this year being coached by the great Carnell Lake! Many guys have helped me in numerous ways of playing the position. I appreciate their expertise on the field. I had a great time playing with my former killa bees and current ones -- Chris Horton, Rodney Van, Trey Brown, Dennis Keyes, and Bret Lockett to Tony Dye, Rahim Moore, Glenn Love, Courtney Viney, Aaron Hester, Sheldon Price, Andrew Abbott and everyone else. Each player is so good and made my job so much easier and helped contribute to my success. I will definitely miss all my teammates, I really love them all. The hard work and the grind I had to do with all of them makes them all special to me. They are all very talented and that's why I believe UCLA will be back at the top very soon and I can't wait to see that unfold.

You need to read rest of ATV's post by going here. ATV and his team-mates will be taking finals this week. Once they are done at the end of the week (per Jon Gold) they will have practices on Friday and Saturday. They are going to practice Saturday morning, have lunch and take in the Army-Navy game. Needless to say we will have an open thread here for that game cheering on Navy.

Lastly, before I end this good luck to all of your students this week. Yeah, I know we are hard on you guys sometimes. However, look at the ideas our discussions generated in last 24 hours. While we get down sometimes during the tough times, it is clear how much passion and dedication we have among a huge core of students and alums here in Bruins Nation. Often times when we call each other out, I personally think it only makes that dedication deeper forcing us to think hard about how we can make our community bigger offline. Hopefully we can keep the discussion that started yesterday going in the coming weeks/months resulting in what I truly believe will be the most rabid fanbase in the Western US. We have had two of the worst weekends in UCLA athletcs in recent history. Yet just look around this community this am. We are still here. Aren't we? Anyway, kick ass in finals and then head down to Anaheim.

GO BRUINS.

Bruins BLAST Washington State, Gaining Confidence Down The Stretch

Nestor — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:19:31 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Kevin Prince becomes the only second freshman UCLA QB to pass for 3 300+ yard game (following Tommy Maddox)

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What an amazing Saturday. Bruins get a confidence building blow out win on the road, while the Trojies across town get humiliated and see their "empire" come crumbling down.

So the Bruins are now 2-0 in November (which could potentially become a month to remember) keeping their post-season hopes alive heading into a crucial last home game of the season. The final score was 43-7. Here is the box score. The Bruins went up by a score of 29-0 at half time but they could have been up by higher margin if not for some sloppy penalties and couple of fumbles.

The MVP of this evening's game was none other than Kevin Prince. He had a spectacular day throwing for 330 yards and 1 TD, completing 26 of his 39 attempts. Oh he also had 68 yard TD run in the first half making him the leading rusher for the team. Kevin Prince's third 300-yard game, made him the only other Bruin freshman QB besides Tommy Maddox with three 300-yard games. If he hadn't gotten knocked out by Donald Butler last weekend, he would have probably done that last weekend. So, suffice to say he might be entering some kind of "zone." Let's keep our fingers crossed. While Prince gets the game ball and was the topline performer for this game, there were many other spectacular Bruin performances today.

Akeem Ayers helped set the tone on defense with 2 interceptions and a sack early. That helped them squash the Wazzu offense from the getgo, grabbing a chokhold of the momentum and not letting it go. Taylor Embree and Nelso Rosario had solid games each piling up over 70 yards in reception. Chane Moline did his part running for 3 TDs, and also leading the team with 7 receptions and 101 yards. Bruins racked up over 550 yards in total offense while holding the Cougars to 180 yards of total offense. So I'd say they did what they had to hold on to the momentum and setting them up for a huge game against Arizona State next weekend with a bowl eligibility on the line.

Now we know Washington State has been struggling mightily this season. Nothing has gone right for them in a tough season for Cougars up in Palouse. You have to give props to their fans who are sticking with their team in such incredibly difficult circumstances. So a UCLA victory over them was pretty much expected heading into this game. That said however, Washington State has been one of those football teams that have given us repeated nightmares up in Palouse. So, you can understand why many of us were a little worried about how the Bruins were going to respond today. Well our guys made a pretty emphatic statement today by blasting them out early. Right now our team - specifically our starting QB - is playing with a lot of confidence and it's a big deal.

All that said we have to remember Washington State is a struggling football program. This was expected. We still have lot of cleaning up to do. We racked up a lot of penalties and had some problems holding on to the ball. JetSki needs to get it together. He has a great future ahead of him but he can't fumble. Period. Same with Terrence Austin who is giving a hard effort but can't fumble on his returns. Despite the dominating numbers by our defense, I think Reggie Carter's health continues to be a concern because he seemed to be missing from most of the action. So we still have lot of work to do and remain a hungry team heading into next weekend.

With that out of the way, let's celebrate a little tonight. As I said up top, this has been a perfect Saturday. Fire away.

GO BRUINS.

Second Half Gets Serious

AndyPanda — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:08:36 -0000

In the second half, things got serious, though it was the fourth quarter before the shootout started. UCLA's Kai Forbath connected on a field goal on UCLA's first drive after the break, but Oregon St.'s Justin Kahut came up just short, due to a delay of game penalty. The Bruins' special teams kept a lot of green turf in front of the Beavers, and it was early in the fourth quarter of the quickest moving game of the season before Kahut connected again, giving Beaver fans a false sense of security with ten minutes left, and a 16 point lead.

Then came the UCLA highlight tape. Bruin quarteback found Nelson Rosario, who made a spectacular leaping one handed catch over James Dockery, and turned and romped for a 58 yard touchdown.

Prince promptly found Rosario again, and the two point conversion cut the lead in half.

After the Bruin defense forced the Beavers into a 1-2-3 punt, a penalty for having 12 players on the field on the Bruins' punt set up the tieing score. Oregon St. Coach Mike Riley attributed the second of the games' two key special teams penalties (the other came when a fake punt play didn't get underway before the play clock ran out), to having two different punt return personnel groups mistakenly on the field at the same time.

We committed one of the biggest sins in football, having too many men on the field when we had gotten the ball back (after a UCLA punt).

It took a little while, as Stephen Paea got one of four sacks of Prince, which equaled the total the Beavers had accumulated all season.

The penalty disparity, where Oregon St. was flagged 10 times, to only two on the Bruins, was partially due to Beaver mistakes, and its hard to make sinister assumptions, considering the crew chief was from Portland, and has both Rose Bowl and championship games on his resume, but perhaps the tieing score should have been more difficult.

It's easy to criticize Pac-10 officiating, but it appears there may possibly have been holding on the right side, which would have made for a longer touchdown throw to Taylor Embree, who out-jumped Tim Clark.

The Beavers still led by two points, but Prince found Jonah Franklin for the two point conversion, and it was game on!

It appears there may have been a block in the back that went undetected on the game tieing play.

Oregon St. quarterback Sean Canfield got the chance he didn't against USC though, and got the chance for a game winning drive, sparked by James Rodgers' 27 yard kickoff return.

Jacquizz Rodgers picked up 22 yards on a run,

...and Joe Halahuni had a 15 yard catch,

...setting up James Rodgers' sweep,

for the game winning touchdown that put Oregon St. up 26-19.

UCLA did drive again, putting themselves in scoring position, and the center of the secondary was targeted. This may have been an over-adjustment, considering the defensive breakdowns in some prior games, most notably at UNLV, were due to the center of the secondary being deep to guard against the big play, and opposition offenses repeatedly attacked underneath the coverage.

On the last three Bruin drives, there were several situations where the Beaver safeties were either missing, or so far up they were left with poor pursuit angles. Considering that UCLA, ranked 104th. in the nation in rushing, had not mounted a major rushing threat all day, gaining only 51 net yards, and that the only thing that could truly hurt Oregon St. were big plays deep, it was a puzzling defensive deployment.

However, the game ended with Prince unable to get the ball to his open primary receiver, due to pressure from the Beavers pass rush.

Despite a showery morning, the challenges from the Bruins, too many penalties, and the smallest crowd of the last two years (only 41,009 showed for a game they couldn't watch live on TV, much to the surprise and chagrin of Athletic Director Bob DeCarolis, who though he had all the makings for a sellout), it was still a pretty good day to be a Beaver. Que the Fight Song!

The Monday Morning Wash

John Berkowitz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:53:39 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

about 1 month ago: Oregon's mascot is hoisted into the air by fans following their game over Southern California during their NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, in Eugene, Ore. The No. 10 Oregon Ducks ran past No. 4 USC 47-20 for the Trojans' worst loss since 1997. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

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The bye weekend always gives you a chance to look at other conference teams a little closer. What we saw this weekend was more balance than I expected and a stunner in Eugene which paves the way for a new league champion this season.

Just about everyone picked USC beacuse of their defense to win a very close game with Oregon on the road. History was on the Trojans side. They tend to take care of business and be almost unbeatable this time of year. The experts were wrong and the Oregon offense rolled for 613 yards of total offense and a 47-20 thrashing of the #5 Trojans who fell to 6-2 on the season. That loss effectively eliminates USC from championship contention because the Ducks would have to lose three of their final four conference games for USC to pass them up.

When the season started we all thought the wheels were about to fall off in Eugene after a disasterous loss to Boise State which cost the Ducks their potential All- American running back. After stumbling for a couple of weeks and pulling out last second wins against Purdue and Utah the Ducks have been on fire. Nobody has been able to figure out how to stop their offense when Jeremiah Masoli is at the reigns.

Chip Kelly did a great job facing the challenges of holding this team together early in the season. The key to this team in comparison to Duck teams of the recent past is these guys can play defense. Special teams have also been a source of pride for this squad. The Ducks are playing as well as any team in the country right now. Chances are very good they won't lose another game.

Next up UCLA

With most of the conference now playing for second place the Huskies travel to Pasadena this week with hopes of keeping their bowl hopes alive. Washington has a 15 game losing streak on the road and until the team breaks that horrible streak they will be pretenders not contenders.

UCLA is the perfect place to get that all turned around. The Bruins have struggled on offense all season and are enduring a five game losing streak of their own. A defense which was supposed to carry them past the offensive struggles has had problems of their own.

This is a very winnable game for Washington. The Huskies need to win three of the next four to even their schedule and become bowl eligible. Coming off a bye week the Huskies should be a lot fresher than the Bruins. With two on the road and two to finish the season at home this is must win if the Huskies are going to accomplish that goal.

Around the Pac 10

Oregon 47 USC 20

Jeremiah Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown and ran for 164 more yards with another score and the 10th-ranked Ducks trampled Southern California (No. 5 BCS, No. 4 AP) 47-20 Saturday night, the Trojans' worst loss since 1997. Redshirt freshman LaMichael James ran for 183 yards and a score as the Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pac-10) racked up 391 yards on the ground against the Trojans, who came into the game with the fifth-best rush defense in the nation (79.9 yards a game).

California 23 Arizona State 21

Giorgio Tavecchio kicked a 24-yard field goal with 21 seconds left, and California (No. 24 BCS) rallied for a sloppy 23-21 victory over Arizona State on Saturday afternoon.Tavecchio's kick capped an 11-play, 74-yard drive that began at Cal's 19 with 3:16 to go. Golden Bears quarterback Kevin Riley was 5-of-6 on that march, and he finished with 351 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Golden Bears (6-2, 3-2 Pac-10) have won three straight.

Oregon State 26 UCLA 19

Jacquizz Rodgers had 112 yards rushing, 96 yards receiving and a touchdown pass, his brother James Rodgers ran for the winning score, and Oregon State had to scramble for a 26-19 win over UCLA on Saturday. UCLA tied the game at 19 after Prince threw for two touchdowns and two two-point conversions, but the Beavers marched down the field for a 70-yard drive that James Rodgers capped with a 17-yard run on a fly sweep for the go-ahead touchdown. That left Prince and the Bruins with 44 seconds and only one timeout to make a final drive, but time ran out after a completion to Taylor Embree at the Beaver 27. Sean Canfield was 25-of-34 for 305 yards for the Beavers (5-3, 3-2), who beat the Bruins at in Corvallis for the first time since 1999.

Notre Dame 40 Washington State 14

Jimmy Clausen threw two touchdowns, including a desperation heave that Golden Tate spectacularly pulled down to end the first half, and Notre Dame clobbered Washington State 40-14 on Saturday night. The Irish who beat Washington earlier this season have now proven to be the best team in Washington State. Perhaps we should just ship them the Apple Cup Trophy? The first half ended and the Irish were up 30-7 after three TDs in the second quarter...ouch!

Pac Ten Power Ratings

1. Oregon...The Ducks have the championship about wrapped up but keep in mind they still have four more conference games to get through. Pac 10 champions are made in November. Up next is a tough contest with Stanford on the road in Palo Alto.

2. USC...The Trojans hold on the Pac 10 championship trophy is pretty much over. There is still quite a bit to play for and up next is ASU in Tempe. If two loss teams are considered for BCS games the Trojans are always a big draw. Don't expect them to drop too much in the polls.

3. Arizona...The Wildcats are still in the race with only one conference loss so far this season. This coming weekend they get to beat the crap out of Washington State.

4. Oregon State...The Beavers weren't that impressive against a struggling UCLA squad. Once again the defense was suspect and almost let the Bruins get close enough to pull it out. This week the stakes are a lot higher since they hit the road to play a Golde Bear team that has won three in a row.

5. California...The Bears were even less impressive than the Beavers in squeeking out a last second win on the road against ASU.

6. Stanford...The Cards had the week off which is always a good thing at this point of the year. The bad thing is they get the Ducks at home. On paper these two teams match up pretty well so expect a closer game especially if Stanford can control the clock with their running game and Oregon has a USc hangover.

7. Washington...The Huskies need to win three of their last four to become bowl eligible. They head to Pasadena to take on a team that has lost five in a row and is in the same position.

8. Arizona State...The Devil defense put together a close but no cigar finish against Cal. This week they get to host some very angry Trojans at home.

9. UCLA...Rick returned to Seattle last season and picked up a W against a crippled Washington football team. His after the game antics were kind of pathetic considering the circumstances. This week Sark returns to his roots in LA trying to get his second win in his first season against the LA schools. Win this one and UW is back in the bowl picture and even more importantly it will make an impact in recruiting.

10. Washington State...WSU picked up $1.5 million of needed cash by playing Notre Dame at a neutral site. You have to wonder why then ND AD picked the Coug's and not a team from Texas for this one. Next loss is on the road in Tucson this coming weekend.

Pac 10 Offensive Player of the Week

QB Jeremiah Masoli of Oregon who threw for 222 yards and ran for another 164 in the victory over USC.

Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Week

The entire Oregon defense for shutting 327 total yards and only 20 points.

Quote of the Week

TJ Simmers of the LA Times:
The Bruins still stink and remain a disgrace, a big-time school with a small-time football program. They are winless in the Pacific 10 Conference like Washington State, losers of five straight games and if you're starting to count moral victories, then why did they ever get rid of Karl Dorrell?

Time To Rally Behind Our Team

Nestor — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:38:02 -0000

More photos » by Greg Wahl-Stephens - AP

Bruins sticking behind their head coach and not quitting during toughest moments of long rebuilding period

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Earlier in the week the Daily Bruin attacked Rick Neuheisel in just 19 games into his tenure in Westwood in an article entitled "Neuheisel's Team Falling Apart." I found that kind of funny for a newspaper that was too busy licking Steve Lavin's boots, assaulting Karl Dorrell's critics, and patherically celebrating close loss to Southern Cal all those years. Well unlike those guys, here on BN we are not going to celebrate moral victories. That will never happen. However, one thing we know after another heartbreaking loss in the month of October (which is thankfully over) that our Bruins have not quit on Coach Rick Neuheisel and his entire staff. They made whoever wrote that piece for the Daily Bruin look as clueless as his previous predecessors making himself appear total tonedeaf when it comes to having pulse of the program.

The game was set up perfectly for a classic Bruin nightmarish explosion yesterday. I think many here and all over the greater Bruin Nation were bracing for the worst expecting the kind of humiliating defeats we had suffered in the hands of BYU last year, against Arizona in 2005, and against the Oregon State bunch earlier in the decade. The way the game was going early on when our offense was handcuffing itself with one frustrating mistakes after another, the chances were very good that the Bruins would fall apart. Instead of quitting on the coaches and on each other, not only didn't Bruins came back with a memorable charge, they almost had a chance to win the game in the last mins when senior leader ATV dropped a sure fire pick-6.

I felt sick to my stomach for ATV. If there is one Bruin who deserved that moment more than anyone else, it was him. I got even more upset after watching the defense then kind of fall apart to Roger brothers in that last Beaver drive but still this morning for some reason I am not as frustrated as I had been in last 5 weeks. This Sunday I am taking some form of comfort in the way our boys fought back yesterday. But I believe the only way the flicker of good feelings some of us might be experiencing this Sunday will be validated, is if our team can genuinely grab hold of this momentum by pouncing on the Washington Huskies next Saturday. Right now I cannot wait for the game this Saturday and it's a good feeling to have this deep into this college football season. I think it is time we rally behind our coaches, players and the entire program to help them any way we can to get them over the hump against Washington.

Yesterday's game was a mixed bag. There are some key issues that I find myself extremely frustrated with. On the other hand for the first time after watching that fourth quarter replay of our offense, I had that feeling of looking forward to the next offensive series. The last time I experienced anything close to that was the 2LIVEDrew's last season in Westwood when they carried them team on their backs. We will find out whether Kevin Prince, Nelson Rosario, Taylor Embree and rest of the UCLA offense can build on the clear momentum they gained in the cold and wet afternoon in Corvallis next weekend. I can't wait to find out and as I said above I like that feeling. More after the jump.

I will start with Kevin Prince. His team-mate Embree saw something yesterday:

"Kevin showed today that he is ready to be the guy," Embree said.

His head coach is now a little more hopeful:

"He calmed down and made some plays," Neuheisel said. "Hopefully, this was a precursor to more consistent play."

Prince finished having completed 22 of 34 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns, directing an offense that had scored only two touchdowns in the previous three games.

Richard Brehaut like both Kevins have done throughout this year put this team first and was excited about his team-mate's afternoon:

"Kevin did a great job," said Brehaut, a freshman. "He was doing everything he could to help this team win. That's the most important thing right now."

I really don't have anyhing to add in terms of Brehaut/Prince discussion. I think Brehaut possibly deserved another series in the first half. But Kevin got it done in the second half and I think sealed the deal in terms of having the starting job rest of this season. I just hope he can build on it and show the same confidence he did in those last two quarters. I am also not going to look back at this point and wonder what would have happened if Prince hadn't gotten hurt. That kind of looking just doesn't help.

Prince wasn't the only bright spot in offense yesterday. Nelson Rosario had the best game for a UCLA receiver in years. In face his game reminded me of J.J. Stokes' coming out party against Oregon in Eugene in 1992 (the game before "Barnes Burner") when he showed of his surreal athleticism as a college receiver. Again the key for Rosario right now is to build on yesterday afternoon and put together a complete performance next weekend when he is running aggressive routes and also executing the easy catches.

In addition to Prince and Rosario's performances, I was encouraged by the offensive play calling in general. I think the play calling at the outset of the game was interesting. Chow certainly was making an earnest effort to get the ball in the hand of our athletes. I loved that double reverse call with Randall Carroll (for 5 yard game). Wished we had seen more of that. I think if we didn't have problems holding on the ball in the first half (was it weather related?) the outcome might have been a little different. Then when Prince got in his grove Chow really opened it up. Loved the 4 WR sets and QB draws when the opposing defense was least expecting it. It was fun to watch.

Now I am still perturbed by Coach Chow's call on 3rd and goal early in the second half. He said during the post game that he made that call because of the coverage. I would definitely like to hear more on that point. And I'd like to know not because I dont' trust Chow but more because I'd actually like to learn about it. I was pretty upset with the decision not to go for either the first down or TD in that sequence. The more I have thought about it, the more I have come around to Roger's line of thinking:

I also wanted to add that I thought the decision to go for the field goal on 4th and 1 was definitely the right decision. With the way our offense has been struggling running the ball there was probably about a 40% chance they wouldn't have made the first down (and even making it wouldn't guarantee a subsequent touchdown). The chances of Kai Forbath making a field goal from there were about 98%. Most importantly it could have been disastrous to go for it and not make it by demoralizing the offense and maybe the whole team playing on the road. By taking the 3 points they put something on the board and established some momentum. And there was plenty of time left in the game. Playing to win doesn't necessarily mean going for it on fourth and short. Playing to win means playing the percentages in the smartest way.

Guess I think that's a fair explanation. Still have to say at the time it was extremely frustrating and in the back of my mind I was thinking what kind of message it would send to rest of our offense. Clearly it didn't hamper their fire given how they came back in the fourth.

As for other negatives on offense, it's tough to say this but our seniors haven't really shown leadership on the field. Paulsen once again disrupted drives by taking more penalties. Austin had the dropsies and he seems so snakebitten that even when busts lose for a big return TD, it gets called back by dumb penalties (although Austin can't be blamed for Sloan's bad play). Still it would be awesome to see one of our seniors step up and make a play. They just haven't and it perhaps tells us something about the level of talent recruited by the previous coaching regime.

Moving to the other side the defense choked in that last drive. There is no other way to describe. It certainly sounds like Chuck Bullough is facing intense scrutiny from the fanbase (at least all over online). Our defense is extremely frustrating to watch. They make their share of plays and I guess we have to give them some props for holding a fairly explosive Oregon State offense to 26 points. However, the bend don't break philosophy is not going to win us many games.

I think in today's world of Pac-10 football which features so many explosives offenses with multi-dimensional athletes we need a defensive philospophy that should be centered around making the trigger man (QB) uncomfortable. It's a broken record now. Every week we seemed to write and discuss how our defense needs to come out and exert serious pressure on the opposing QB to throw him off his rhythm and get him uncomfortable. We talked about how Bullough needed to mix in some blitzes (not after we fall behind) and get Canfield rattled early on. It didn't happen as we saw the defense once again sat in its base 4-3 scheme and played with a strategy of containing the other guys to FGs. It only works to a certain extent but it also faciliates the classic death by a thousan cuts that can demoralize the entire team.

At this point with just 4 games left in this season is Bullough even capable of shifting and adjusting his philosophy? I have no idea. What I am seeing though on a week to week basis is how the opposing team keeps burning our defense with the same plays. Last weekend it was Arizona screwing us with reverses, this weekend we once again looked hapless against the Rogers brothers. Even us novices pointed out the "wild beaver" formation earlier during game week, yet we looked thoroughly confused and lost when Oregon State scored their TD out of that play. No other words to describe except that it's just frustrating.

I am not sure what it is going to take but I would love to see the UCLA defense come out and play with the same aggression we haven't seen since Tennessee. I still remember how Courtney Viney was coming after Crompton in corner blitzes to destroy him in that last series. Feels like haven't seen any of that since those moments in Neyland stadium.

Anyway, as mentioned up top, despite the frustrations from yesterday I believe this team has a chance of really coming together this November. We all kind of felt it and sensed it in the fourt quarter. Now collectively we need to will our team to a victory this Saturday. Thank fully the players and coaches seem to be in the exact mindset. Here is Tony Dye:

"To be honest with you, there's no such thing as a moral victory to me," sophomore safety Tony Dye said. "The only stat that ever matters is the wins and the losses. We came out with another `L' today. It's heartbreaking to get so close."

Reggie Carter:

"I don't even know what the hell that is," UCLA senior linebacker Reggie Carter said. "That ... don't mean nothing. Ain't no such things as moral victories. There's victories and there's losses. We just took a loss."

And Rick Neuhiesel:

"We're not in the business of moral victories. But there were some positive signs."

Let's rally and will our team to real victory this Saturday.

GO BRUINS.

Inside the Pac-10: We Have Our Top Dogs

Avinash — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:15:09 -0000

via www.cnnsi.com

We have two clear contenders for the crown, plus one dark horse now (more on them later). Everyone else clearly has deficiencies that can't be covered up, as evidenced by their tough but decisive losses in conference play.

Despite my usual calm, unfazed demeanor, I get plenty annoyed with the way the Bears play, especially when things go to hell. Sometimes I think dark dark thoughts, especially when we can't anticipate a bubble screen, our quarterback is throwing into orbit, that our players can't be like USC's and have five star talent and make plays even when another guy screws up, etc. etc.

Oregon 52, Washington State 6

And then I remember I could be a Cougar fan.

The Washington State Cougars are a Horrible, Horrible Football Team

I generally like Washington State. They have great fans. I've always felt a certain kinship with them as Husky haters. And I feel horrible for them. My neighbor is a WSU alum, nicest guy in the world, and was just too embarassed to talk about the game much, just a bunch of stuff about how Doba ruined the program to the point of being maybe the worst Pac-10 team of all time. And its hard for me to argue, because I've sat at Autzen for games against the like of Portland State, Montana, Idaho, Utah State, and Nevada and I can't recall any of them being anywhere near the same ballpark as this level of terrible.

Their lines fell over like a stack of cards. Their running back was slow. Their linebackers can't tackle. And Marshall Lobbestael.............those were two of the worst interceptions I have ever seen. I could have come down from my seat in row 81 and picked them off they were up in the air so long. Only their punter was a Pac-10 level player, which is good as he gets more touches than anyone else on the team.

So, in playing a team with such an incredible level of suckitude, its tough to take a lot of meaningful thoughts from this game. Here are a few things I can think of that have some meaning besides "we looked good because the other team sucked."

Yikes. I'm guessing not many Cal fans would like to switch shoes even if we stumbled and bumbled the rest of the season. Anything has to be better than hopeless gloom, right?

Even the Wazzu fan at Gameday has decided to take the week off (HT Cougcenter):

Cougar fans might be the greatest on Earth to sit through this tripe, much less break it down on a day-to-day basis.

One can only watch their team get blown out so many times before they've had enough. Sometimes you wonder - as I am right now with the Seahawks getting blown out in Indianapolis - how all your favorite teams can go to crap at the same time. It's annoying; I used to remember the butterflies I got in my stomach before a big Cougar football game. I still have it for basketball, but hardly ever anymore for football. And while I like the "no pressure" aspect of it all, and the fact we really have nothing to lose, it is also tiring to see so much apathy. A half to three-fourths full Martin Stadium. A lack of any buzz whatsoever as we get close to game time.

We only have one game left that any of us are going to really care about: the Apple Cup. And, adding insult to injury, it's in Seattle. Against a revitalized Husky team under Steve Sarkisian. The spread for the game, at least based on what I've seen so far, will probably be somewhere in the two to three touchdown range. Yeah, I know, throw out the records, rivalries are different blah blah blah. Still, I have a feeling things aren't going to go well, although I have an urge to be there in person just to show the purple bandwagon that WSU has people that still care about their team even when the wins are few and far between.

Cal fans who remember the bad old days, can you think of any ways to console our wounded Cougar brethren?

Notre Dame 37, Washington 30

via www.midwestsportsfans.com

Speaking of the purple bandwagon, the Huskies continue to loom as a potential upset threat to any team, and will definitely be a tough test if they hover at bowl eligibility in the last week of the season. UW Dawg Pound wasn't pleased with the goal-line coaching against the Irish, but for the most part liked what he saw.

I think the coaches made some questionable calls in the red zone. Sark doesn't seem to like spreading the field or trying to exploit Jake around the end when the middle is plugged up. I didn't like the decision that led to zero points in the third quarter when we were at the one yard line. If we took those points we win the game. That of course is all about hindsight. You convert the TD situation and Washington puts the game away. We can nitpick all we want but if you compare the coaching to last year it is night and day. Willingham walks in here with the same talent and loses by 30 points. You have to give Sark and his staff credit for getting us in th eposition to win games. You have to give them credit for going for the jugglar when it was exposed. Winners do that and we are just learning how to win.

What do you feel about Sarkisian's goal-line decision?

As the Irish go on their bye week to prepare for the make-or-break game for Charlie Weis, Notre Dame SBN blog Rakes of Mallow ponders the long two week stretch until the Trojans come to South Bend...

Beyond the dozens of obvious reasons, the Southern Cal game is so important because it will be the light in which we look at these first five games. Was this a bad Notre Dame team getting lucky, or a very good Notre Dame surviving some youthful mistakes and finding their way in the world? Beat the Trojans and this whole season becomes a great story you tell your grandkids about that time Notre Dame and Jimmy Clausen stumbled their way to a great BCS bowl. If they lose? Then hold on, folks, because it's going to be a bumpy ride of calling for Weis' head and spilt tears and booze for the next month and a half.

This team has been both frustrating and a joy to watch, but not even the biggest Irish (or Weis) hater can say that they ever quit. Not down eleven points in the fourth quarter on the road when every call and bounce had gone against them. Not after their best player was lost with a snapped collarbone. Not on fourth and goal with time dwindling in the lights of Ross-Ade. Not on first and goal inside the one after you'd just stonewalled the man-beast of Jake Locker seven times already that game. Maybe all of these efforts are just a comical warm-up to another skull-crushing by the Trojans, but maybe they're just a young defense learning how to complement a great offense in victory. In eleven days, we'll find out.

I haven't paid much attention to the Irish. Are they a good team?

Oregon State 28, Arizona State 17

via www.eastvalleytribune.com

Time to bust Arizona State's bubble too. They might have a rising defense (which did hold Jacquizz Rodgers in check), but their offense is too stagnant to do much of anything against the Beaver defense. According to House of Sparky, the failings are at quarterback.

Danny Sullivan had decent statistics throwing for over 300 yards and completing over 50% of his 58 passes thrown, however his performance looks better on paper than on the field. Sullivan often missed his receivers badly with overthrows, underthrows, and "who knows where he was throwing it" throws. Erickson is left with a difficult decision going into next weeks game against the Wazzu Cougars, to stick with his senior QB or switch to the freshman Brock Osweiler.

The Beavers have their own concerns; Building the Dam notes the defensive shuffles that could take place all season.

The Beaver defense also at least didn't stand pat, making three changes in the starting lineup. Brennan Olander replaced Latu Moala on the line, Cameron Collins continued to play in place of Suaesi Tuimaunei at safety, as he did in the latter portion of the Arizona game, and Brandon Hardin replaced Tim Clark at cornerback.

Hardin was the change that made the biggest impact, as Brandon had an interception, four tackles, and also broke up a pass. Clark still contributed five tackles for the Beavers in his modified role.

But even with the changes that did produce added pressure, only one sack of Sullivan resulted. And Sullivan threw for 338 yards, completing 32 of 58 passes, as the Sun Devils ran up total 406 yards. Arizona St. receiver Chris McGaha had 15 catches for 165 yards, both game high numbers. That kind of performance can't be repeated if Oregon State expects to make a run at another nine or ten win season.

Furd 24, UCLA 16

via www.seattlepi.com

Here's your sleeper. The Trees can power run the ball behind the White Stallion, and they can play great defense, and that's really all you need to do to compete to win conference titles. We won't really know if they're a full-fledged contender until this two game road trip to Oregon state and Arizona, but right now it's hard to argue that Harbaugh has the Trees back on track.

Jon Wilner breaks down an intriguing possibility that does have a small, but not remote chance of occuring.

Where, and when, does Stanford's run end? There are two possible outcomes to the 2009 Pac-10 title chase:

1. USC shifts into a higher gear, runs the table and wins the league going away.

2. The Trojans never get their groove on, lose one or two more, and the race remains wide open into the middle of November.

That's essentially how things played out for Stanford a decade ago.

In a league lacking a dominant team — it was the only season since the mid-1990s that the Pac-10 failed to produce a 10-game winner — the Cardinal emerged from the masses and made a successful run for the roses.

Are the Furd a sleeper or a snoozer?

As for Bruins Nation, they're not happy with the quarterback situation.

First and foremost it starts with Craft/Brehaut situation. I understand and appreciate the argument on Craft's side. I also recognize how Craft yesterday perhaps played one of his best games (if not his best) as a UCLA QB. His numbers would have been better if Taylor Embree had made the trip to Palo Alto or Morrell Presley was not making freshman mistakes. Still, what is obvious to me that the offense is shackled with Craft at the helm. Coaches are not taking downfield shots with Craft because they just don't have the confidence in his ability to connect. If that is the case, then why didn't they try out Brehaut? Why didn't they try out Brehaut in late first quarter or during third quarter when they were dialing up one unimaginative running plays after another.

Also, on that note why UCLA offensive line had opened up some nice holes early on, it was clear Stanford made their in game adjustments and basically challenged Bruins to beat them with Kevin Craft's arm. Given the plays our coaches dialed up, it was evident they didn't have the confidence in Craft's arm, which in turn doesn't explain why they didn't try out Brehaut. BTW preserving Brehaut's redshirt season argument doesn't fly, given Neuehisel/Chow burned it in our first game.

Who do you think should start at QB for UCLA?

Quick hits: Minnesota fell to Wisconsin in a closely contested matchup--The Daily Gopher covered what went wrong...Maryland edged Clemson, but might've lost Da'Rel Scott for the season.

Finally, USC 30, California 3

via calbearsonline.com

We've covered this enough, but we'll get some outside perspective from our fellow bloggers. First, the USC outlook from Conquest Chronicles.

That was pretty much Cal's offense for the night. After that they just disappeared. Yes, they got a FG in the forth quarter but every time they got close the SC defense shut them down.

Matt Barkley played pretty good tonight. He had some balls sail on him but outside of the one INT that he threw he made some nice throws to Damian Williams. USC had 8 or nine different receivers catch a pass tonight. Anthony McCoy is going to be a very effect TE in the NFL. He made some catches and he made some great blocks. Joe McKnight had a great game as well he had some nice runs in the first quarter. Allen Bradford was serviceable but we also saw why he is not an effective short yardage back.

SC did what they needed to do in containing Jahvid Best. He rushed for more yards than he did last year against USC but it really did not matter...SC had his number. Cal QB Kevin Riley never got into a groove after throwing that INT in the end zone. He made a few nice throws here and there but he really never really was a threat to SC. The defense pressured him all night.

Bears With Fangs and The Bear Will Not Quit both had nice writeups of the game. BWF discusses assumptions we had before the season

In defending the passing game, we all assumed that Cal’s highly touted secondary would somehow be able to match last year’s success in passing efficiency and interception totals (tied for 3rd). Yet the Bears’ secondary which returned all its starters, are sitting at just four, with two coming from linebacker Mike Mohammed. The Bears are also giving up 238 yards per game through the air, good for just 8th in the conference in this category.

Cal’s secondary, and its linebackers might I add, continue to struggle in zone coverage and are continually hurt by its tendency to leave the middle of the field open for athletic tight ends to really hurt the Bears. They give up way too much space to receivers and have been hurt continually by big yardage on third down passing situations, an area they excelled at last year.

The Bear Will Not Quit focuses on Riley's psyche.

I have no idea what goes through Riley's head, but twice now, we've seen Riley's quality of play drop off dramatically from where it has been at other times. In both instances, the drop off occurred after he struggled with wide open passes and pressure early in the game.

This tells me something: he has trouble shaking off mistakes. I am not criticizing him. It's hard enough to be a Pac 10 starting QB, but to have to suck up mistakes and frustration in the middle of a game against a defense like SC is just plain hard. Most people couldn't do it.

But that's the job of a college quarterback, and the fact is, Riley looks like he's struggling with it. He looks like a guy who gets into a funk and can't get himself out. I am very curious to see how he does against UCLA. If he rights the ship, and can keep his wits the rest of the season, this team can run the table the rest of the way (yes, I think they are a decent QB away on offense from doing that from here on out). If he continues to struggle mentally, I fear things could get ugly.

Do you fear Kevin Riley has a fragile psyche?

Poll

The best team through Week 5 in the Pac-10 is...

USC

75 votes

Oregon

90 votes

Furd

19 votes

Another team

10 votes

194 votes | Poll has closed

Raising Reasonable Questions Despite Staying On Track For A Successful UCLA Football Season

Nestor — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:38:25 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

Craft's courage is admirable, but he offers limited options for a shackled UCLA offense.

Browse more photos »

So let's get something out of the way first. The season is not over. Not even close. I never expected our program to go undefeated this season or to make a charge to the Rose Bowl. In fact if folks go over my numerous off season posts going over season expectations, they will find people accusing me of protecting CRN and co. from high expectations (lol). I still believe that if CRN and co. can put together a 7 win season this year, he will have the program at a good place. That said, I think we have to be honest with ourselves with what we see with our own eyes.

One reason this blog took off during the dreaded Dorrell era was that we were always brutally frank and honest with what we were seeing with our own eyes on the field. Same factor has been in play during Ben Ball season. Even though we worship and love Coach Ben Howland, we have dished out our fair share of criticism of Coach Howland and our Ben Ball warriors after tough losses during last few years. So, if you are looking for a site which is going to blindly "trust in coaches" this is not the place to be. From what I saw with my own eyes yesterday, I believe that it wasn't Rick Neuheisel and his staff's best moments at UCLA. Till now Neuheisel has done a great job of rebuilding the program and getting the right pieces in place. That doesn't mean he can be immune from criticism from the world that bleeds blue and gold, when we think there are reasonable basis to raise questions. So let's go through some of the issues that are bugging me and hopefully we can have honest and respectful discussions on them and more importantly, the coaches will work on them even harder to address them during this game week.

Play Calling

I will start with play calling on offense. There are two specific instances during yesterday's game it became clear how vanilla/Donahuesque the play calling was under Nueheisel and Chow.

Offense

First, towards the end of the first quarter, UCLA got the ball down 3-7 on its 17 yard line. After couple of nice runs by Jet Ski and a completion from Craft to Presley UCLA had a first and 10 at its own 43 yard line. Here are how the plays unfolded to end the first quarter:

1st and 10 at UCLA 43    UCLA penalty 6 yard false start accepted.
1st and 16 at UCLA 37    UCLA penalty 10 yard holding accepted.
1st and 26 at UCLA 27    Kevin Craft pass complete to Derrick Coleman for 3 yards to the UCLA 30.
2nd and 23 at UCLA 30    Derrick Coleman rush for 1 yard to the UCLA 31.

We have already dinged the coaches over the lack of discipline, focus. For me though what drove me crazy was the last two play calls. It was indicative of an offense that was shackled with limited options and playing with a safe/Donahue mentality of not playing to lose. Running up 1 yard on 2nd and 23. I mean come on. Really? That's not ~~Dorrellian/~~Donahuesque conservative? Then what is?

Let's also look at the sequence during late Q4 that led up to UCLA's last score (a FG! yay!!!) once our offense got within 35 yards of Stanford's endzone:

1st and 10 at STAN 33    Kevin Craft pass complete to Cory Harkey for 6 yards to the Stanf 27.
2nd and 4 at STAN 27    Johnathan Franklin rush for 2 yards to the Stanf 25.
3rd and 2 at STAN 25    Timeout UCLA, clock 05:07.
3rd and 2 at STAN 25    STANFORD penalty 5 yard pass interference accepted.
1st and 10 at STAN 20    Kevin Craft pass incomplete.
2nd and 10 at STAN 20    Johnathan Franklin rush for 3 yards to the Stanf 17.
3rd and 7 at STAN 17    Kevin Craft pass incomplete.
4th and 7 at STAN 17    Kai Forbath 35 yard field goal GOOD.

I don't believe the coaches made one attempt to take a shot downfield during that stretch. It was clear when we got down to 20 yard line the coaches were calling plays to make sure they were no effing up our chances for a FG. Again, no other way to describe that mentality other than ~~Dorrellian/~~Donahuesque conservative. I saw it all too often during late Donahue years and it was frankly unpleasent.

Of course, an explanation is the coaches were working with what they had in Kevin Craft. Well in that case would it have been the end of the world if they tried out Richard Brehaut and see what he could do? I mean if they are going to have RBs slam up the Stanford wall for 2-3 yard gains in late Q1, then why not bring in Brehaut? What are they so afraid of? Losing? That's the exact mentality that ate up UCLA football during Dorrell years and eroded it until Toledo injected some life into it (with a huge assist from McNown) during Donahue's later years. It's not fun to watch or pleasent to follow and as I noted earlier today, I sure hope it's an aberration.

Defense

Moving over to the defensive side of the ball, it just reminded me of how the Walker coached UCLA defense usually forgets to show up in one or two games every season. Until the defense tightened up later in the second half, the way I would characterize is tentative and unsure. It appeared as if Chuck Bullough was coaching scared and as if he had to wait until the first few series to figure out what Stanford was scheming up. That is inexcusable given we all knew what was coming from Stanford and had two weeks to prepare. It's clear to opposing coaches that they can run on this defense by going outside. It's not clear whether our coaches have done anything to adjust to that.

We didn't see any kind of creative stunts or blitz packages and our DEs were getting mandhandled all over the place. Our LBs were lining up to far from the LOS. By the time Gerhart was blasting up he was running downhill and was gaining additional yardage from his explosive momentum. Again, I didn't get why Bullough didn't shake things up to disrupt Stanford's rhythm. The way we played it allowed a red shirt freshman QB to get comfortable and pick us apart the whole day. Lot of folks have rightly questioned why coaches didn't try out Viney when Sheldon Price at times was looking overwhelmed. And that takes me to personnel decisions made in that game.

Personnel Decisions

Yes, coaches have some explaining to do wrt to personnel use with our current roster.

Craft/Brehaut

First and foremost it starts with Craft/Brehaut situation. I understand and appreciate the argument on Craft's side. I also recognize how Craft yesterday perhaps played one of his best games (if not his best) as a UCLA QB. His numbers would have been better if Taylor Embree had made the trip to Palo Alto or Morrell Presley was not making freshman mistakes. Still, what is obvious to me that the offense is shackled with Craft at the helm. Coaches are not taking downfield shots with Craft because they just don't have the confidence in his ability to connect. If that is the case, then why didn't they try out Brehaut? Why didn't they try out Brehaut in late first quarter or during third quarter when they were dialing up one unimaginative running plays after another.

Also, on that note why UCLA offensive line had opened up some nice holes early on, it was clear Stanford made their in game adjustments and basically challenged Bruins to beat them with Kevin Craft's arm. Given the plays our coaches dialed up, it was evident they didn't have the confidence in Craft's arm, which in turn doesn't explain why they didn't try out Brehaut. BTW preserving Brehaut's redshirt season argument doesn't fly, given Neuehisel/Chow burned it in our first game.

Rosario/Carroll-Embree/Austin

It was clear from the first series that Embree's head wasn't in the game. Meanwhile, Rosario made an obvious impression during Kansas State. Yet didn't seem like he was in their much. And when he was in there he was making plays. It seems like Rosario is always racking up more YACs than Embree. Same goes for Terrence Austin. I get that Austin is a senior and a leader in the team. But from what I am seeing both Embree and Austin are running vanilla routes not getting much separation with the opposing DBs. So why not shake it up by trying out Randall Carroll and Nelson Rosario. It would have been nice to see if the coaches made an effort to take advantage of Carrolls' world class speed. We didn't get a whiff of it. Speaking of speed ...

Thigpen/Austin

... I think it's clear the kind of potential Damien Thigpen has. He was electrifying in the touches he got yesterday. That brings me to the question why not try him out more on special teams and have him return kickoffs. From what I am seeing from Austin when he is returning kickoffs he is dancing around a little too much and not returning with a lot of determination. So again why not shake it up and go with the young talent that's available. I'd think that if the coaches went with the young talent, they would be able to entice recruits even more. No?

Focus/Discipline

We have alluded to this issue few times already since the end of yesterday's game. We talked all week about how important it was for our defense to set the tone. Many will argue that it was Rahim Moore's play (in which he suffered a concussion) that set the tone for the game. After the Cardinal converted that first down, then went on to drive right down our throat to score a TD. It was a statement that resonated throughout the game.

However, that wasn't the only demoralizing penaties that hurt us yesterday. Early in Q3 when Stanford had the ball on their 46 yard line, the defense stopped Gerhart for a loss, putting them at 2nd and 13 on their 43. Of course in the very next play the defense gave up an offside penalty to turn it into 2nd and 8, making it more managble for Luck and co. The next play was the flea flicker to Whalen, that effectively seem to decide the game.

As I have said in the comment sections, I don't have an explanation for these penalties. Sure we can chalk them up to youth. However, at the same time if the coaches are looking to bank on a shackled offense, then they also have a responsibility to make sure the team is playing smart and focused football, to make up for the limited abilities of its backup QB. They didn't seem to get it done.

Other Observations

As for penalties, yes as usual we were burned by SPTRs. However, I am not going to complain about it. Good teams play through BS refereeing particularly in the pathetic Pac-10. We didn't do it yesterday.

Speaking of pathetic, David Norrie is probably the worst UCLA alum broadcaster. He is the Karl Dorrell of UCLA broadcaster. He is terrible. Unlike media personalities such as MJD, Bill Walton, Reggie Miller and Rick Neuheisel (when he appeared on media as a commentator during his non UCLA coaching days), Norrie calls our games as if he is ashamed to admit his UCLA connections. In his effort to make himself look impartial, he makes it worse. I really hope we don't have to hear him broadcast other UCLA games. He sucks. Plain and simple.

Postives From Yesterday

Well I do have couple of positive notes to share from yesterday. Forbath is awesome. However, at the same time I feel like our coaches are getting too much in a comfort zone, counting on his gimmes. The guy who gets the game ball from UCLA pov yesterday is Jeff Locke. He had a great all around game. Sad that we are celebrating kickers again. What's that word again? Dorr ... never mind.

Also, the defense does deserve some credit for making it a game and fighting back in second half. However, as I suspected all along their late starts would eventually cost us. It did yesterday.

Lastly, as I said above, the season is not over. Not by any means. We have an extremely tough football game coming up next weekend. I am not sure right now whether we can win it. However, I would like to see us come out and fight like we did against Tennessee from the opening kick off and play smart football. I want them to play their hearts out, play with fire, and eliminate as much "what ifs" as possible. CRN knows it. He is on record. The Bruin Nation is "dying for" it.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Freshmen - Price/Brehaut - Getting Ready For Kansas State

Nestor — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:25:57 -0000

Let's pick up this morning with the story about four Bruins - Viney, Knox, Carroll and Presley - getting suspended for the KSU game. So far Viney has offered up a public statement about the suspension (spotted by Insomniac) in which the sophomore (presumably speaking on behalf of all four) took full responsibility for their actions:

"We violated a team rule and it’s a fair decision," Viney said. "You’ve just got to take it and move forward from here."

Viney then added the following wrt to preparation for KSU:

"The team is well prepared, regardless, for Kansas State this week," Viney said. "They’ll go out and be on top of their game."

At this point I don't really have anything else to add beyond what I wrote last night and will shift back into the game prep mode. Looks like it might be true freshman Sheldon Price (who already got some action against San Diego State) who could take up Viney's spot at practice:

"I got guys falling left and right," said Carnell Lake, who coaches the cornerbacks. "I got to get Sheldon Price as many reps as I can. I got to throw him to the fire in practice."

Sheldon got majority of the reps yesterday, however coaches gave Abbott some practice time yesterday as well as Coach Bullough wants to see who picks up his scheme the best:

"We're going to play the guy who knows what he's doing the most," UCLA defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said. "More than matching the guys, we're trying to get a guy out there who knows what he's doing. They've got great coaches who teach them if they're shorter against a big guy what to do, if they're taller against a short guy what to do."

Price looked unsure at times against seasoned wide receivers Terrence Austin, a senior, and sophomore Taylor Embree. However, lined up across Verner, one of the top cornerbacks in the country, he expects to settle into the role.

"He meets with the guys during the week, and when we're game planning, he's like an extra coach," Bullough said of Verner. "He knows everything, knows the defense inside out. He talks guys through stuff, just a calming presence out there."

If there is a silver lining here, it is that our CB corps should be well seasoned by the time we get into the Pac-10 schedule. Also, I am sure ATV will remind Sheldon (and Ty) about how he also got his start as a true freshman at UCLA (and did some memorable things in his first game (Utah) and throughout rest of that year). Sheldon is going to be all right.

Speaking of freshman let's talk about Richard Brehaut (Jill Painter tells us it's pronounced "Bree-ho") after the jump.

So no official decision yet on who will be starting at the QB spot on Saturday. However, here were the breakdown on number of snaps taken with the first team in yesterday's practice:

Brehaut was with the first team during practice most of Tuesday. He spent 45 plays with the first team in 11-on-11 drills, including the last 12 against the first-team defense. Craft, who threw a school record 20 interceptions in 2008, had 18 plays with the first team.

"I came in early so I could get this opportunity," said Brehaut, who enrolled at UCLA last April to participate in spring practice. "I'm prepared to go out and have some fun."

We have followed Brehaut's progression (via news reports) pretty closely here on BN. The article linked above is a profile from Chris Foster of the LAT, detailing Brehaut's thorough preparation to be the Bruin QB at UCLA:

Brehaut was a talented catcher whose focus was baseball, but that changed his junior year in high school. After losing a baseball playoff game, Brehaut and his father drove straight to Berkeley so he could participate in a Nike camp the next day. He won the Elite 11 competition despite being one of the few sophomores in attendance.

"We walked in there with nothing but the shirts on our back and Richard won the whole thing," Daniel Brehaut said. "I knew then that baseball might take a back seat."

Brehaut polished his skills working with noted quarterback coaching guru Steve Clarkson, one of the pioneers in tutoring young quarterbacks.

"These kids are playing quarterback year-round," said Coach Rick Neuheisel, who played quarterback at UCLA. "They are learning all sorts of different things and talking schemes. They are clearly further along than we were in my day."

Painter also writes how Brehaut is ready for his moment:

Brehaut left high school early and enrolled at UCLA to participate in spring practices, which makes starting him Saturday all the more easier.

Offensive coordinator Norm Chow shouldn't have to close the playbook.

"He's athletic. He can throw," Chow said. "He's capable of making plays. He has to do it within the framework of our offense."

And added how Breuhaut is probably the right choice to start on Saturday:

The Bruins already know what Craft can do. We know the kid is resilient. He always got up when knocked down, even when he threw four first-half interceptions last year against Tennessee. But he wasn't the answer.

We don't know how Brehaut will do in a game situation, as he has thrown only two passes - completing both - for 39 yards late in a season-opening blowout of San Diego State.

But it's a great time to find out.

Generally agree with that take. I think he still has to prove himself to the coaches during practices this week and earn it though. Plus CRN and Chow will have the final say on this matter and given their experience with QBs, we are not going to be questioning their decision on this topic whatever it turns out to be.

The key for Richard again is going to stay as composed as possible feeling without any kind of pressure. Lucky for him he has some decent talent to work around him and the offensive line this season looks little more capable from the one from last year. He needs to trust his team-mates ability to do their part and then just focus on his responsibility to execute. Here is a former Bruin QB who knows a little something about starting as a true freshman:

"You don't have the responsibility squarely on your shoulders, and it's up to the coaches to make sure the quarterback, whether he's a senior or true freshman, doesn't have everything squarely on his shoulders," McNown said. "It needs to be spread out throughout the team. They'll want to go in with a game plan he can execute. Keep it simple and go from there."

I expect the coaches to design a pretty conservative game plan (no matter who is at the QB), which will require the OL to really exert themselves on the KSU defensive frontline. If the OL can open up some running lanes early for DC and Franklin to bust throug, give Brehaut (or Craft) enough time to complete short, safe passes to our backs/TEs or receivers to catch and then run some YACs, we are going to be ok.

Lastly, I am going to end this round up with some great news. From the LA Times:

Defensive end Reginald Stokes, who had knee surgery last month, returned to individual drills. The Bruins hope to have him ready for the Stanford game on Oct. 3.

That is simply fantastic news. If Stokes actually fully recovers and makes it back for Stanford game, that would be a huge boost for our defense (considering many of us thought he might be out for the entire season).

GO BRUINS.

Nothing To Lose For UCLA: The Pressure Is On Lane Kiffin's Tennessee

Nestor — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:22:50 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Under Pressure

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It's been a lot of fun talking about tomorrow's game the whole week. I am pretty sure I am not the only who have enjoyed going back and forth with the Tennessee fans here on BN talking about different aspects of tomorrow night's matchup. I think the respectful and friendly banter we have had here is lot more fun and refreshing than the state SEC-Pac-10 smack talk we often see gets littered through the message boards and blogs all over the internets (and I will be honest when BN launched, I myself got sucked into it before finding it was getting boring and stale).

Anyway I will tip my hat to the passion of the Tennessee fans for their football program. That's the kind of stuff that makes college football (and basketball) so special and so much more compelling than its professional counterparts. However, I have got to say there is one aspect of the game, going into tomorrow night that could be working in UCLA;s favor. Yeah, I have already wrote this week how I just don't see UCLA pulling out a victory given our recent record and our roster full of freshmen and first time starters on offense. I don't blame the Tennessee fans who think it's reasonable to expect 10 point win. If I were them I'd be feeling the same way too (inside). However, here is the thing, these (reasonable) expectations on the part of Tennessee fans will put enormous squarely on the shoulders of Lane Kiffin and his entire football team. Hooper from RockyTopTalk writes "why UCLA is the game that matters" for Lane's Volunteers (emphasis added):

UCLA exposed Tennessee last year, if only by virtue of being the first team with the opportunity to shish Clawbob the offense. This is now the second year under Neuheisel for the Bruins, and the second year is usually the breakout year for a team, which means they theoretically have a legitimate shot at repeating last year's heartbreak. UCLA is also a westerly nonconference opponent, and a big name at that. It's always been a point of UT pride to play (and win) marquee nonconference games, and a loss here would run the record to 1-3 against the PAC-10 in four years, with the last three being losses. There is a lot riding on UCLA specifically: revenge, conference pride, and a realistic measuring stick of our new team.

But a loss to UCLA would also bring shades of Tennessee's greatest disappointment: losing early and being out of contention. Normally, this honor has belonged to the Florida Gators, where the third game loss knocks Tennessee down the polls and causes them to trail in the standings, but UCLA can bump the heartbreak up a week, with the added bonus of removing all hope leading into Florida week. We would be looking forward to a two-week losing streak to a California team and that team, with only the pelt of the newest 1-A team in hand.

A win against UCLA, however, would reverse the equation. While the Florida loss is still the most likely scenario, beating UCLA would undoubtedly show Tennessee to be improved from last year (for while it's a home game, UCLA is a better team this year than last). A solid win would place the trend squarely on the path toward relevance again, and a Florida loss would become nothing more than a bump in the road while we wait for the recruiting chimera to rebuild the program.

So in short, beating UCLA gives Lane Kiffin all the time he'll need to prove his worth, while a loss would re-open old wounds and bring back all the doubt and misery of seasons past.

And I can't agree with hooper any more. This is a MUST WIN game for Lane and the Volunteers. There is no way around it. So the pressure is going to be intense on them early on to come out and take a big lead. If they don't, that pressure is only going to get more severe and creep all over into the zeitgesit of Volunteer nation.

On other hand for our Bruins, all we are looking at this point is to come out and fight. If they come out and fight, minimize their mistakes in all aspects of the game, and can put together some scoring drives early on, keeping the defense fresh and hungry, we are only going to get more confidence. So in terms of a psychological mindset, Bruins couldn't be in a better shape heading into tomorrow's game. More after the jump.

Again the key for the Bruins will be to soak in the crazy atmosphere, but remain as calm as possible and take it all in stride:

The main goal for UCLA, though, will be to soak in the Neyland Stadium atmosphere for roughly one play. One play is all head coach Rick Neuheisel will afford his players the luxury of being overwhelmed. Any longer, and the Volunteers will pounce.

"I think it will be a factor until the game starts," sophomore offensive lineman Jeff Baca said. "Once we get that first play and everybody's focused, concentrated, locked in, we'll be ready to go. I don't think the crowd will be a factor then."

Oh, but it will.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince will surely be nervous. Redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin will certainly be jittery. Sophomore wide receiver Taylor Embree wants them to be.

"If you're not pumped up to play a game like this, you don't have a pulse," Embree said. "There's such thing as being too overhyped, though. You've got to be hyped up, but at the same time remain calm."

It sounds easy but we will see if they can get it done. As I said above though, the pressure is going to be on their counterparts to go for the kill early. They are going to come out fired up and do whatever it takes to strike first and then build on it. In contrast, we have to weather the initial storm , stay focused, and do what we can to execute the game plan.

No doubt the Volunteers will be the heavy favorites because of their home turf. However, if these teams were matchuped in a neutral field, in terms of over all talent, they would be about even (perhaps Tennessee with a slight edge in experience). I am sure the coaches will hammer those facts into the mindset of our team. Plus given the reports we got out of practices this year, it seemed that our young guys are fearless with a little bit of nasty streak.

At the end of the day, this is all supposed to be fun. Here is CRN yesterday:

"I want it to be fun," Neuheisel said. "I think noise is exciting. It means people have passion and they are there to see you."

It should be fun for our team because the pressure is on the other side. The pressure is on Kiffin(s) and the Volunteers to make a statement validating their new regime. If they can't make that statement early in that game, the pressure is only going to build throughout the evening.

I still don't think we will have enough to pull out a victory tomorrow. I am pretty much in agreement with bobo_the_vol who wrote earlier this week, ou can’t fill a cupboard as empty as UCLA’s was when Neuheisel arrived in just one or two shopping trips." We have had enough discussions on that specific point during last few years on BN. So no doubt we are going to be the underdogs tomorrow night taking on a traditional SEC powerhouse infront of the whole nation. So might as well enjoy it, play with passion and all out aggression (with poise and discipline).

Let's have some fun. We got nothing to lose because the pressure is on them.

GO BRUINS.

Tennessee vs. UCLA - Game Preview

Will — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:00:23 -0000

by Reed Saxon - AP

3 months ago: UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince passes against San Diego State in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

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It is a game of tremendous importance for both teams. In Year Two of Rick Neuheisel's administration, it's a chance for the Bruins to continue to put 2008 behind them and make a huge statement on the road. In Year One of Lane Kiffin's tenure, it's a chance for the Vols to validate their dominant performance from a week ago, and put a truly definitive distinction between this year and last in the minds of players and fans alike. The team that wins will go into conference play thinking big. The team that loses will brace itself for another potentially frustrating year.

The keys to the game as the Vols and Bruins meet for the 15th time:

Jonathan Crompton & Kevin Prince: Continued Maturation

Prince, a redshirt freshman who hadn't seen real game action in two years due to an injury in high school, had his moments in the opener against San Diego State: 18 of 29 for 176 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. It was enough in a 33-14 win over the Aztecs, and under Norm Chow's watchful eye Prince should only get better. UCLA fans hope he reminds the Vols of Kevin Craft in the second half last season, not the first.

Jon Crompton we'd seen before, but not like this: 21 of 28 for 233 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions on batted balls. He earned his job back in the spring, worked hard to keep it this fall, and made the most of his fresh start. Now every orange eye will be upon him once more: a good performance against Western Kentucky offered hope. A good performance against UCLA offers something much more tangible. If Crompton plays well again, this time against a much better defense, most of us will breathe a tremendous sigh of relief, and be on board with #8 the rest of the way. But if the old Crompton shows up (or was merely hiding behind WKU's defense last week), the flashbacks come with him, and it will be unpleasant.

Neither will be asked to win the game on their own, but both will be asked not to lose it. Prince is a redshirt freshman looking to earn trust and make progress. Crompton is a redshirt senior looking to bury the past and keep moving forward. Both face a significant defensive upgrade this week. Who will come through?

Tennessee Rushing Offense: Lessons Learned

The greatest source of frustration for Tennessee fans in last year's game was the Vols' ability to run the ball at will on the Bruins, and Dave Clawson's inability to recognize it. Arian Foster had 13 carries for 96 yards, and Montario Hardesty ran 12 times for 66 yards. Between the two of them, that's 162 yards at 6.48 yards per carry. Ignoring this, Clawson allowed Jon Crompton to throw 41 times, and the Vols fell in overtime.

This year, the Vols got off to a great start with their best rushing performance in 15 years against Western Kentucky:

Montario Hardesty: 18 carries, 160 yards, 1 TD, 8.9 YPC
Bryce Brown: 11 carries, 104 yards, 1 TD, 9.5 YPC
Tauren Poole: 5 carries, 62 yards, 12.4 YPC
David Oku: 8 carries, 42 yards, 2 TDs, 5.3 YPC

The Vols ran for 380 yards at 8.6 yards per carry as a team, and it didn't really matter which back was in the game.

However, UCLA's run defense was also impressive last week, limiting San Diego State to only 39 yards on 18 carries (2.2 per). While the opponents both teams faced last week leave lots of uncertainties, one fact remains: San Diego State had no offensive linemen that weighed over 300 lbs. The Vols will start four. Bruins Nation discussed how UCLA might handle this earlier this week.

Tennessee isn't going to find the same level of success running the football against UCLA as they did against Western Kentucky. But if they can duplicate or even approach the type of success they found last year against the Bruins, life will be much, much easier for Crompton and the entire team.

Tennessee Secondary: First Real Test

Last week, WKU's quarterbacks combined to go 9 of 16 for only 49 yards, and rarely had time to do anything. As a result, Tennessee's untested secondary - you know, the guys not named Eric Berry - is still largely that.

While experienced players do return (Brent Vinson had a pick last week), the starting group of Art Evans and Marsalous Johnson at corner, plus Dennis Rogan in his transition to free safety (plus freshman Janzen Jackson in the nickel package)...it's still a relatively green bunch.

Meanwhile, the only places UCLA isn't relatively green on offense are at wide receiver and tight end. Taylor Embree and Terrence Austin each had six catches last week, and UCLA has one of the best overall tight end groups in the country, with Logan Paulsen and Ryan Moya (7 catches in last year's game) sure to be involved.

Evans will have to get the job done on 6'3" Taylor Embree, so look for 5'9" Marsalous Johnson near the shorter Austin. But if either of these guys get exposed it'll make life much easier on UCLA's young quarterback, and raise serious questions about exactly how good Tennessee's defense really is.

Environment & Adversity: Which team is tougher?

The Vols faced only mild adversity last week when they turned the ball over on their first two drives. Responding with 63 points in three quarters was nice, but make no mistake: it will take beating a team like UCLA, a team that beat them last year, for the Vols to fully separate themselves from the ghosts of 2008. If the Bruins get the early breaks and jump to a 14-0 lead, how will this team respond? How will Lane Kiffin respond?

UCLA showed their composure last week when SDSU jumped to a 14-3 first quarter lead, and then the Bruins scored 30 points in a row. The unfamiliarity for UCLA isn't in falling behind, but where the game is played: Neyland Stadium's sea of orange swallowed up the last Pac-10 team it saw, as the Vols jumped to a 35-0 lead on #9 Cal in the 2006 season opener. The Bruins are playing with a redshirt freshman quarterback, lots of youth in the backfield and three new starters on the offensive line. Will they be affected by the environment?

This is where Tennessee fans need to make a difference. Last week was a welcome win and a sigh of relief, and we all enjoyed it. This week we need to turn the dial back to eleven where it belongs, and be the dominant home field advantage we're more than capable of being. This is a Tennessee team whose season could go very different ways depending on the outcome of this game. We need to do our part to make sure it swings in our favor. If UCLA comes out for their first offensive series and thinks "Hey, this isn't so bad...", we should be ashamed of ourselves.

Lane Kiffin vs. Norm Chow: Pushing the right buttons

We've already covered this matchup at length, but when neither team has the sort of playmakers on offense where you can just get them the ball and get out of the way (not that I wouldn't love Hardesty or Bryce Brown to prove me wrong), playcalling becomes even more critical. Chow will be going against Monte Kiffin in a legendary coordinator battle. And Chow got the best of Tennessee's last coordinator, methodically going to the tight end and working the middle of the field as he watched Kevin Craft come back from the dead to steal an overtime win.

Kiffin has more to prove as a playcaller and as a coach in general. If the Vols are down four with two minutes left, what's he going to dial up for Crompton? Can he keep the offense in the same beautiful balance it enjoyed last week, or will UCLA be allowed to stack the box and force Crompton to win it? Regardless of the respect and the generally decent tone both sides have employed thus far this week, I'd be willing to wager a fair amount that both of these guys want this win - and want a great offensive performance - very, very badly.

This is the Gateway Game. Win, and the kind of season you've been dreaming about all summer long is still on the table with tangible evidence to back it up. Lose, and the kind of season you just struggled through comes back on the table, and you start thinking about bowl eligibility instead of the Top 25. Tennessee couldn't bury 2008 with even the very best of performances against Western Kentucky, though that's what we got with the largest difference in total yards per team in Tennessee Football history.

But beating UCLA - no matter what the Vols do next week - can give tangible proof that last year was last year, and this team is truly something different...and something better.