SB Nation - Korey Bosworth

Clear Signs Of Progress: Rick Neuheisel Has Our Bruins Marching Forward (And Meeting Expectations)

Nestor — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:23:54 -0000

Jerzy, Westgate ("Special Teams Zealot" as dubbed by Petros), and Dye getting ready for another huge game week

Let's do another quick reset on this Sunday. Rick Neuheisel's UCLA football team is entering the last game of the regular season (the Holy one) with a record of 6-5, riding a 3 game winning streak. Obviously if you look around here and among other hard core UCLA communities you will get a sense of giddiness and optimism we haven't experienced in a long time. However, no one should mistake that with the notion that we think somehow 6 wins are the standards of success in Westwood. Anyone doing that (like the moronic beat reporter from the Trojan Times) is missing the big picture about where UCLA program was when Rick Neuheisel took it over and how long the journey is going to be before we finally get the program to where it belongs (regularly competing for Pac-10 championships).

During the pre-season, consensus emerged re. expectations heading into this year projecting UCLA to win either 6 or 7 regular season games making itself bowl eligible. Getting to that stage after suffering through a 4-8 season (marked by a talent and experience void all over the team) would amount to same accomplishment for Neuehisel, as what Howland did during his second year in Westwood when he got us into the first round of NCAA tournament. Well with just one game left in this season, I think CRN can make a good argument that he has gotten it done. This year Bruins have won every game they were supposed to (which wasn't the case during previous regimes). They came short in games they were underdogs except for the one in Tennessee and if not for a dropped interception (which would probably turn into pick-6) in Corvallis they would probably looking at a pretty solid 7-4 record at this point in CRN's second season in Westwood. In other words, despite what some blowhards in the media tried to tell us earlier this year (writing nonsense like Neuheisel's team "falling apart") the UCLA football program is showing clear signs of progress and taking step towards right direction.

Those signs of progress were pretty evident yesterday on both sides of the ball. I will start with the defense. Chuck Bullough has gotten a lot of critcism this year (and I though it was deserved). However, it was his defense that really set the tone and won the game for us against ASU. I thought it was huge, especially going into the game, knowing how tough the ASU defense was we were looking at our defense to win the game for us. Well they came through in a big way, destroying the Sun Devil's offense (which seems to have found its own QB) with 6 TOs, returning two for TDs, and limiting them to 315 total yards. Price and Ayers were the defensive terror mongers:

Price had four tackles for a loss, including two sacks.

"It's just hard to block him," defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said. "He's a powerful guy."

Ayers had two tackles for a loss, one of which was a sack. Bullough used him at defensive end at times, as Korey Bosworth was hampered by a sprained ankle.

"Sometimes he gives you that burst off the edge," Bullough said. "You want to put in him in spots like that because he can be successful."

We have already talked a little about how cool it is to see Ayers coming off the edge. The player he reminds me most of is the late great Derrick Thomas. He seems to have found his natural place in our defense. It's not dropping back in coverage but to find a way to get to the quarterback or just hang out in backfield. It's just fun to watch and he has now emerge as the clear front runner to take share the leadership role with Rahim Moore for next year's defense.

As for Brian Price, what else is there to say. I am going to miss the Big Bear next season. He was classic BP. However, the play that will give Chetey Petey something to think about is the one leading to the second TD. Someone needs to review the tape but IIRC in that sequence BP had lined up at the edge bringing pressure from the outside. That was a new wrinkle Bullough through at Arizona State, which caught them flatfooted. Loved it.

The rest of the defense did all right. Seemed like we had our classic slow start at the beginning when Dimitri Nance kept gashing us for chunks of yardage in that first drive. He was just slicing through the front-7 at the beginning before ATV took it to the House. The defense did make some adjustments though and as a result after Nance racked up some solid yardage at the beginning, he didn't do much rest of the game. Both of the ASU TDs seem to come in broken plays when their QB basically made something out of nothing. Heading into next weekend the Bruin defense will obviously take on an offense with surreal talent. However, I think if they can generate the same kind of heat on Heisman Barkley, and contain McKnight around 120-140 yard rushing yards for the day, I think we will have a shot. More after the jump.

Moving over to the offense, I actually was all right with what I saw from our offense yesterday. We knew we were taking on the best defense in the conference and one of the better ones in the nation. ASU's front-7 is really good and they are vicious hitters. Their secondary also played well. This was one of those games we needed Prince to manage the game and he did exactly that. Our offense didn't turn the ball over once, helping UCLA to win the TO margin by 6-0.

Of course the penalties were killers. Probably cost a TD here and there as we racked up 11 penalties for 100 yards. We will have to clean that up especially among our OL. On the other hand, I thought our OL did ok as they gave Kevin Prince time and most importantly, help wear down the ASU defense in second half, by opening up holes for Chane - The Train - Moline. Here is CRN talking about his game script:

"We learned how not to lose a game," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. "We hung in there and protected a lead. That doesn't mean you can afford to not stay aggressive. Penalties kept us from getting a little momentum down the field. But by not turning the ball over and playing sound field-position football, we kept ourselves ahead."

Norm Chow emphasized the point about winning the TO battle to win the game:

"We gave it away last year," UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. "They gained 120 yards on offense, and we gave it to them. We couldn't do that. You get to the end and you try to win the game. At this point in the season, all you have to (do is) win. However you win, you have to win."

And his field general - Kevin Prince - talked about making it happen with ball control on the field:

"We weren't trying to do anything too big," said Prince, who added 42 yards on the ground. "That's a good way to describe it, a mature performance. It's important to go in there and execute a game-plan. The coaches just wanted to make sure we didn't turn it over. That's the story of the game - five to zero in turnover margin."

Actually it was better than 5 to 0 Kevin (it was 6-0). A huge reason we were able to win that battle was because of dependable and productive carries from Chane. CRN was impressed:

Senior Chane Moline came to UCLA as a tailback and scored five touchdowns as a short-yardage back as a freshman. He has played fullback this season, but Saturday he was back at tailback, grinding out 84 yards in 25 carries.

The move was made after the Bruins had trouble with fumbles in recent weeks.

"We have been using Chane in bits and pieces and decided maybe we should do it on an every-down basis," Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "It was fun to watch us slug it out."

It was definitely fun to see our OL opening holes against a solid DL and Chane just blast through it. I wonder if we are going to see some of the identical packages next weekened (mixed in with doses of Jet Ski and Knox)

In terms of next week, Reggie Carter as always is just a little excited:

"I love being underdogs. I hope they think we can't win at all. Hopefully, we're 50-point underdogs," he said. "Then they'll be surprised if we win."

Prince is glad that we don't have to go through a bye week to wait for the Trojans:

"I'd prefer doing it this way; I hate bye weeks," Prince said. "I feel like it kind of takes you off your rhythm. It's good for getting guys healthy, but we're healthy enough. We needed to come out here and play and continue to get our confidence going."

And I will end with this from CRN:

"As a program, you've got to learn to crawl, then walk," Neuheisel said. "Next week, let's see if we can't run a little bit."

Well we are glad that our team is standing and walking after all the cat calls about it "falling apart" earlier this season coach. It is going to be fun to read about these guys prepare for next Sat. Hopefully our coaches will have our boys locked in and focused for their best game week of practice. I think it will a matter of which guys are the most prepared next Saturday.

I feel confident though that Rick Neuheisel and his staff will do whatever possible to get our boys focused and ready. As mentioned above, given what we have seen this month (and actually the whole season) it's clear our guys are fighting together every game. They have already done their part for showing progress.

GO BRUINS.

BN Gameday Roundup: Getting & Staying Warm In Pullman

Nestor — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:42:46 -0000

Let's start with the weather broadcast today since we have heard all week it could be a potential factor in this afternoon in Pullman. Per weather.com right now it is about 25 degrees in Pullman (which is not too shabby to start the morning). At least on weather.com, they are not really expecting snow and projecting temperature to get up to around mid 30s this afternoon:

Partly cloudy. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.

Oh and there is about 20 percent chance of precipitation. So it's really cold for someone who is from Southern California but it could be lot worse. It shouldn't be an excuse for a team that is looking to go all out in these last remaining games to scratch and claw their way into a bowl game. Thankfully the guys on our team are not making weather an excuse:

UCLA defensive end Korey Bosworth, who played at Plano (Texas) West High, said: "I've played in it all, thunderstorms, rain, freezing rain, ice. I don't know about everyone else here, but I'm looking forward to it."

And Korey's team-mate Reggie at least on paper is striking the right notes heading into a matchup against a struggling football team:

"It's not like we've been winning all year," Carter said of the Bruins (4-5, 1-5). "We are just coming off a five-game losing streak. Regardless of what people think, we have to go in and fight. Everyone knows that if we lose this game, it will really hurt our year, not that it isn't already hurting."

Carter is also well aware how Pullman is probably the toughest road trip in the conference:

Carter is among a handful of UCLA seniors making their last collegiate trip to Pullman. The prospect does not bring tears to his eyes.

"I don't like that place," Carter said. "It is the worst trip. There is nothing there. It is 1 1/2 hours from the airport. It's cold and even the hotel is bad. Everything is rough out there, man. You have to be a strong person to go there. Hopefully, we'll go there, get the victory and run home as fast as we can."

For the Bruins to get out there with a victory means they will have to start the game in a good rhythm. More on that after the jump.

So about the ryhthm thing, Logan Paulsen and co. have been feeling it since that fourth quarter against Oregon State. He now wants to hold on to it:

Although it's great to not be at the bottom anymore, kinda be on our way up, it's more important that we're improving every week," Bruins senior tight end Logan Paulsen said. "We kind of got that rhythm, and the hardest thing for a young offense is to find that rhythm. Early in the season we had it in moments, but we lost it a little bit for five games.

"Oregon State, we got it back. We felt it."

Well, Logan can do his part by showing senior leadership. That means minimizing mistakes, which Logan has made a lot of (despite that 50+ catch and rumble last weekend) in recent weeks. Logan and rest of his team mates must minimize mistakes if they want to seize the momentum early on and hold on to it. This means eliminating stupid penalties and holdoing on to the ball no matter what the weather conditions are up in Pullman (and it looks like we might not have to deal with snow - fingers crossed).

Logan's QB - Kevin Prince - has been having good practices this week despite getting banged up last weekend against Washington. Kevin has been enjoying the feeling of clicking with his receivers:

"This whole season has been about developing a whole trust with the offense, and I think it's finally clicked," said Prince, who showed no ill effects this week after the concussion and has been fully cleared to play. "I don't know if it's what coach Neuheisel said to me, or just kind of what our game plan was. We were going into the (Oregon State) game saying we were going to throw fade balls. We were going to make our receivers work for it. Executing that game plan showed us, 'Wow, we can do this."'

Hope he can keep doing the same right off the bat up in Pullman.

Meanwhile, speaking of doing the same, our defense will try to maintain and build on their second half showing against the Huskies from last weekend:

[T]he Bruins looked somewhat like their old defensive selves in the second half, limiting the Huskies to 146 yards and getting another interception from Rahim Moore -- the national co-leader with eight -- to wrap things up.

Call it an improvement after giving up 463, 456 and 494 yards in their previous three games.

"There were a lot of fundamental issues we weren't addressing," Bosworth said. "We weren't tackling. We weren't pursuing the ball as we should. I feel we have addressed those. If you don't do the fundamentals, bad things happen."

Well, I think it has to do more with fundamentals. It has lot to do with scheming. Right now the problem with our defense is we are simply not generation enough pressure on the QB with our front 4. If that dynamics doesn't look any different in the first few snaps against the Cougs, I hope Bullough is not waiting till the second half to mix it up with his blitzes. The Washington State offense will probably not enter this game with a lot of confidence on offense. They are going to work in a QB who even though started earlier this season, has been on the bench. We are going to need to bring pressure early on to bottle them up, while making sure Tardy and co do not gash up with their rushing attack.

Our defense is going to be very interesting to watch today. This is a golden opportunity for them to really get back some momentum they had earlier in the season. They can't blow it by going passive early on and giving a struggling football team any hint of life. In other words, they can't wait till the second half to get "warmed up" in Pullman. The D along with their offensive team-mates should be ready to go in full speed and clicking on all cylinders from early on keeping them heated and warmed up for entire 60 game minutes in Pullman.

The kickoff is around 2 pm PST. We will put up a pre-game thread around 12:30 pm PST and our game thread will go up about half an hour before our kickoff. Enjoy your Saturday.

GO BRUINS.

UCLA Preview

John Berkowitz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:22:37 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel faces is old team for the second time on Saturday in Pasadena. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

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The Washington football team (3-5 overall, 2-3 in the Pac-10) returns to action this Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena when the Huskies take on UCLA (3-5 overall, 0-5 in the Pac-10) in a 12:30 p.m. game boroadcast on FSN. The Dawgs, who have faced the nation’s second-toughest schedule to this point, come into the game after a weekend off while the Bruins’ comeback fell short in a 26-19 loss at Oregon State last weekend. UCLA went 3-0 in non-conference play to open the season, but have lost five straight, all against Pac-10 opposition, since then.

Washington was in desperate need of a bye week after the Oregon game and that rest after facing the nation's toughest schedule over the last eight weeks may be just what the doctor ordered to get this team ready for the last quarter of the season.

Postion Matchups

Quarterback....Washington....Jake Locker was declared ready to go on Thursday night and was seen zipping around practice with no visible lingering effects of his quad bruise. With Jake healthy Washington has a serious advanatage at the throttle. Kevin Prince will start for the Bruins and he is coming off a good fourth quarter against Oregon State.

Running Back....Washington....The Bruins and the Huskies are near the bottom of the Pac 10 in overall rushing totals this season. UW is led by Chris Polk who is averaging over 80 yards per game. Polk is a physical runner who breaks tackles and gets a lot of yards on his own. UCLA's Jonathan Franklin is a good looking back who doesn't get as many carries on average as Polk does.

Wide Receivers....Washington...The trio of Devin Aguilar, Jermaine Kearse, and Jermaine Johnson have performed well all season. UCLA has sports the dangerous 6'5 Nelosn Rosario and 6'3 Tylor Embree. That height just may be the reason UW started experimenting with Anthony Boyles at CB during the bye week. From a productivity standpoint this season the Washington receivers have better numbers. The UCLA receivers while talented have not benefitted fromt he stability at QB the UW receivers have.

Tight End...UCLA...Ryan Moya and Logan Paulsen are a couple of TE's who have the tane tto play on Sunday's. UW's Kavario Middleton also has that type of talent but you give the nod in this one to the experience and blocking ability of the Bruin duo.

Offensive Line...Washington...What we have here are two bottom division Pac 10 lines. The Washington offense has been more productive this season when it comes to protecting the QB and opening up holes for the rushing game so they get a slight nod going in.

Defensive Line...UCLA....Brian Price would get my vote as the top defensive lineman in the conference this season. He is a difference maker inside that is impossible to block which free's up his team mates to wreak a little havoc. Korey Bosworth and Datone do a nice job out on the ends.

Linebacker...UCLA....I really like UCLA's Reggie Carter , Akeem Meyers, and Kyle Bosworth. Washington counters with Mason, Butler, and Dennison. Dennison will be starting in place of EJ Savannah who is taking the week off with a thumb injury.

Secondary....UCLA...I would put UCLA's Rahim Moore, Alterraun Verner and Aaron Hester up against anyone in the conference. Moore leads the conference in interceptions this season. Hester is a little banged up and expected to play.

Special Teams...UCLA....UW has had a lot of problems with special teams over the past month. UCLA even though less than perfect has had less problems so I give them the nod going in. This is really a part of the game that will be up for grabs.

Washington running game versus the UCLA defense

This is where the game is going to be won on Saturday. UCLA is giving up over 157 yards per game this season and the Huskies goal going into this game is to pick up around 200 yards. That might be easier said than done because UW averages a shade under 120 yards per game on the ground and Sarkisan probably doesn't want to put too much of a load on Jake Locker who is recovering from a quad bruise. The staff is however treating this as the the must win that it truly is. If Locker can run they are going to unleash him if that what it takes to win this game. We all know what tye of running back Chris polk is. He gets the tough yards inside but is very capable of breaking some big one's. He needs to do that this week and have a career day.

Success rushing the football and winning go hand-in-hand for the Huskies. Since 1990, UW has rushed for 200 yards in a game 72 times. The Huskies’ record stands at 59-12-1 (.826) in those contests. Since the1995 season, Washington is 34-9-1 (.784) when rushing for 200 yards.

Washington Passing Game versus the UCLA defense

Jake has looked good so far in practice this week. What he needs to do this week is improve his decision making. He is going up against a ballhawking secondary and will face some pressure from the UCLA line. If he makes mistakes against the UCLA corners they are going to pick him off. He needs to get outside more on the rollout to buy a little more time. Washington has a very good group of receivers and the hope is a strong running game will open up opportunities down field.

UCLA passing game versus the Washington Defense

UCLA has had trouble all season putting this part of the game together. Washington is a great team to work out those problems against. The Bruins have a big advantage in size when it comes to their WR's. Washington is countering by bringing in two guys that haven't played this season in Jason Wells and Anthony Boyles. Wells may start at safety but I am not sure how much Boyles will play even though his height matches up well with these huge WRs. UCLA is not going to go deep much against Washington. They are going to be throwin a lot of quick outs and high percentage passses to get some rythm going early and give Price some confidence. Chow has a reputation of taking what a defense will give him and Washington will do wht they ahve done all season and that is keep theball in front of them.

Game Notes

UCLA will be the Huskies’ first opponent this season with a sub-.500 record.

Rick Neuheisel was the Husky head coach from 1999 through 2002. Also on the Bruins staff are three former UW assistant coaches: Tim Hundley, Wayne Moses and Reggie Moore (who was a GA at Washington).

Defensive tackle Cameron Elisara (neck stinger) will not travel with the Huskies, marking his second consecutive missed game and prompting the question whether the team has seen the last of his services this season. Also, linebackers E.J. Savannah (broken left wrist) and Jordan Wallace (left knee), who tweaked his knee during a tackle in practice Wednesday, will stay in Seattle.

WR Jordan Polk (knee surgery) has been cleared to play.

Five safeties – Nate Williams, Nathan Fellner, Jason Wells, Victor Aiweya and Greg Walker – will likely see action Saturday, the first-year UW coach said. Williams and Fellner are expected to start.

The Huskies could have as many as three new starters on defense this week. Cort Dennison will start in place of Savannah, and freshman Andru Pulu looks ready to start at defensive end while Daniel T’eo-Nesheim moves inside. Senior Jason Wells could get his first start of the season at safety, although Sarkisian said he had yet to decide whether Wells or true freshman Nate Fellner would start.

An X-ray on UCLA cornerback Aaron Hester's right leg was negative for a fracture, but he has calcium deposits and loose cartilage. Hester, who suffered a broken fibula in the same leg in the season opener, was not in uniform for practice and is questionable for Saturday. Receiver Morrell Presley will be out at least one week because of a sprained left shoulder. . . . Randall Carroll, who has a groin injury, is doubtful for Saturday's game.

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter while rallying the Bruins back from a 16-point deficit this past Saturday against Oregon State. Prince finished with a season-high 323 yards and 22 completions against the Beavers and nearly drove UCLA down the field for another game-tying drive in the closing seconds.

Washington has not beaten UCLA in Pasadena since 1995.

UW is 29-37-2 in the overall series with UCLA.

This Saturday, the Huskies will face a former UW head coach for the 14th time in history, and for the second time since 1975 (the other in that span was a loss last year vs. UCLA, coached by Rick Neuheisel). In ‘75, the Dawgs played the second of two games vs. Texas, coached by Darrell Royal, who was the Husky head man for one season (1956). The Huskies lost to Texas in both 1974 and 1975. In 1946 and 1947, the Huskies face a St. Mary’s team coached by James Phelan, who was the UW head man from 1930 to 1941. UW lost the first of those two, 24-20, but won the ‘47 meeting, 26-6. Lastly,the Huskies faced Cal teams coached by Leonard Allison (UW coach in 1920) nine times between 1935 and 1944, going 5-3-1. The UW is therefore 6-7-1 in games against teams led by former Washington head coaches.

Spaulding Roundup: Keeping The Faith

Nestor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:09:19 -0000

We will start with the story of Rahim Moore firing up the team during practices this game week. From the OC Register:

There was a brief moment during Wednesday's practice when some of UCLA's defensive players were standing around.

A play had just been completed and everyone was in the process of regrouping for the next one. They obviously weren't doing it fast enough, or with enough enthusiasm, for one teammate.

"It's too quiet out there," yelled one player from the sideline. "This isn't a funeral."

The player lighting the fire underneath his teammates was sophomore safety Rahim Moore.

Moore is one of the few players on the UCLA squad whose actions on the field have met with positive results. His seven interceptions perhaps give him the right to speak out at practice when he doesn't see something to his liking.

In actuality, Moore is the type of player who will speak up regardless of how many interceptions he has. He's the type of player who will do his best to set something straight no matter how many victories and losses his team has.

If there is anyone in this program right now that reminds me of the kind of energy and passion AA brought during Howland's rebuilding years it's Rahim. We have heard countless about the "it" factor this season (when talking about our QBs). Well Rahim is definitely has "it" and its encouraging to hear him gettin vocal and taking leadership responsibilities of this team. I think next season he will be the clear cut leader of this defense if not the entire football team. It is telling to see him fight so hard to keep the spirits up of a struggling football team because it is going to be that much sweeter when UCLA puts it together in his senior year in Westwood. More after the jump.

We are going to need our defense to feed of Rahim's enthusiasm through tomorrow. Looks like they will have to battle through more injuries as Jerzy is now out indefinitely with plantar fasciitis (same injury that hurt Michael Roll two years ago). Per the Daily News Neuehisel and Bullough will work in a combination of senior Jess Ward, junior David Carter and sophomore Justin Edison to replace Jerzy:

"Jess Ward has got to become a big-time guy in there, as well as Justin Edison and David Carter, obviously," Neuheisel said. "All I know is it's a day-to-day thing for Jerzy, but it can be anywhere from days to weeks."

The loss of Siewierski adds insult to the various nicks and bruises the UCLA defense feels all over the field. Senior cornerback Alterraun Verner dislocated a toe against Arizona last week in a 27-13 loss, senior linebacker Reggie Carter still is limping around with a sprained knee and senior defense end Korey Bosworth is hampered by sore ribs.

Neuheisel said the Bruins have to push all that to the side and lead with their hearts against an Oregon State ffense led by Jacquizz Rodgers at running back and steady Sean Canfield at quarterback.

"They have to be willing to risk," Neuheisel said. "There has to be some risk before you're able to achieve. Risk means you put it all out there that this can happen, rather than get yourself in a cocoon so you don't get hurt emotionally.

"You have to be able to let it all go and go out there and play free."

Well it is going to be interesting to see whether the defense plays "free" against Oregon State tomorrow afternoon at Reser. We all know what we want our guys to do. Play aggressive and play with nothing to lose early on and put pressure on the Oregon passing game. It would mean the coaches (Bullough) will have to let the reigns loose a bit and get out of their base defense to take chances.

We all have to brace for a tough Saturday in Corvallis tomorrow. Last time UCLA lost 5 games in a row was to the end the 2003 season under CTS. It just might be the worst moment in the history of UCLA football in last 50 years as the team will be coming with a 0-5 record and last place in the Pac-10 conference (kind of like what we experienced in Lavin's last season and Howland's first season). Add to those potential gloomy numbers we are heading into Corvallis with an offense that has scored as many TDs (2) as our defense in last 3 games. And at this point no one out there is picking us to sneak out with a victory.

So things are not looking up to say the least. Yet none of us are planning to go anywhere. I know I will be here reading up on my Bruins, writing up game day roundups, and then checking the game threads to read updates from those who will be listening to the radio telecast or be at the game. I have seen enough sports in my life time to observe how sweet victory tastes for those who stay with it through the lowest of lows. Just think back to Howland's first season in Westwood when we ended the season losing 14 out of our last 16 games. If you were following the team back then on a game to game basis you know exactly how you felt inside while watching this:

UCLA Comeback Against Gonzaga From The Band Section (via BBRVideos)

That is exactly how we all are going to feel when we will experience more moments like this.

Keep the faith.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Lost And Confused Bruin Defense

Nestor — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:35:38 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

2 months ago: California tailback Jahvid Best, center, outpaces UCLA defenders Alterraun Verner (1) and Tony Dye (6) in a carry in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. California won, 45-26. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

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Brian Price in the OC Register:

"It hurts," defensive tackle Brian Price said. "I'm just lost right now. I'm confused."

There is no suger-coating around what is going on with UCLA defense under defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough. We have seen the slide happening for last few weeks. I think our defense started reading a little too much of their press clips after pulling of that win against quarterback-less Volunteers. The stats around this defense were impressive after we went 3-0 against three opponents with mediocre to poor offenses. However, it is now getting exposed as a mediocre to less than average defense after taking on three credible Pac-10 offenses in last three weeks.

Coach Neuheisel is trying to make the best out of a bad situation and doing his best to accentuate the positive around our defense:

"I don't see a lack of effort," Neuheisel said. "I see it as being almost too aggressive, where we get out of control. Tackling is aggression, but you have to stay in control."

Assessing the defense's play thus far, Neuheisel said, "I think the defense has had one bad half this season. The Cal game was not indicative to how the defense has been all season."

But the defense did give up 131 yards rushing against Stanford in the first half. Neuheisel pointed out: "We were down 14-6, so I wouldn't call it a terrible half."

But 14-6 became 24-6 with one minute left in the third quarter. Oregon rushed for 131 yards in the second half.

I find it troubling that CRN pointed to first half of the Stanford game and didn't agree that it was "terrible." I am not sure I can go along with that assessment considering from what I saw Stanford offense ran all over our defense. The score was only 14-6 at half time in Palo Alto because Stanford offense is designed to eat up clock in long grind out drives. From what I saw in that game our defense early on really didn't have any answers against Gerhart and Luck. Yes, they were helped out by that unfortunate penalty by Rahim Moore (which has been another nagging problem with our defense the entire season) but on the whole the Stanford O methodically dominated our front-7. It also looked as if Chuck Bullough wasn't able to make any kind of adjustments to the Stanford attack staying in the same base defense the entire first half.

As for the game against Cal lot of apologists for our defensive efforts are pointing out to the fact that we contained Cal's offense to just 10 points in the second half and kept Best bottled up except for that monster 93 yard play. Unfortunately for our defense they had no answer for Shane Vareen. From the LAT:

The Bears gained 289 yards rushing, which included a 93-yard touchdown run by Jahvid Best.

"We held Jahvid Best to eight yards in 17 carries and 93 in the other one," Neuheisel said.

The Bears' Shane Vereen, meanwhile, romped through and around the Bruins for 154 yards. Take away his 42-yard touchdown run and he still averaged 7.0 yards per carry. The Bears scored 35 points in the first half.

Those numbers are ugly any way you look at it.Oh and Vareen specifically called out how predictable UCLA was on defense:

"We knew their secondary had trouble against Oregon wrapping up the runner," Cal running back Shane Vereen said after the Bears' 45-26 win at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. "We knew that coming in, and we knew we would have to run hard against that. We knew we had to keep running our feet and good things would happen."

Not the first time an opponent has commented about the predictability of our defense. Following the Stanford game Jim Harbaugh made some specific comments about how UCLA's defensive coaches were not making any kind of adjustments to Stanford's jumbo package and as our guys kept the same personnel in for the entire game. Moreover, the Stanford coaches had our defense thoroughly scouted enough so that they went for the flea flicker specifically when Brian Price was out of the game.

I think the defensive numbers potentially will get even uglier next weekend in Arizona when we take on an offensively red hot Wildcat team. I don't have much confidence in our defensive scheme and players to bottle up good offensive teams. This defense which was built by Dewayne Walker have had their 13-9 moments here and there. However, time and time again they have come up short and often down right embarrassed against college offenses with imaginative and creative schemes. Unfortunately there might be other problems plaguing this defense as well.

Jon Gold from the Daily News has a troubling quote from Kyle Bosworth:

"We've got a lot of great players, we've got preseason All-Americans, past All-Americans, All-Pac-10 guys - we've got guys who can make plays individually and are great," Kyle Bosworth said. "I don't know if it's necessarily time for us to start kicking ass - this is something where you either want it or you don't. If you don't want it, we'll pull someone else up who does want it."

Hmm. I don't know. is Bosworth calling out Carter, ATV, Price and Moore? I am not sure if he can call out Brian Price given how he has performed in recent weeks. Is he calling out the other three?

Reggie Carter hasn't been looking great on TV. ATV had a horrible day on Saturday getting lit up in at least could of plays. He got burned on that long TD plus in the very first drive for inexplicable reasons he was giving Cal receiver 7-8 yard cushion for easy pick ups on first down. So not sure how else to read those quotes from Kyle but it is troubling to say the least. His brother Korey added:

"We really need to focus on getting this turned around, and I'm glad we've got an away game this week," Korey Bosworth said. "It's just going to be us. A lot of people are going to throw dirt on our grave, a lot of people are going to just give up on us. With this away game, it's really gonna come down to people in house. It's on our shoulders, and it's something we've got to do to turn around this program."

Well, I am kind of tired from hearing from this guys and writing about how we need to "focus." I feel like we have had to talk about focusing and concentrating better after every week without seeing any kind of improvement on the field (at least on the defensive side). I also don't care much for all the rhetoric from coaches and players about how they need to tackle better. Yeah, we can see that. What I want to see is a well prepared and well coached defense that is put in best position to make plays and execute the game plan.

Just tired of watching a "lost and confused" Bruin defense when they take on offensively talented team week after week. Can't really sugar coat around that and make everyone feel warm and fuzzy this week. Given what I have seen so far this season I expect it to get uglier next weekend and the following. Even with reasonably low expectations of hoping for a 6-7 win regular season, a 5 game losing streak was unfathomable. Well it's looking like a reality after the pathetic defensive efforts from last few weeks.

Perhaps I will be proven wrong. I sure hope I turn out to be "lost and confused" just like Brian Price. Sadly I doubt it given what I have seen in recent weeks.

GO BRUINS.

BN Game Day: A Crapshoot Saturday?

Nestor — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:30:28 -0000

Got an email this morning from silverlakebruin which I think also summed up perfectly how I am feeling about our game against the Bears this afternoon:

This one's a total crapshoot. No idea what will/should happen.

Pretty much. I don't think anyone has any clear idea of what we are going to see at the Rose Bowl this afternoon. No doubt there is going to be a good amount pressure on Jeff Tedford heading into this ball game. Ted Miller from ESPN's Pac-10 blog wrote earlier this week:

Tedford is well-aware that high expectations and Rose Bowl dreams have given way to frustration and recrimination among the fan base, who have pointed fingers at many things, but most particularly at Tedford.

"I know there's a lot opinions, and there's going to be naysayers and there's going to be critics, but it doesn't help anything," Tedford said. "Everybody's entitled to their opinion. I don't read it and I hope our players don't read it."

Tedford said after his team was overwhelmed at home by USC that he would not yell and scream at his players. He expressed confidence that the Bears wouldn't fracture like the 2007 crew that went from second-ranked to losing six of their final seven regular-season games.

He said it was no time to panic and that there was a lot of football left.

"There was a lot of disappointment, but the main thing was not to be discouraged," Tedford said.

Again I will leave it up to Cal followers in deciding what game is "must-win" situation for their program. But there is a no doubt if they can win this game it would potentially could amount to a season turning moment for a team that went into an unreal tailspin in last two games. I am not going to rehash the so called "pressure" Tedford might be facing in Berekely. I think the knowledgeable football fans up there appreciate what he has meant to their program the same way we appreciate what Ben Howland has done to rebuild our football program.

While Tedford might be under pressure to win today's game, I think UCLA also needs to feel the same sense of urgency. Well we should feel that sense of urgency in every game. Here is CRN in the Daily News write up today:

"I like to think of every game as a must-win," Neuheisel said. "You need to make them all that important. But as far as where our program is headed, are we derailed if we're not successful? No, I don't believe that."

I think that's the right take. However, we do expect UCLA to play a complete game in which our guys are competing from start to finish.More after the jump.

ATV in the same DN article hit on the notes of staying focused for the entire game:

"We have to play four quarters and focus," senior cornerback Alterraun Verner said. "That's just what it comes down to. Those 12 straight plays everybody is focused, and then that one time, somebody slips up.

"Our defense is tailor-made for guys being in their spots and their assignments, and when you're doing something outside of that realm, you leave another guy out to dry."

Verner is right. Against the Ducks, UCLA allowed 222 yards on nine big plays, and 81 yards on Oregon's other 51 plays.

LaMichael James gained 152 yards with runs of 49 and 34 yards while teammate Kenjon Barner had a 48-yard run. It was the Bruins' second week in a row allowing a 100-yard rusher after Stanford's Toby Gerhart in Week 4.

And Best isn't exactly a reprieve.

"As a defense, you look for these competitive games, the games that are going to test your manhood," Verner said. "That's what Stanford and Oregon did. Stanford was a tough, hard-nosed team; Oregon was a disciplined team. Cal is a bit of all that - they're going to keep us disciplined and we have to be tough because Jahvid is a very tough runner. This keeps us primed instead of giving us that letdown factor."

Best is of course the key headliner in this Cal team. And many thinks how he performs will be the key to this game. From the OC Register:

Best will be even more of a threat because the Bruins' defense won't go into the game 100 percent healthy. Carter did not practice with the team this week because of a sprained right knee. He still expects to play.

Korey Bosworth re-aggravated sore ribs in last week's game but said he's ready to go.

"He (Best) is an explosive player but he's not their only explosive player," Neuheisel cautioned. "They've got other guys that you have to make sure you wrap up and make sure you've got them down. It isn't a one-man show by any stretch of the imagination."

I think the best chance for the Bruins today is to make sure they contain him and keep him in a box. I don't think it will be the end of the world if they can keep him within 120 something yards rushing. I think they key for the Bruin defense to keep us in the game and perhaps help us get the win at home will be to put extreme pressure on Kevin Riley. Wrote yesterday that how Riley just like Prince has been working hard to get back his rhythm he totally loss in their last two games. From the LA Times:

In the last two games, Riley has completed 27 of 61 passes for 322 yards and no touchdowns with one interception.

"I threw after every day of practice," Riley said. "The balls I am missing, I'm just putting them a little high, but every one is close. I'm just sailing them a little bit."

The drop-off coincided with what seemed like an effort by Coach Jeff Tedford to increase Riley's role.

Against Oregon, the Bears recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff inside the 25-yard line. Tedford chose to go with three passes -- all incomplete -- instead of giving Best the ball.

Against USC, Riley threw four passes on the opening drive, the last of which was intercepted by Taylor Mays. The rest of the game was a blur, with Riley completing only 15 of 40 passes.

"I have to make plays so they can't put more people in the box," Riley said.

So it will be up to our front-7 to make sure Riley doesn't get comfortable at all and get into any kind of rhyhm early on. They will have to be on him as much as possible and do everything they can to disrupt his timing and rhytm.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball same goes for Kevin Prince. We can't afford him to be rusty and out of sync like he was against Oregon early on last Saturday. He will need to be ready to execute Chow's game plan so that he can get the offense moving and then help close the deal whe we get near the goal lines. Our red zone production in terms of TDs have simply been unaccpetable and it needs to improve starting today.

For more game writeups check out the LA Times amd MercuryNews.com. We will have our game thread up around 12:00 pm PST (also the time we will close our pre game guesses thread). As mentioned above, I have no idea what to expect from today's game. Right now I am hoping we can make an effort to play our first clean and complete game of the season. I think if we can pull that off we are going to have a good shot to our season back on track today.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Can The Bruins Be Consistent Against Explosive (Dangerously Desperate) Bears?

Nestor — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:40:56 -0000

More photos » by Paul Battaglia - AP

3 months ago: California tailback Jahvid Best (4) is pursued by Minnesota cornerback Kyle Theret (27) on a 33 yard touchdown run during the first half of a NCAA football game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 in Minneapolis. Best ran for 131 yards and scored a shcool record five touchdowns on the day as California won 35-21. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

Browse more photos »

Let's start this Tuesday with an injury update:

An MRI exam on linebacker Reggie Carter's left knee confirmed a minimal medial collateral ligament sprain. Carter and Korey Bosworth (ribs) are likely to play against Cal on Saturday, though technically they are on day-to-day status.

Also, Johnathan Franklin (ankle) and Glenn Love (ankle) were supposed to give it a shot at practice yesterday. Didn't see any update on their situations as to whether they were able to give it a go. Milton Knox was out with flu on Saturday. He is supposed to be back at Spaulding this week.

As for what team needs to work on consistency is the operative word in Westwood this week:

"It'd be a long list - it's not always just one thing. We need to get consistent play from our quarterback. Kevin, now being back in and having some more game experience under his belt, we'll get more. We need to make sure that when we call plays that they're blocked correctly. We can't miss assignments and watch them come back and haunt us. We've got to make sure that we're coaching great fundamentals and remembering all the while that we're young.

However, Neheisel is not using being young as an excuse and also making sure the coaches including himself bear responsibility for how the team plays and prepares every week:

"We can do better as a coaching staff. I do not want to shirk responsibility from us. It's too easy to say, 'Well, we're just too young.' We have enough to be successful. We've proven we can be successful. We need to play within ourselves and be efficient."

In terms of the QB play CRN is sticking with Prince but keeping Brehaut in the mix. More on that and other notes after the jump.

As mentioned above Neuheisel is staying with Prince as the starter but keeping Brehaut in the picture:

"I've been pretty clear that I want to keep looking to get Richard in the game. Kevin was not at his best. We weren't moving the ball. Sometimes just a change of pace is a good thing. It looked to me like a great spot to get Richard the chance. I'm not trying to create this controversy. I know it's a favorite of your profession, but no, Kevin Prince is the guy we chose, and we'll get Kevin Prince the chance to play this week. But I still want to keep Richard on the come."

I think it is clear what he is doing at this point. He is keeping the heat on both QBs so that they are competing hard at Spaulding Field. I think that is a healthy situation and given the comments we have seen from Prince this week it's clear that the players are getting it in terms of what they need to do to get on the field and hold to their starting assignments.

Going back to the point of consistency, it's an issue that our defense needs to address as well. While we have collectively directed lot of our frustration at our offense in last two weeks we can't forget about the breakdowns we had on defense in certain key moments hurting our chances to win the game:

"I thought defensively, we played terrifically probably 90 percent of the time," Neuheisel said. "Ten percent of the time ... Chuck Bullough said seven plays led to 170 yards of offense. Most of the times it's because we didn't tackle and wrap up. That's a huge lesson as we go into this game. If you don't get your arms around them, they'll make you pay, and pay dearly."

The Bruins have not made the opposition pay, both short and long, since defeating Kansas State 23-9 in Week 3. They've stalled when they need to surge, they've come up just short when they needed to get just a foot more, and they've looked every bit their age.

"Sometimes we move along scheme-wise and try to take what we see are opportunities, but are we ready to execute that stuff?" Neuheisel said.

"Sometimes when you've had more experience, you can point to a time earlier in a guy's career. Now, we don't have that luxury. But at the end of the day, it's always about execution."

Bruin defense gave up more than 150+ yards to LaMichael James this past weekend. While James has a great future ahead of him as a Pac-10 running back, at this stage of his career Best is way more dangerous. He is the kind of running back, who has the ability to single handedly dominate and embarrass the Bruin defense. So they will not have the luxury to take any plays off with sloppy and lazy tackling because just 3 to 5 plays here and there when Best rips of huge runs, will put the game out of our reach.

Honestly right now I have no idea what to expect from our football team this next weekend. One thing we can count on is that the Bears will come out with emotion and try to save their season. This is it for them. If the Bears some how lose this coming weekend, it will not only be a long season for them, it will intensify the discussions up North about Tedford's long term future in Strawberry Canyon (which is a little surreal given the job the guy has done putting together a good program and rebuiling it from sad Holmoe days). So they are going to come out with a desperate sense of urgency with the intetion of blasting the Bruins out of the gate and taking out their frustrations from last two weeks.

The question for us is whether not only the Bruins will be able to match that intensity but also play the smart and consistent football we saw in flashes during first three games of the season (or arguably for 50 mins this past weekend at the Rose Bowl). A positive answer this weekend at the Rose Bowl will do wonders for Neheisel's second year in Westwood.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Ducks Coming In As Favorites, Rusty Prince & Questions Around Bruin Defense

Nestor — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:38:45 -0000

Let's pick up where I left off in our roundup from yesterday am. Reading through all the game related articles and posts from Oregon outlets it seems folks who follow the Ducks are pretty comfortable heading into this weekend's game even without Jeremiah Masoli. The sense I get around this game from people who are not UCLA fans is that with Nate Costa in charge it's not a matter of whether they will beat up UCLA, it's just that they won't get to blow the Bruins out. Case in point here is Sam Saig from All Pac-10 blog:

I believe there are many reasons to pick the upset here, but something tells me Oregon will find a way. Costa understands Chip Kelly’s system well, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him flourish (just as LaMichael James has been great at RB in place of Blount). The UCLA run defense is good, but Stanford proved that it is not impenetrable. I also love the way Oregon’s defensive front seven is playing, so Prince (or Craft) may be in for a very long day if the pass rush looks like it has over the past couple of weeks.

I see the resilient Ducks pulling this one out in Pasadena.

Prediction: Oregon 30 – UCLA 24

And from his colleague Dave Consolazio:

Even with the injuries, I think Oregon has what it takes to win this game. What it really comes down to is mental toughness, something the Ducks didn’t show a whole lot of the last time they headed out on the road. I’m going to trust them to get the job done this time around; but it’ll come down to the wire.

Prediction: Oregon 27 – UCLA 23

The Sports Network from SBN is essentially making the same prediction:

The Ducks are firing on all cylinders at the moment, but they are in for a fight against UCLA and its stingy defense. Still, Oregon has enough weapons and a solid defense itself, and that should be enough to propel the visiting team to victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Oregon 28, UCLA 24

Ted Miller is sticking with conventional wisdom and staying on the Ducks bandwagon:

Oregon 28, UCLA 20: UCLA gets its starting quarterback, Kevin Prince, back. Oregon likely will go with its backup quarterback, Nate Costa. The Ducks are back on the road for the first time since Boise State. UCLA is pretty stout on defense. Lots of reasons suggest a potential upset. But the Ducks have so much momentum, it's hard to jump off the bandwagon.

I understand that lot of UCLA fans will get upset reading those predictions. Hey they bug me to no end either. There is not much we can say right now though, given where our program cratered after years of Toledo and Dorrell's malaise last year and how current coaches are battling to reestablish it piece by piece. The effort up in Palo Alto against a good Stanford team didn't help because of the way Stanford offense dominated our strength - defense - during the first three quarters of the game. So it's pretty reasonable for impartial observers to perceive Oregon as the favorites heading into this Saturday's matchup.

But remember what happened last year up in Eugene. With Masoli and Blount Ducks beat the Bruins by 7 points. They came out and blitzed us early on and went up by a score of 14-0 (man that's a tired, familiar theme for a Bruin defense), yet the Bruins even with Kevin Craft at charge had a shot in the fourth quarter. So it's not unreasonable for uson the other hand to believe we have a decent shot ourselves of pulling out a victory over a solid team this weekend at the Rose Bowl.

Obviously lot of our chances depend on the health of Kevin Prince and the mindset of our defense, which failed to impose their will and make necessary adjustments early on this past weekend, letting the game get away. More on that aftrer the jump.

Let's start with Prince. Jon Gold posted after practice yesterday:

Kevin Prince looked a full day better than yesterday, and it appears that he only really needs to shake off some rustiness, rather than any lingering effects from missing three weeks.

Chris Foster's LAT report was mixed:

Prince struggled through practice, missing on more than a handful of throws. Yet, he also displayed arm strength and was on target enough to be in line to start.

"I didn't make as much progress as I would like," Prince said. "You don't want to miss wide-open receivers. I know where to go with the ball and I don't feel my decision making is leading me astray. It's just accuracy and timing on throws. If I'm not done tomorrow, then I'm going to have to do some extra work Friday to make sure it's right for Saturday."

Needless to say it will be imperative for our OL and RBs to provide adequate protection for Prince tomorrow against a solid Oregon defense. Actually our guys have done a pretty good job of it so far this season but I am sure QB protection is going to be a point of emphasis in this week's practice. Sports Network has more on Oregon's defense which has also taken their game up another notch last couple of weeks:

Last weekend, the Ducks were outstanding on defense as they held WSU to a mere 158 yards of offense, including just 51 through the air. The unit surrendered a measly four first downs and added three takeaways and four sacks to the dominating effort.

"The best thing about this defense is how they compete," said coach Kelly. "They have come to play every game so far and we are going to ride them. We are encouraging where our defense is at right now. They are continuing to build."

Will Tukuafu, who had 7.5 sacks in 2008, finally got on the board with his first two sacks in the blowout win and his emergence is certainly a good thing for the Ducks.

I think one way the UCLA offense can get it going is if they find a way to stretch the Oregon defense. I am not talking about throwing some deep passes (which I am sure we will see with Prince back in action) or calling for short passing plays (which we have seen a lot of under Craft). I think it would be good for our coaches to add on few more dimensions to our running game.

Instead of just getting out backs to explode between the tackles, I'd like them to work in some tosses and stretch plays and run outside. I think we have the speed in Jet Skit, Knox and Thigpen to make that happen. We already saw what Thigpen can do. I remember the move Knox put on the Tenessee defender on a screen pass in Neyland and Jet Ski ... well has the speed. So it would be good to get our backs to run to the outside beat more and have them use their athletcism and speed in open spaces. See what they can do. Just a thought.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side the guys are preparing for both Masoli and Costa:

"You got one guy who's a better passer and one guy who's a better runner," UCLA defensive end Korey Bosworth said. "He'll run that speed option, the other that bubble screen. It's like two different games in one day. What would I rather see? Whatever they've got. Whatever they throw at us."

If it's Costa, the Ducks will almost certainly throw more.

Masoli, and the option comes out.

While Masoli is the better runner and Costa might be more a pure passer, I think the Bruin defense needs to prepare themselves for a multi dimensional thread no matter who is at QB. More importantly and I know I am sounding like a broken record here, they need to come out and make a statement in the first quarter. They haven't done it the entire season and it really caught up with the team this past weekend, when falling behind against a grinding, clock eating offense killed our realistic chances to win the game. Marcia Smith of all people actually has a decent piece on our defense and their mindset heading into the Oregon game:

The Bruins have their statistical walls to throw in front of the Ducks. The defense ranks in the league's upper half in every statistical category: second in scoring allowed (15.5 points per game), third in total yards allowed (281.2), fourth against the pass (192.0) and fifth against the rush (99.2).

Safety Rahim Moore leads the nation in interceptions with five in four games and is tops in the Pac-10 with nine passes defended. Linebacker Reggie Carter ranks sixth in the conference in tackles (7.8 per game). Preseason All-America junior Price, who has drawn double-team attention, ranks third in tackles for loss (seven solo TFLs).

The numbers didn't matter after the defeat, when all the defensive players wanted to do was think about the tackles they missed, the penalties that hurt and, as Price said, "all the times we shot ourselves in the foot."

Pride was what left them in the post-game locker room with their heads hanging the lowest, their postures the most slackened and their words the most self-critical.

Carter said, "We should have held up better against them," while teammate Bosworth looked ahead, saying "We (the players on defense) feel really terrible about what happened here (at Stanford). We're devastated as a unit and, I promise you, we'll be ready for Oregon."

This was pride talking and a program growing. Now the Bruin D just wants to get rid of the sting.

Making a statement right out of the gate this Saturday will certainly help.

GO BRUINS.

BN Gameday Roundup: Bruins Set For Stanford's Power Attack?

Nestor — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:02:43 -0000

Just few more hours to go till our kickoff. I think we have done a pretty good job of exhausting the various story lines around this game in last two weeks. The game day stories both from the LA and Bay Area newspapers don't really offer up anything new this morning. Still might as well go through them before we immerse ourselves into college football Saturday. The main storyline around today's game will obviously be Gergart and Stanford's offense showdown against the UCLA defense. At the same time an anxious Bruin Nation is going to hold its collective breath to see how Craft led UCLA offense can manage the game on the road.

We will start with the key matchup of the day which will be headline by Gerhart and Reggie Carter. The emotional leader of the Bruin defense and his team-mates seem fired up and ready to go:

"Physical, physical, physical," Carter said. "I've been waiting for a game like this again. Playing Tennessee was great, but then Kansas State came in and started hitting us with that crazy spread stuff.

"Stanford plays old-fashioned, downhill football. They have a downhill back, and an aggressive offensive line. I'm looking forward to this game.

"I'm not going to trash talk. They say they're physical. I'm not going to back down. I'm going to be ready and waiting for them." [...]

The Bruins are ranked ninth nationally against the run. Stanford, with 235-pound Toby Gerhart averaging 129 yards rushing behind a line that averages 297 pounds, is 11th nationally in rushing offense. [...]

"We know these guys are runners," said UCLA defensive end Korey Bosworth. "That's what they say, their bread and butter is that power play. As far as I can tell, we're not too bad against the run. When we get a team that runs the ball, I really look forward to it."

Neheisel and co will be looking to Carter and Bosworth to manage the point of Stanford attack:

"You better put on your big-boy pads," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. "They come at you.

"We've been fairly stout in the early part of the season but this is going to be the biggest test thus far. We've got to be able to manage the point of attack. It's going to be a great challenge for our guys in the front seven."

Offensively, Stanford's point of attack will be Gerhart, who ran for a career-high 200 yards in last week's victory over Washington.

Gerhart isn't the kind of running back who is going to fake out would-be defenders with side-to-side moves. If you're in his way, he'll run right over you. It's a technique that resulted in 1,136 yards and 5.4 yards per carry in 2008.

However, Bruin defense will have more than Gerhart to worry about. Stanford has a solid QB in Andrew Luck who has done a pretty good job of managing the game as a red shirt freshman. Although Harbaugh hasn't depended on Luck's arm, his production has been extremely efficent as he has complete 50 out of 83 passes with 4 touchdowns and 2 picks. Luck also has decent weapons to throw to Owusu and Ryan Whalen.

We have talked about Owusu's game breaking ability (specifically in the special teams) this week, but we can't forget about Whalen who has teamed up with Owusu for 29 catches and 470 yards, giving Luck couple of dependable targets. It is going to be a huge challenge for our defense. They have been able to shut down our previous three opponents (keeping them within 300 yards). It is going to be interesting to see whether they can do the same today. Meanwhile, on the other end it is going to be interesting to see how the offense with Craft under center performs on the road. More on them after the jump.

All week we have been talking about how our defense is going to handle Gerhart. The Bruin offensive running attack in contrast hasn't gotten a lot of attention. Jon Gold from the Daily News writes:

The Bruins counter with a bit of lightning to Gerhart's thunder. While not nearly as prolific as the Cardinal's hot start on the ground, UCLA's running game has shown vast improvement over last season, with redshirt freshman Johnathan Franklin and sophomore Derrick Coleman leading the way. Franklin has rushed for 242 yards and two touchdowns on 52 carries, for a 4.7 average, and Coleman has picked up 116 yards and a score on just 18 carries.

With all the hype surrounding Stanford's running game, the Bruins believe it is their turn to get some attention.

"There's been a lot of talk about that, but I think the guys up front are ready," redshirt sophomore center Kai Maiava said. "We're ready to prove ourselves, get the respect we deserve."

Well, we will find out what they can do at the Farm. I am particularly curious to see what Knox can do today. While Franklin and Coleman have been pretty solid this season, I would love to see Chow throwing in few screen plays for Knox or get him out on the open field, so he can show some of the moves he displayed at Neyland stadium. In addtion to Knox, Norm Chow will have Christian Ramirez at his disposal today. Christian of course had a pretty memorable game in his first trip to Palo Alto. However, that was a long time ago under a different coach against a completely different Stanford team in Harbaugh's first season.

Not sure if I need to go over the Kevin Craft factor. Everyone here is well aware of it. The kid hasn't had a good game on the road in his UCLA career. However, that history is from last year when he played a team with no offensive line and thus credible running attack featuring a gimpy senior (full of heart) and a true freshman. Hopefully the offensive line today will come through with some pass protection giving Craft some time to execute on offense.

We have also talked about the revenge factor. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

"Everybody remembers the UCLA game last year, especially the defense," linebacker Clinton Snyder said. "All offseason, we said, 'We've got to finish.' "

Harbaugh called it "a bitter defeat" that "stuck in everybody's craw in the offseason." He said of the final drive that his players want "to make darn sure it never happens again."

Well. We will see how it works out for them. On our end we hope it works out like it did last time Bruins went on the road against a team hungry for the same kind of revenge. For more on today's game here are the writeups from the AP, Chris Foster (LAT), and Chris Dufresne (LAT).

We will have our game thread up about 30 minutes before the kickoff. Don't forget to get your pregame guesses in as we will close that thead when the game one goes up. Might also throw up a pre game thread right in about an hour. Enjoy the Saturday.

GO BRUINS.

Tobi Umodu, A BNer Blogs About UCLA Football In The New York Times

Nestor — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:28:33 -0000

We have known for a while that there are few guys in our football team like to write. We have been tracking ATV's blogs posts through out this summer. We have been following ATV's weekly posts on the official site which started this past summer. We have also blogged a number of times about a weekly column in a local paper entitled "Keeping it Bruin: A Look Into UCLA Athletics," written by ATV's team-mate - Tobi Umodu. Actually Toby himself has fanshotted his column here on BN.

Well it looks like Tobi has made the big time. He is now going to be blogging periodically in the Quad, the college football blog for the New York Times. In his first post Tobi gives us a little taste about the camaraderie that exists among UCLA football team:

My football team at U.C.L.A. is no exception. Our team consists of more than 100 guys from different walks of life and different racial backgrounds, but we have no problem getting along with each other. One good example would be life in our locker room. Some of my teammates set up speakers so they can play music while we get ready for practice or just hang out. Every day, the music being played is by a rap, hip hop, or R&B artist, and everyone enjoys it, dancing along and singing the lyrics. Now I’m sure some of them would rather listen to country or rock than Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy, but no one would ever know.

Another interesting thing: the nicknames. I have a few personal nicknames for some of my teammates who are good friends. First is Alterraun Verner, who I’m sure many of you have heard of. He is on every watch list you can think of and is an all-American candidate at cornerback. Some people like to call him Al, a few broadcasters call him ATV, but to us in the locker room he is fondly known as the Receptionist because of all the attention he receives. He probably won’t like that I wrote that but since we are a family I’m sure he will forgive me.

Next is running back Jonathan Franklin. He is a bit different from everyone else because he has quite a few nicknames. People on the team call him Flaps, Jet Ski, among other names, but I prefer to call him Hollywood Ski because he used to be on the show "Baldwin Hills" on BET. My fellow fullbacks Chane Moline, Trevor Theriot, and Jason Almond all have their own nicknames as well. I like to call Chane, Sugar Chane Moline; everyone refers to Trevor as Moose (I’m still not quite sure why); and Jason Almond is called Almond Joy for obvious reasons.

You can read rest of his post here. You will want to click on it because it's a fantastic read.

All I can say, congrats Tobi. Now it would be even cooler if you come back here and cross post your stuff in our fanposts. We know you are reading.

GO BRUINS.