SB Nation - Darius Savage

Spaulding Roundup: "Arizona State. Nothing Else Matters"

Nestor — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:57:14 -0000

by Paul Connors - AP

Erickson and his ASU are in the same boat as Neuehisel's UCLA program

Well I knew one of these days football was going to put Ben Ball in the backburner here on Bruin Nation but I didn't think it was going to get here so fast. lol As much of a downer the unthinkable loss (and we will probably have few more of those this season) against Cal State Fullerton was last night, right now my mind is completely locked into the huge football game on Saturday. I really hope everyone around Southern California - students, alums and fans - make an effort to pack the Rose Bowl this weekend because to me this might be the biggest game of the season.

While given our "Bruin instincts" it is natural for all us to think about that last game of the season, right now nothing else except ASU matters. CRN set that message yesterday in Westwood (emphasis added):

Just don't ask the Bruins to talk about any bowl games or crosstown showdowns that might exist beyond their home finale Saturday.

"Arizona State. Nothing else matters," coach Rick Neuheisel said Monday. "There's conversations all around about things that can't help us. Our conversations will center around the Sun Devils and what we have to do against a fine football team, and we'll give ourselves a chance for all of those other conversations to matter."

He knows full well how big this game is for both teams:

"I know they, like us, are trying to finish the season with a flurry," Neuheisel said. "And I know this game looms large for both programs, so looking forward to the game ahead, (we) keep grinding and keep pushing. (We're) very excited about the challenge. I think we're improving. I see signs."

Bruins will look for more signs this weekend taking on an Arizona State defense which plays at a whole different level than our previous two opponents. Jon Gold from the Daily News writes:

The Sun Devils rank 15 th in the country in total defense while surrendering just 301 yards per game and are 29 th in scoring defense at just 21 points per game.

Arizona State has 68 total tackles for loss and 22 sacks, with nine players registering more than five tackles for loss. Leading the way is defensive tackle Saia Falahola with 72.

"This is a very, very good defense, no question about it," Neuheisel said.

"Solid across the board. They've got a great pass rush, great run-stopping. We're going to have to make some plays and be a balanced team this week. It's going to require a great offensive plan."

A great offensive plan this weekend will entail providing some balance to Kevin Prince's recent breakout performances in last few weeks. More on that after the jump.

Arizona State is not going to throw a lot of surprises at our offense. They are going to bring the heat with their defensive front and try to disrupt Kevin Prince from getting into any kind of rhythm. Saturday is going to be a challenge for Prince. I think he will have opportunities to go deep here and there during the game. However, more importantly for him he will have to keep moving the chains by spraying short and medium range passes to make that defense a little more elastic.

Hopefully Prince through some early completions will able to get the Sun Devils front-7 a little off balance and set up the running game for JetSki, Coleman and Knox. Speaking of our running game, the LA Times has the following from CRN:

"We believe we have the makings of a good running game," Neuheisel said. "We just have to keep banging away to find the right combinations."

Franklin leads the team with 532 yards rushing, but his fumbles have been a concern for two weeks.

"He just needs to get his confidence back," Neuheisel said. "Sometimes talking about something so much it becomes like, 'Don't think about the blue elephant over there.' "

Another option is fullback Chane Moline, who the Bruins have been turning to in the red zone the last two weeks.

While Chane is finishing off his senior season in style, we need Jet Ski to get back into it. We need him badly. If we can somehow manage to get him back in the same groove he found himself in before he tweaked his ankle against Cal, it would be a huge boost to our offense.

Meanwhile, on the other end ASU's QB situation remains unclear:

Coach Dennis Erickson said he won't decide on a starter for Saturday's game at UCLA until seeing how healthy senior Danny Sullivan (right biceps) and true freshman Brock Osweiler (left shoulder) are during practice. Also, sophomore Szakacsy's right elbow, an issue since the preseason, could be a factor coming off his most-extensive playing time.

"We've got to see how his elbow is," Erickson said of Szakacsy. "When he throws for a long period of time, it bothers him. His arm is not as strong as it was last spring, but it's getting there. He's got a pretty good chance to get back to full strength by spring (2010). He's very accurate and made some good throws (against Oregon)."

Erickson, like CRN has also been dealing with injury issues:

Players out for the season are offensive linemen Matt Hustad (knee), Zach Schlink (knee) and Mike Marcisz (shoulder); tight ends Dan Knapp (knee), Stanley Malamala (jaw) and Chris Coyle (foot); wide receivers T.J. Simpson (ankle) and Brandon Smith (knee); defensive linemen Corey Adams (back), Otis Jones (knee) and Jonathan English (knee); linebacker Gerald Munns (elbow); and cornerbacks Omar Bolden (knee) and Osahon Irabor (wrist).

Irabor and Coyle are true freshmen who would have played this season but instead are redshirting.

The most-recent losses are Hustad, Knapp and Munns.

Tom Njunge will replace Hustad at right tackle. Jovon Williams, if healthy, or Trevor Kohl will play at tight end, with Steven Figueroa also an option. Travis Goethel, the starting strong-side linebacker, also becomes the backup at middle behind Vontaze Burfict.

Burfict is a handful. I hope Kevin Prince takes some sliding lessons this week because if he gets an opportunity Burfict is going to do to Prince what Maluauga did to Cowan few years ago. This is a game in which Prince will have to play it safe when he finds himself in a collision course.

On our end it looks like Pressley will be out for another weekend. We could also get Jerzy Siewierski and Ryan Taylor back in action this weekend. Their replacements - Jess Ward and Darius Savage (respectively) - did a solid job last weekend. Hopefully the rest of the team can come out this weekend with the same tunnel vision they displayed up in Pullman.

GO BRUINS.

Moving Forward: Bruins Need One More Win (And Focus On Arizona State)

Nestor — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:36:07 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

about 1 month ago: UCLA tailback Derick Coleman (33) runs the ball as Washington State linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis, right, defends during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. UCLA won 43-7. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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I know lot of us are dying to think about that last regular game of the season (especially after what transpired yesterday) but this is not the time for any of us to look ahead. It looks like we did have a good reason to feel slightly better after that fourth quarter against Oregon State, when we got the sense that it was time to rally around our Bruins. Well something is clearly working right now and it feels good.

Yes, last night's blowout win was only against lowly Washington State. We could have looked lot better than we did against Paul Wulff's demoralized bunch. Yet, I still think there is something little encouraging about that performance because it was one of those games we have seen UCLA football team either choke away or make it unnecessarily hard on themselves to win over the years. We now hope our team can keep it going by locking in on the next opponent which is capable of ruining senior day at the Rose Bowl.

Let's start with something CRN did to get his players in the right mindset to deal with the elements. From the LA Times:

Neuheisel's cold-weather preparation included holding Friday night's team meeting outside in a snow storm.

"I was amazed how many of our guys had never been in snow before," Neuheisel said. "It gave us the right mind-set."

Still, it was cold.

He also made his players get a little taste of snowball fights so that they could "get used to the weather":

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel had his players throw snowballs, while his kid threw touchdown passes.

UCLA players hardly seemed uptight heading into today’s game at Washington State. A snowstorm Friday night had a handful of Bruins outside throwing snowballs at each other for a half hour.

The frolicking was the result of Neuheisel’s instructions to go outside and get used to the weather.

Yeah, his son - Jerry Neuheisel - threw a 45-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-11 play with 31 seconds left to give Loyola a 41-37 victory over Crespi (which I guess was a good omen for the weekend). Anyway, going back to the game, what I liked about iur guys was how they looked confident. They weren't cocky as team leaders like Reggie Carter struck all the right notes before the game as he was gracious towards a struggling team. Our guys had the look of a locked in football team that knew exactly what was at stake and what they needed to hold on to the momentum Rahim Moore and co grabbed to end the Washington game on our home coming weekend. It is going to be a challenge for us to hold on to that momentum next weekend against a very good defensive team. However, if we can continue to build on the successes of last 9 quarters, this will truly turn out to be a Novermbet to remember.

As noted in the post game thread, Kevin Prince was the head line grabber. He had a great game by all accounts. Yet CRN (as he mentioned during half time) though Prince could have played even better:

"When you're enjoying this kind of success, it's almost like going down the cafeteria line and trying to grab everything," Neuheisel said. "You have to maintain your patience. I thought Kevin tried to make throws down the field instead of taking what they were giving him underneath."

Prince completed 27 of 40 passes, as Neuheisel, said, "I thought he did a nice job getting back to the scheme." Practice-like corrections made possible by the scout-team-like defense Washington State offered.

I thought we saw that in Prince during the second half, especially after the Cougars scored a TD. Prince drove the team down for our own TD drive during when he was methodically looking of his primary and secondary targets. He also did a great job during the two min drill to end the first half when he was finding Moline for little check downs:

Prince hit Moline four times on the ensuing drive for 35 yards, meticulously going through his reads until settling short, and the Bruins chopped their way down the field to set up a 38-yard field goal by junior kicker Kai Forbath.

"All week in practice we knew the check-downs were going to be a big factor in the game," said Moline, who finished with three carries for 25 yards and seven catches for 60 yards. "We check-released, we checked down from linebackers, and especially in that two-minute drive when I got all those catches, Prince was checking down the field and no one was there."

Moline had himself a great game which you can read more about here and here.

However, the fact that Moline was our most productive running back is a cause for concern. Derrick Coleman had a decent game yesterday rushing for 50 yards in 12 carries. Our entire team (thanks largely due to Prince's 68 yard rumble down the sidelines) rushed for 232 yards which is not too bad against a bad Washington State defense. However, Coleman to me appears more as a servicable full back than a feature tailback. He did a better job of falling forward yesterday though which is a positive but I think he will have tougher times against team with average or better defensive speed (like the one we are going to face next weekend at home).

JetSki's fumbling issue is a real problem now. Not sure what else the coaches can do. They have sent every message they possibly can. It's a matter of him playing with focus and concentration on every down. Milton Knox picked up some decent chunk of yardage during garbage time. Yet he looked unsure in the fact of Coguar blitzes and failed to hit the hole with authority on a key 3rd and 1 in third quarters. Thigpen has a lot of promise but he doesn't have the frame to be a every down back. Christian Ramirez is just too brittle and inconsistent to have a discernible impact. So, you can see why getting both Malcolm Jones and Jordon James were big deal for this year's recruiting class. It looks like we have a QB of the future slowly emerging in Chow's offense. We now need a back or two, who can costar with the Prince.

Our OL did a decent job of providing pass protection. However, there were moments of sloppiness that needs to be cleaned up. Darius Savage didn't look totally comfortable at RG stepping for Ryan Taylor. I thought our OL's overall run blocking performance was pretty mediocre against an atrocious defensive line. Also, our OL looked somewhat unprepared for WSU blitzes when it seemed like opposing LBers was getting to Prince untouched. Again, it's something we really have to work on this game week to prepare for a solid Arizona State defense.

Moving on to the other side Akeem and Brian Price were the two big stars in last night's defense. From Jon Gold in the Daily News here are Kyle Bosworth's comments on what BP did to the Cougars' offense:

"BP has always had his name out on the leaderboard, but with Akeem, it's really good to see him kind of shine today," Bosworth said. "Two picks is huge for anybody, and it's good to see him with those two sacks.

"I'm happier for him, but BP did great - I know he'll be in the league one of these days, and this is one of the games that's going to help him do that."

Price racked up three tackles for loss, which makes him Pacific-10 leader with 16.5 for the season. He also has 5 sacks to go along with those stats. There is not much I can add to make him sound more incredible than he already is. I cherish watching this kid play just like I enjoyed recent great Ben Ball warriors such as KL, RW, LRMAM, AA, and DC. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he can add to his legend on a week by week basis (because I won't blame him if he decides to jump provided he gets positive feedback from NFL draft whizes during the off season).

In addition to Price, Akeem had a great game as he benefited from a new look Bullough through at the Cougs:

For the first time this year, UCLA defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough lined up Ayers on the defensive line in a three-point stance, allowing Ayers to burst off the ball at the point of contact. He said both of his sacks were from the formation.

That is sure to catch the eye of those in the NFL, as well, as hybrid pass-rushers - those who can play both in coverage and on the line of scrimmage - have become in vogue in 3-4 defenses.

"It wasn't anything really new to me," said Ayers, who played his sophomore and junior seasons in high school at defensive end. "I'm used to being in a three-point and getting a pass rush. I definitely can see myself doing something like that - I'm athletic enough to stand up and drop into coverage, but I'm also able to rush the passer."

Hope Akeem can build on this weekend's performance to put together another consistent outing next against Arizona State.

While Akeem and BP had great games, I am getting worried about Reggie Carter's contribution to our defense. Reggie Carter is a great Bruin and solid leader for this football team. He is definitely the emotional heart and soul of our defense. However, the more I have watched him in recent weeks, the more its becoming clear to me that he is not the same Reggie we have seen over the years. It looks like his injury is really bothering him. He doesn't have the same ability to move around from MLB spot and he routined finds himself away from the action. Just look at the game tape from Tennessee and compare it what we saw yesterday. It's not even close.

Apparently Reggie is trying to will himself through these last few games of his Bruin career. The coaches tried to take him out during early in the fourth quarter but he wouldn't come out. So per the LA Times the coaches had to take a time out to get Reggie out of the game:

"That was the first time since I have been at UCLA that we have been ahead by so much that they were taking me out of the game," Carter said. "I told them, 'No, let me stay.' Then coach told me he didn't want me to get hurt. So I apologize, but I just wanted to enjoy the moment."

I think Reggie needs to rest up a bit. I think it could potentialy be worth it to use him as sparingly as possible next weekend against Arizona State and perhaps use Steve Sloan at the MLB spot, who did a servicable job last year when he took over for Christian Taylor. Guess, this is an issue we will have to defer to the coaches who have shown pretty good judgment wrt to injury issues this season (See the cautioun they showed with Aaron Hester).

Our punt return performance continues to be a concern. Terrence Austin had another fumble yesterday, which luckily for us went out bounce. He also had a fumble against Washington State during kick return the previous weekend. Terrence has to clean this up. He is running out of time in his last few games as a Bruin.

On the flip side, Sean Westgate came out with a huge punt block. It's not the first time he has made big plays a special teamer (remember the punt block he had against Tennessee last season at the Rose Bowl). I also liked the intensity Damien Thigpen showed during punt coverage even when we were up by a huge margin late in second half. Damien sprinted down the field during Locke punt and dove to down the ball at 2 yard line even when we were up by a score of 43-7. That kind of little details tells us something about the character of the team under its head coach.

Going back to big picture as good as we feel this Sunday, it is important that we don't get carried away. Tracy Pierson from Bruin Report Online had a solid breakdown of the game, in which he rightfully warns UCLA fans to not get too carried away. However, Tracy ended with the following encouraging notes (not behind a subscription firewall at the time of this post):

UCLA’s 556 total offensive yards were better than Arizona (471), Arizona State (410), and Stanford (481).

In fact, it was better than what USC did in the Coliseum against WSU (403), or even Oregon in Eugene (514).

UCLA’s defense held WSU to 180 yards, compared to the 185 yards WSU gained against Arizona, 206 against Notre Dame, 440 against Cal (what the heck?), 181 against Arizona State, 229 against USC, and 351 against Stanford.

Yeah, WSU was without its starting quarterback when it played UCLA, but Jeff Tuel didn’t even play in some of those other games.

So let’s overlook the actual play on the field and go with that. It’s so much more fun to look at it that way, huh?

Regardless if you’re the type who watched that game and came away satisfied (Blue), or came away thinking there wasn’t much you could take away from it and it didn’t give you great expectations for facing ASU and USC (Crank) – or a little bit of both (most of us) – it was good to see UCLA have an easy, blow-out win for the first time in a while. It clearly kept Prince and Co. in the same productive, offensive rhythm established in the OSU 4th quarter and against Washington last week, which is a good thing. It’s also good that the defense maintained its bottom-line successful M.O. – looking vulnerable but doing enough to put UCLA in a position to win.

In other words, at this late stage of this season the team under CRN's leadership continues to move forward. We now have 5 wins which on paper at least is clear step forward from last season. We now need our boys to take lock in and focus for another game week to get that much talked about 6th win next weekend at the Rose Bowl. That's all we should be thinking and talking about till next Saturday. If we can accomplish the objective of getting our 6th win, we will have our program in a pretty decent spot heading into last regular game of 2009 season. So, let's just all focus on Arizona State just like we have been taking it game by game since Oregon State.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Are We Ready For A "Cold" Palouse?

Nestor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:12:23 -0000

If you haven't had the chance to do it you should listen to the podcast Ryan and Josh did last night going over UCLA's game against Washington State. They also hosted Nuss from CougCenter to preview the Cougars, who graciously offered his perspectives on what can expect tomorrow. There is no sugar coating the kind of dismal season Cougars have had in recent years. Given the circumstances it is pretty damn admirable how Nuss and his colleagues are sticking with the program through their darkest of hours. While he is being realistic about the Cougars' chances tomorrow, on our end I can't help but feel worried about our mindset heading into Palouse.

We have talked all week about how Palouse hasn't been a great place for UCLA football. Yes, we did experience a sort of miracle in 2005 when we won the game despite the "leadership" of Karl Dorrell. Except for that game though Martin Stadium has been a house of horrors. In the back of my mind I can't help but be worried about the mindset of a UCLA program which seems to have a tendency to read too much of its press clippings, when news/momentum breaks its way. There is also the weather factor for a Southern California based football team. Ted Miller from WWL writes:

If there were any arguments in favor of the Cougars notching the upset, weather would be a major factor -- particularly against a warm-weather team like UCLA.

"It depends on how cold it is on the day you play," Wulff said. "It could. No question it could."

The Cougars are just glad to be home. They've played five of their last six games on the road against five ranked teams.

As pointed out earlier this week Cougars also have Dwight Tardy who tore up the UCLA defense last time we visited Pullman couple of years ago. Our rush defense has been abysmal in recent weeks. It will be imperative for our front-7 to step up and make a statement early on against a Cougar team, which will try to build on any signs of life it can muster up in the early stages of the game. We just can't afford to give those guys any sense of hope or momentum in the first quarter. More after the jump.

Nuss noted last night that it looks like Cougars will be indeed with our freshman QB Jeff Tuel tomorrow. Tuel has given them a spark this season. The Spokesman Review wrote about how the Cougars (kind of like the Bruins) have gone through their own QB carousel this year:

The Cougars (1-8, 0-6 Pac-10) have used three starting quarterbacks this season: senior Kevin Lopina, who was the opening day quarterback; sophomore Marshall Lobbestael, who took over in the third game; and freshman Jeff Tuel, who earned the job in the fifth game and has kept it since.

But Tuel was sidelined in last week’s defeat to Arizona with a slight dislocation of his kneecap and probably will not be available against UCLA (4-5, 1-5) Saturday.

Lobbestael relieved and hooked up with Karstetter on a 64-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown that was a direct result of both being "on the same page."

A play was called. Lobbestael changed it. Karstetter studied the coverage and signaled a new route. Reading the change, Lobbestael lofted the ball out front, Karstetter snatched it with one hand, shed the defender and scored.

It was Karstetter’s sixth touchdown reception – he’s tied with James Rodgers of Oregon State for the Pac-10 lead – and third in three games.

"It was a great play, but I have complete confidence, Jeff and I and any of the quarterbacks, we all have complete trust in all the receivers," Lobbestael said.

Again it's worth repeating: Bruins are not in position to get comfortable against any team at this point of their rebuilding process. Lobbestale and Karstetter, I am sure have taken note of how opposing QBs have gone directly after ATV (who has been dealing with some injury issues) and Sheldon Price. So our guys better be locked in and ready.

Lastly, I will end with a quick note on the offensive side. It looks like Junior offensive lineman Jake Dean will get the start at right guard, with junior Darius Savage rotating in, in place of junior Ryan Taylor. Hopefully Jake can step up the same way Taylor did in last two weeks. We will need our OL to give Prince the same protection they have provided in last two weeks. It has played a huge role in Prince's emergence has a productive passer. Let's hope they can all stay in rhythm tomorrow afternoon in the Palouse.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Prince Update, Curing Fumbilitis & Staying In Offensive Rhythm

Nestor — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:53:14 -0000

More photos » by Wily Low - AP

Got to hold on to the football.

Browse more photos »

Bruins continue to prepare for Washington State with an eye on the health of Kevin Prince. The LAT reported Prince looked "sharp" in his return to practice yesterday while the OC Register described him as "alert." Prince still has to go through a "series of tests" this week before the UCLA medical staff clears him for Saturday's game in Pullman. Al Balderas has more on various tests Prince has to pass before taking a snap against Washington State:

Prince said he felt good after Tuesday's practice but understood the protocol that he's required to go through when coming off such an injury.

"I can tell them all I want that I feel normal but they won't believe me," Prince said of the medical staff. "I've got to prove it."

The tests are fairly simple and seem to be more time consuming than anything. A lot of them are geared toward testing Prince's memory skills.

"I'm sure she'll do the same stuff like make me count backward by sevens from 100 and stuff like that," Prince said.

"There is little crazy stuff like that. She'll tell you five words and you have to tell them back to her five minutes later.

"They take good care of us."

We expect nothing less. Prince's OL will also be looking to take good care of him (or Craft) on Saturday. Those guys have been a clear marker of improvement for our offense this season in the form of providing better protection for our quarterbacks. That was evident against the Huskies last weekend when our OL made both Prince and Craft comfortable as both of them were finding time to look for their second and third options. From the Daily News:

"We're all on the same level now," freshman left tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo said. "Communication is excellent, right where it's supposed to be. We did notice on film that there were some broken plays and we still made them. As long as we keep doing our jobs, that can happen, even if the route isn't there."

Both Prince and Craft made plays outside the pocket after the Huskies' coverage broke down, and both quarterbacks were able to bide extra time to let plays develop.

The offensive line allowed two sacks, but one came under intense pressure, while the other was considered a coverage sack.

"When everyone talks about protection, they always just think it's with the offensive line," offensive line coach Bob Palcic said. "It's the receivers running the right routes at the right depth, it's the quarterback reading the right coverage and knowing where to go with the ball, and it's the offensive line holding up and preventing penetration."

"It's a three-pronged attack that has to work together."

Bruins will count on the OL to help stay in the rhythm they got in during the fourth quarter against Oregon State and continued through the Washington game. However, they will need to really cut down on their fumble issues.More on that issue and other notes after the jump.

Offense coughed up the ball 10 times in its last two games (recovering 7 of those fumbles). In Corvallis some of those fumbles stunted promising offensive drives while last weekend two of them led to Washington touch downs. So coaches are giving extra emphasis on ball security during practices this week:

"We definitely need to institute ball security back in practice," Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "Compared to what took place a year ago, the turnover rate has been good for us. But it has reared its ugly head and we have to go back to making it a huge point of emphasis."

The biggest culprits are the team’s leading passer and leading rusher. Quarterback Kevin Prince has nine fumbles, losing four. Tailback Johnathan Franklin has five, losing two. The two are also responsible for 10 of the Bruins' 14 offensive touchdowns.

Still, Franklin, who has been nursing a sore ankle, did not return to the game after fumbling at the start of the third quarter against Washington. He has been the most consistent running back this season, with 510 yards rushing and five touchdowns

That leads Neuheisel, when asked if there will be changes in personnel, to say, "I’m not sure we're ready to make that decision."

"Most of [Franklin’s] fumbles have been when he was close to the ground," Neuheisel said. "But the last one against Washington, he got the ball yanked out of his hands. We have to make sure he treats that thing like it’s sacred."

The answer this week will be more drills. Neuheisel said he had eliminated the ball-handling drills earlier in an effort to shorten practice, but he will re-introduce them this week.

"We’ll have guys run the gauntlet machine and other drills," Neuheisel said. "We’ll also make sure the scout team is involved. They have to try to get the ball out. There will be great concentration on this during the week. We can’t lose the ball. It’s too important."

Well it will be interesting to see how Prince, JetSki and rest of their team-mates hang on to the ball on Saturday. One of the reasons I thought we struggled holding on to the ball in Oregon State was because the conditions might have been a little slick (I thought it had rained in Corvallis earlier in the day, but I could be wrong on that count). The fumbles last week were inexcusable though. JetSki (he is not the only RB who has had fumble issues this year either) has to focus and concentrate with the rock. Hopefully the extra drills during practices will get the guys more game ready for Saturday.

Going back to the offensive line the LAT reports of a little shuffle due to an ankle sprain by Ryan Taylor:

Guard Ryan Taylor is not expected to play this week after suffering what Neuheisel called a sprained right foot against Washington.

Taylor, who was wearing a walking boot while watching practice, said that X-rays showed no broken bones but that "two of the bones by my toe have separated a little."

Darius Savage and Jake Dean will compete for the starting guard spot and both may play against Washington State on Saturday.

Savage started seven games at left guard last season. He has spent most of this season on the field-goal and kickoff-return units.

"I was a little rusty today because I have been playing tackle the last two or three weeks," Savage said. "I have to get my steps more compact and playing inside is more physical, which I prefer."

Offensive line coach Bob Palcic said, "I had Darius and Jake alternating with the first team, giving them equal time. I need to make sure they understand the proper techniques and assignments."

I thought Taylor did a great job last two weeks stepping in for injured Eddie Williams. Ekbatani really struggled when he was asked to step in during the Arizona game. When Ryan took over the spot he seemed to stablize it. Hopefully Savage or Dean make most of this opportunity.And, no I am not going to offer any commentary on Stan Hasiak (who is back in LA) except to wish him luck and root for him to get it together in a tough freshman season (away from parents and family in Hawaii).

On other injury news it sounds like Jerzy Siewierski suited up and went through half of practice yesterday. He might be ready to contribute on Saturday. If that's the case it's great news for our D. We can definitely use his motor in front-7. Although, I am sure if he gets in on Saturday, it will be for limited amount of time. Also, the coaches are slowly working Aaron Hester back into practice:

Redshirt freshman cornerback Aaron Hester was back at practice Tuesday after missing much of last week with discomfort following his return from a broken tibia. His status for the week is still undetermined after he worked mostly with the scout team in practice.

"Hester was back working today, getting acclimated with the scout team," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. "We're seeing if he can gain confidence. It's really a confidence issue with him."

Again I don't think there is any need to rush him back. It looks like Sheldon Price is slowly developing confidence at the corner spot. This weekend presents another huge opportunity for the freshman CB to take another step. My preference at this point is to let Price keep gaining his confidence and take as much time as possible so that Hester gets completely healthy. Also, note I though Andrew Abbott did a pretty good job from the nickle spot last weekend against the Husky offense.

To wrap this up I think the key for the entire team will be to zero in on execution on Saturday. I think the game is going to present a huge opportunity for the entire team to show what kind of composure it can exhibit as an obvious favorite. While Washington State no doubt will have some intangibles on its side as it will try to take advantage of its best opportunity to pick up a conference victory, our guys should be able to come in and take control of this game from the outset if it wants to keep charging towards a possible post season. If our gus on offense can eliminate the fumbling mistakes, continue to protect our QBs, and stay on a rhythm it found itself in back in Corvallis, we will have a great shot to keep the MO on our side during our flight back from Pullman.

GO BRUINS.

The Wait Is Over For Bruin Football: Practice Starts Today

Nestor — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:00:14 -0000

So it all starts today. As mentioned over the weekend the season gets started today with a "Media Day" in the morning and then first practice (which is open to public) at 3:30 pm PST. I am sure we are going to be reading stories from the Media Day and first practice starting tomorrow starting later this evening and with our usual roundup in the AM. Already there are few notes up on the official site that should get all of us ready for the camp.

Following the tweeter feed yesterday it was pretty clear the players were coming back to Westwood yesterday. Everyone of them sound excited and fired up (Case in point here is Taylor Embree). Here are the details from the official site:

On Sunday afternoon, the veteran UCLA football players reported to camp. The first team meeting is scheduled for tonight. On Saturday afternoon, the newcomers reported to camp and went through a series of orientation meetings on Sunday.

Monday's schedule includes position meetings in the morning and a short walkthrough. The players will participate in Media Day at noon and at the same time shoot portrait photos for television broadcasts and other material for the Rose Bowl video board.

The first practice is scheduled for 3:00 pm. For the first few days, head coach Rick Neuheisel and the coaches will split the team into two groups so the players can receive more one-on-one coaching from the staff. The first group will begin practice at 3:00 pm. The entire team will work on special teams for 20 minutes at 4:20 pm and then the second group will practice from 4:40 - 6:00 pm.

I hope some of you get to make it out there either today or sometime in the coming weeks. Just reading through the position overviews it becomes clear how intense the competition is going to be this year. We just need to have the players stay healthy. More details after the jump.

Note "several" of the walkons are not reporting for camp until after the first game or the start of school. Also, it looks like Jayson Allmond is another scholarship freshman who is not going to report because he is waiting for issues related to NCAA Clearinghouse issues to be resolved. Perhaps Brian Price can give him a call and tell the kid to hang in there.

The official site also posted whole bunch of pre-season notes. There were few details I found to be interesting and worth sharing. First here are the players we are going to have this season who missed entire if not most of last season due to injury and other issues:

WHO WAS MISSING -- The following players, who will return to the team for 2009, were listed in the 2008 pre-season two-deep or figured to play a prominent role, if available for action last season: Offense --- TE Logan Paulsen - missed 11 g to injury; OL Jeff Baca - missed 3 g to injury; OL Darius Savage - missed 2 g to injury; OL - Sean Sheller - missed all 12 g to injury; OL - Mike Harris - missed 7 g to injury; RB - Christian Ramirez - missed all 12 g due to academic eligibility issues; FB Trevor Theriot - missed 9 g to injury; Defense --- Kyle Bosworth - missed 10g to injury; DL - Jess Ward - missed 5 g due to injury; DL Reginald Stokes - missed 1 g due to injury.

So here is these guys staying healthy in 2009. All those injuries meant UCLA had a lot of cubbies getting action this past season:

YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE -- UCLA played a total of 22 freshmen (11 redshirt and 11 true freshmen) in the 2008 season. Sixteen of the twenty scholarship players included in that group are scheduled to return in 2009. Of that group of sixteen returning players, 11 have starting experience (Defense --- So. Rahim Moore, S - 12 g; So.R Steve Sloan, LB - 9 g; So. R Akeem Ayers, LB - 3 g; So. Datone Jones, DL - 2 g; So. Tony Dye, S - 1g; Offense --- So. Cory Harkey, TE - 7 g; So. Taylor Embree, WR - 8 g; So. Jeff Baca, OL - 8 g; So.R Nate Chandler, TE - 2 g; So. Derrick Coleman, RB - 1 g; So.R Mike Harris, OL - 5 g).

Needless to say it will be exciting to see how these guys can improve on this year. Also, a total of 29 players saw action for the first time in 2009:

FIRST ACTION -- A total of 29 players (17 offensive and 12 defensive) saw their first action as a Bruin during the 2008 season (11 true freshmen - seven offensive and four defensive players (LB Sean Westgate, S Rahim Moore, TE Cory Harkey, WR Taylor Embree, S Tony Dye, WR Antwan Moutra, WR Nelson Rosario, RB Aundre Dean, RB Derrick Coleman, OL Jeff Baca, DL Datone Jones); 11 redshirt freshmen - five defensive and six offensive players (DB Courtney Viney, LB Steve Sloan, LB Akeem Ayers, DB Glenn Love, OL/TE Nate Chandler, RB Raymond Carter, DL Justin Edison, WR Ryal Jagd, QB Chris Forcier, TE Glenn Rauscher, OT Mike Harris), six redshirt sophomores - three offensive and three defensive players (OL Brandon Bennett, LB Mike Schmitt, DL Reginald Stokes, OL Sonny Tevaga, OL Jake Dean, DB Garrett Rubio), one redshirt junior (QB Kevin Craft).

Of course some of those guys such as Carter, Dean and Craft are either no longer with us or will probably not get much action this coming year. However, I think those numbers show how Neuheisel will not hesitate to put in his young guys in there if they are competing hard out at Spaulding and doing what the coaches are asking them to do.

Lastly, the pre-season notes also has some interesting numbers on freshman QBs record at UCLA during last 20 years:

*2002 (8-5, T 4th Pac-10) -- Matt Moore (Fr.) game 8 win over Stanford; Drew Olson (Fr.) game 9 win at Washington; game 10 win at Arizona; game 11 loss to USC; game 12 loss to Wash. State; game 13 bowl win over New Mexico.
*1999 (4-7, 9th Pac-10) -- Cory Paus (Fr.R) game 3 win over Fresno St.; game 5 loss at Ariz. State; game 6 win over Oregon; game 7 loss to Cal; game 8 loss at Ore. State; game 9 loss to Arizona; game 10 win over Washington; Ryan McCann (Fr. R) game 11 loss at USC.
*1995 (7-5, T 5th Pac-10) -- Cade McNown (Fr.) game 3 loss to Oregon; game 5 win over Fresno St.; game 6 win over Arizona; game 7 win at Stanford; game 8 win over Cal; game 9 loss at Ariz. State; game 10 loss to Washington; game 11 win at USC; game 12 bowl loss to Kansas.
*1992 (6-5, 8th Pac-10) -- Rob Walker (Fr. R) game 2 win at BYU; game 3 win over San Diego State; game 4 loss at Arizona; game 5 loss to Stanford; game 10 win at Oregon; Ryan Fien (Fr.) game 7 loss to Arizona State.
*1990 (5-6, T 6th Pac-10) -- Tommy Maddox (Fr. R) game 3 loss at Michigan; game 4 win at Wash. State; game 5 loss to Arizona; game 6 win over San Diego State; game 7 loss at Cal; game 8 win over Oregon State; game 9 loss at Oregon; game 10 win at Washington; game 11 loss to USC.
*1989 (3-7-1, 9th Pac-10) -- Bret Johnson (Fr. R) started all 11 games. game 1 loss to Tenn.; game 2 win over San Diego State; game 3 loss to Michigan; game 4 win over Cal; game 5 win over Ariz. State; game 6 loss at Arizona; game 7 loss at Oregon State; game 8 loss to Washington; game 9 loss at Stanford; game 10 loss to Oregon; game 11 tie at USC.

You can sense that Cade McNown was kind of an anomaly and even he had a roller coaster first two years. Bret Johnson, Rob Walker, and Ryan Fien were total disasters (well Johnson was just a disgrace).

Anyway, those numbers above are fairly sobering and should be datapoints we all take into account before deluding ourselves with visions of grandeur that takes over average college football fans around this time of the year. I still think Prince will be an upgrade from what we saw last year. However, given how legends like McNown struggled during their first year in college we should keep our expectations in check.

GO BRUINS.

Offensive Line Thoughts: No Rootcanal In 2009?

Nestor — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:29:19 -0000

If you haven't done it yet I would highly recommend letting captainqtp know how much we have all appreciated his posts during this past few weeks going over every position with new starters in 2009. He has put up some great posts and all of us are even better informed and prepared for this upcoming football season because of his tremendous efforts. I wanted to build on captain's post from yesterday which wrapped up his look through UCLA's offensive line.

Again this is a topic we have discussed over and over all through this off-season. As Ted Miller noted earlier this summer UCLA's OL is the "biggest reason for concern" this coming season. We don't have to go over the gory stats concening number of sacks allowed and rushing avg. from this past year. We know them all too well. But here is one number that gives me a modicum of hope. I have written about it before and it is worth mentioning again. If you go back to our last season, when were all bracing for a disaster our OL featured only 16 starts. It was unreal and gave us a good reason to be gloomy about 2008 season (couple with the fact we were going in without our two top QBs). This year the situation is a little different. At the end of the spring, (if I have my math right) we have around 46 (not counting the 2 starts from Sonny Tevaga) starts in that roster. That is not as dire.

So with that let's get the over view from Chris Foster in the LA Times:

Kai Maiava, a transfer from Colorado, will start at center, giving line coach Bob Palcic a 6-foot-1, 309-pound rock to build around.

Stanley Hasiak and Xavier Su’a-Filo are the jewels of the freshmen class. One or both could earn a starting spot.

Eddie Williams, a transfer from Mt. San Antonio College, and Nik Abele, a freshman from Irvine, both cleared academic hurdles this summer and will be admitted.

Jeff Baca started eight games at left tackle as a freshman, but could get moved around.

"We’ll see where everyone fits," Palcic said.

Returners Nick Ekbatani, Darius Savage and Mike Harris are other returners who will get a long look.

Willams and Abele clearing the academic hurdles was a huge relief. Although I think coaches might end up moving Abele over to the defense. We are all waiting on pins and needles to see how Hasiak and XSF perform during this August camp. The guy I am most intrigued about (and I am sure I am not the only one) is Kai Maiava. More on him and the OL after the jump.

Baxter Holmes (new reporter?) from the LA Times did a wonderful story on Kai Maivava yesterday. The story tells us all about Kai's emergence as a freshman All American lineman in Colorado only to be asked to convert over to TE/FB. He decided to come back to Cali and home to UCLA. What I really liked was this part of the story about coaches riding on our OL all off season:

The Bruins averaged only 82.75 rushing yards a game -- 2.62 yards a carry -- and gave up 35 sacks. The rankings indicate the worst: of 119 major-college teams, UCLA ranked 110th in allowing sacks, 111th in total offense and 116th in yards rushing per game.

The players seem to know these numbers by heart. In conversation, they recite them as if they are written on the inside of their helmets.

"The coaches are always reminding us, 'What was it, 116th in the country?' " says redshirt senior guard Nick Ekbatani, noting the rushing offense's ranking.

I like that. I know people are feeling good and our team might have some reasons for optimism. But I also like to hear directly from the players how they are well aware of what took place this past season was understandable given how the program was left by the previous regime, will never be acceptable at UCLA.

And Kai seems to have the kind of fiery leadership qualities that can get this much maligned OL going. From the same article (emphasis added):

"I don't like to be pushed around," Maiava says. "And I don't like negative plays."

He attributes his mean streak to having older brothers and also from a childhood that included eight years spent living in shipping containers while the family tried to get its finances in order so it could build a house.

There was no running water, no electricity.

"He had it tough growing up," his dad says.

This season, Maiava says he wants to pound the ball the first few games, run straight up the middle again and again so teams know last year was an aberration.

"Pound the rock," he says.

His desire is in line with the plans of Coach Rick Neuheisel, who at Pacific 10 Conference media day said, "We're going to be able to run the ball or die trying this year."

I think there is no quesiton that the kids this year have potential. I got that sense when I read and reread captain's posts on the changes at right tackle, center, left guard and left tackle [Nick Ekbatani started all the games at right guard so its a good bet he will be back there again]. However, the biggest question mark for me right now is the toughness of this group. How will they respond after the demoralizing season from this past year. From Dave Consolazio in the All Pac-10 blog:

With an extremely talented young core featuring guys like Jeff Baca, Kai Maiava, Mike Harris, and Sean Sheller (not to mention a few four-star 2009 OL recruits in Stanley Hasiak and Xavier Su’a Filo), there is no question that the future is bright for this offensive line.

That said, I think the future is probably still a year away. With so many young players on the line likely to go through the growing pains that young lineman often do and without a truly shut-down kind of veteran on the line, this will very likely be a unit that has some great games and some very bad games.

Last year’s experience should help the line be a bit better than it was last year, but I’m expecting this year’s step forward to be a small one, with a potentially huge one coming in 2010. Credit Neuheisal for getting so many good pieces in place so quickly, and remember that successful football programs aren’t built overnight; but the future looks promising.

I think that is right. I do believe we are at least an year away. However, I can tell you this much. When I go through our OL depth chart this season, I don't get the same feeling of preparing for a root canal like I was experiencing this past year.

More than anything I am excited to see how these kids respond to the challenge and humilation of this past season. And in Kia it seems like they have the right attitutude and leadership in place. For the first time in a while, I am excited to see how a UCLA OL will perform heading into pre-season. By no means I am expecting a smooth ride. However, I am expecting the same kind of roller coast fun ride we experienced via JF/AA in Howland's second season at UCLA.

GO BRUINS.

Roundup From BN Walk: Aikman's Weekend, Stokes Interview, Umodu's Writeup & Other Notes

Nestor — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:00:29 -0000

More photos » by JOE RAYMOND - AP

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Let's start the week with one last shout to Troy Aikman was officially enshrinement at the College Football HOF in South Bend, Indiana this past weekend. That's a picture of Aikman hanging out on his float at the Enshrinement Parade. In case you missed it probably the biggest story from all the festivities (at least for our purposes here on BN) was Aikman's comments about standards for success for a UCLA quarterback (beat U$C & get into the Rose Bowl) in Westwood.

While Aikman's legacy at UCLA by his own account was "incomplete" he still achieved immortality at the next level and given the way he has been making an effort to stay in touch with his alma mater, that "incomplete" resume is not going to stay in the way of him being remembered as a football legend from UCLA.

Moving on to the present, kids like Reginald Stokes - another out of state Bruin football player like Aikman - are now working hard to reestablish UCLA football program in Westwood. Why I am talking about Stokes? Because he sat down for a pretty cool interview with the official site. Stokes who is a redshirt Junior from football player from Montgomery, AL, had somewhat of a breakout season in 2008, seeing action in 11 games and making five starts. He shined in his first career start against Oregon, when he was credited with five tackles and also blocked a field goal attempt. More on the interview after the jump.

Stokes specifically talked about his huge breakout performance against Oregon and what the last regular season game means to the UCLA program (also referenced by Aikman this past weekend)

Q: Last season, you had a breakthrough game against Oregon. How did it feel to have such success in your first start?
A: It felt great to have my first start in college football against a good team like Oregon. Throughout the week at practice I just wanted to make sure I knew the game plan for the week and concentrate on my responsibilities. I also wanted my teammates to feel comfortable with me being out on the field with them for a full game instead of having to come in as a substitute. I got great advice from a former teammate, defensive end Justin Hickman, who told me what he did and how to get ready for a game. He also told me what I needed to work on. I also talked to fellow teammate and roommate Alterraun Verner, who also gave me some helpful tips on how to prepare for a game. Blocking the field goal was a big relief after having missed an assignment on the previous series that gave Oregon a big play. I knew I had to do something big to make up for it.

Q: You earned a starting position against USC this past season. Talk about the deep rivalry between UCLA and USC and how it felt to be out on the field for that game.
A: Well, me being from Alabama, I didn't really know much about the rivalry until my freshman year when I experienced it firsthand. Seeing the fire and intensity in my teammates' and coaches' eyes the week of the game really showed me what the rivalry was all about. It made me want to be that much better so I could help UCLA win that game in the years to come. Even before entering this game, I knew it was going to be a war from all of the publicity. What made me play harder was knowing that I was out there with friends who were raised watching this rivalry, and I wanted to help them feel the same way the previous Bruins felt after winning the game a couple of years before. When running on the field, you can feel the passion and the pride that take place during this game. The crowd has so much energy that you can feed off. But once the game starts, I really don't notice the crowd because I will be in that mindset that nothing around me matters but the calls and signals that I have to know for that particular play.

You can read rest of the interview here.

Stokes talked about his game day rituals which includes riding the same bus with Darius Savage, Terrence T.A Austin, Al Verner, Christian Ramirez and Tobi Umodu, who he came into UCLA with. Well speaking of coming into UCLA Tobi had some interesting takes in his weekly editon of "Keeping it Bruin." Tobi wrote about unique expereinces UCLA athletes go through as freshmen when they arrive in Westwood:

WESTWOOD—Freshman year of college is always a bittersweet time for any student because they have to leave everything they know behind, but on the other hand they are excited about all the new experiences they will encounter.

For athletes it’s a bit of the same except they not only have to deal with the pressure of coming from a high school to a college academic field, they must deal with a transition in the athletic field also.

In high school every athlete was the biggest thing on campus. Everyone knew their name, the teachers gave them breaks in class, and the future wasn’t in question because a scholarship already let people know your destination. Coming into college a lot of athletes experience uncertainty for the first time and start to worry about whether things will pan out just like they did in high school.

"My freshman year was definitely a learning experience. Athletically I had to adjust to new coaches, a new training environment, decreased training hours, and a new team oriented aspect of competing. Academically I entered college after having taken a year of school off to focus on my athletic goals. Classes were definitely challenging and provided a much different learning environment," said junior gymnast Marcy Burnholtz.

Now as interesting as Tobi's take is, I wonder how the experience for students who often come into UCLA, somehow end up rooming with super star athletes from high school. I know most of times football, basketball players usually end up rooming together, however, there are times students have to room with student-athletes. While I was at UCLA few of couple of my friends ended up staying with football players up in Saxon suites and it worked out ok for them because the guys they were staying with were really cool.

Still there are interesting stories around the country when regular students have to room with huge student atheletes. For example, read through the series of posts entitled "Livin Large" on the blog Basketbawful. They are a hilarious series of posts (you need to start at Part I) of some kid from Purdue who somehow ended up rooming with a seven foot dude from the Boilerplayers basketball team. The experienes are so awkward, yet ridiculously funny.

For some reason, the story made me think of Johnathan Ogden, while he would come into Puzzles for dinners (yes Puzzles was our makeshift cafetaria when Sunset Village first opened in Fall of 1991). FWIW Ogden was always incredibly gracious and would usually come in with Sharmon Shah, who eventually changed his name to Karim Abdul-Jabbar. Karim was a great kid too. Good memories.

Speaking of good memories, let's end the walk with another video from New Orleans Hornets featuring DC and their other rookie Marcus Thornton:

Marcus thornton and Darren Collison Tour (via dadadrizzeee)

Apparently DC rolled his ankle in his last summer game but to date has been performing as one of the best rookies during summer ball. As we will keep mentioning over and over, we never get tired of watching and reading about one of our all time favorite UCLA Bruins (not just Ben Ball warriors) here on Bruins Nation.

GO BRUINS.

Feeling Alright

Nestor — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:03:18 -0000

Bruins got a much needed win last night in Seattle. Even though it is clear what Washington is perhaps one of the worst teams in the history of the Pac-10 conference (along with Washington State), I think folks shouldn’t be dismissive of the effort our guys put together last night in Seattle.

Earlier in the day I was watching a Michigan team going through the same rebuilding pains we are experiencing during the first year of a new regime. Seeing the Wolverines struggle against Northwestern (which is having a good season) in the Big House and tumble to a 3-8 record was something that put what we have been going through in perspective.

After beating Washington we now have a record of 4-6, keeping alive a shot at a minor bowl game. As I said during the game threads, I don’t think our team is as mediocre as our 4-6 record indicates, just like we weren’t as good as that 10-2 record from the 2005-06 season. I think if we had either Pat Cowan or Ben Olson healthy for an entire season, I could see our team winning at least 3 games out of Arizona, Fresno State, Oregon, Cal and Oregon State. So, given all we have gone through this year with our injury and personnel issues, I am feeling all right with where we are at this point of this season:

Photo Credit:John Froschauer / Associated Press (via the LA Times)

So with the macro stuff out of the way, here are some the micro issues going through my mind this Sunday

Craft had a good start last night but after a solid first series he reverted back to some of the same habits that have plagued our team all season along. He threw three picks. The first one was not his fault as Dominique Johnson simply dropped a catchable pass. The other two were indefensible (one he threw into traffic trying to thread the needle, the other was a badly overthrown ball). He also gave up a sure TD when instead of running into the endzone, he inexplicably tried a shovel pass dumbfounding the entire Bruin Nation. There is not much to add to the Craft story at this point of the season. The kid is playing his heart out. He is being a warrior. But what is obvious to all of us is a best he is a below average QB. I don’ t think he is the worst QB in UCLA history because I don’t believe QBs like Brett Johnson, Rob Walker, Ryan Fien or Ryan McCann had the moxie and toughness Craft has shown this season. But at the same time Craft hasn’t done much to cement himself as the returning starter for next season.

Still if anyone is clamoring for Forcier, just consider the fact that even after the game was long over late in the fourth quarter, Forcier was nowhere to be seen. It is clear to me that Chow and Neuheisel have concluded based on his observations that Forcier is not a viable option as a UCLA QB. If that is their decision, I am going to defer to their experience as probably the best QB guru tandem in all of college football.

While the Craft is cemented as the starter at QB this season, the running back position is becoming intriguing. Derrick Coleman started last night. Per Dohn’s report he got the start because Bell was disciplined for being late into a team meeting:

"Kahlil was late for a meeting," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.

Bell, who has been bothered by a sprained ankle much of the season, carried 25 times and scored on a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs. His plunge in the second quarter gave the Bruins a 14-7 lead, and his dive over the pile on the first play of the fourth quarter put the Bruins ahead 24-7.

"I think he's gradually getting better, and with another bye (next) week he may be getting fresher," Neuheisel said about Bell. "We'll probably nurse him more and see if we can get him even better for two weeks."

However, what got the Bruins' stagnant running game untracked was Coleman's performance on the first series. He carried four times on it, finishing with an 11-yard run around left end for UCLA's first opening drive touchdown of the season.

"Derrick Coleman came in and gave a huge spark to our offense," Bell said. "That set the tone for the game, especially controlling the line of scrimmage."

Everyone here knows, how much I love Coleman. I love his running style. He is a straight ahead North-South runner, who doesn’t dance around and waste time. He makes his decision fast and just pounds it. The energy and power he brought in that first drive was noticeable. I can only hope the coaches increase his carries even more in last two games. As for Bell, the kid is playing like a warrior. It’s obvious he doesn’t have the full power and menu of moves from last year. However, what was encouraging that he was getting stronger. It was great to see Carter make an appearance and he showed a burst of speed. But I guess I totally missed Aundre Dean’s 3 carries (for 9 yards) late in the fourth. So, you guys will have to fill me in on how he looked.

Hopefully our OL can generate the same kind of holes for our backs in our next game. Last night gave them a much needed confidence boost. Let’s hope they can maintain it.

As for our defense, it was mostly dominant:

With the running game, which averaged just 77.8 yards per game this season, in full swing, UCLA's defense was also dominant. The Bruins allowed a season-low 135 yards and tormented freshman Washington quarterback Ronnie Fouch -- a Redlands East Valley High graduate -- all night.

"We didn't scout them to blitz that much," Fouch said. "They blitzed a lot more than we thought they would."

Fouch was 7 for 22 for 39 yards and threw two interceptions and was sacked twice. Washington (0-10, 0-7) turned the ball over five times and averaged just 3.2 yards per carry against a UCLA defense that blitzed more than it had all season and looked like it had a different mind-set than it had of late.

"We went all four quarters," said safety Rahim Moore, who had an interception and a team-high six tackles. "That was the best defensive game we've played all year. We came out here and got a nice win and it feels really good."

Rahim Moore had a great game. As did Akeem Ayers. Ayers was simply a menace. He was the catalyst in two of Washington’s 5 turnovers while registering 2 sacks for a loss of 15 yards. He terrorized Fouch all night by repeatedly blowing through the Husky OL like a guided missile going straight after the QB. Given the way Ayers has emerged this year and the solid play from Carter and Sloan, the future at our LB is looking great.

In addition to those two ATV and Norris had great games. I can’t remember who it was on, but ATV put on a bone crushing hit on a Husky player that would have made Matt Darby proud.

My only two complaints re. the defense from last night was first, early on they looked a little tentative against the run. Also, I thought they folded a little too easy in giving up the TD when they were put in a short field after Craft’s pick. Still all in all a great effort and I hope they can replicate that for an entire game against Arizona State in about couple of weeks. It would have them peaking going into the biggest game of the season.

In terms of injuries and personnel issues, here are the notes from the LAT:

Quarterback Ben Olson, who is recovering from a broken foot, did not make the trip to Seattle. . . . Olson, who is recovering from a broken foot suffered in the summer, has been trying to get back onto the field before the season ends.

He took snaps in practice during the week but had to back off. Neuheisel said he did not travel with the team because he would not have been ready to play.

UCLA offensive lineman Darius Savage tore a ligament in his left ankle during the first half of Saturday night's game at Washington. Savage will require surgery.

The note re. Savage is a huge bummer, especially considering the great start our OL had last night. Here is to hoping a full and healthy recovery.Glicksberg took over for Savage last night.

As for Olson, I wonder where did the broadcasters last night got the info re. Olson being at the game last night.

Speaking of broadcasters, one side note. I am getting sick and tired of announcers bloviating about CRN and Craft’s sideline discussions. It is pointless and tiresome. Guess what guys? I like the fact that my head coach is coaching his heart out and showing passion and care for his players. That’s how CRN has coached QBs all his life and he has a track record to back him up. The announcers commenting on CRN’s sideline discussions with Craft is just about as tiresome about reading knee jerk, reactionary comments about wanting Forcier, beating a dead horse. It’s boring and pointless.

Lastly, speaking of CRN we will end this Sunday by closing the loop on Washington-Neuheisel-UCLA story line:

"Emotional," Neuheisel said in describing his Montlake return. "Pleasantly, there were a lot of friendly faces. There's a number of great people here at the University of Washington. Contrary to all the articles and stuff, my memories are mostly favorable. I understand the messy ending. I apologized for my role in it. I'm hoping we can put this behind us as both programs look to the future."

CRN didn't mention it ... we will ... that was his 70th win in his 9th year as a head coach in college football.

Washington drama is certainly behind us now and we can now look forward to Arizona State.

Enjoy a feel good Sunday.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Working To Get A "W"

Nestor — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:00:06 -0000

We have talked about how BYU and UCLA are very familiar with each other’s schemes given the two matchups from last season (here and here). DeWayne Walker hit the same themes yesterday and emphasized the need for putting in some new wrinkles in the defensive game plan (and adjusting to different looks he may being seeing from the BYU side). From Chris Foster in the LA Times:

"We're getting down to the bare minimum on schemes," he said. "It will be an interesting game in terms of the chess match. I'm sure they are going to look at the things we did well against them, just like we've looked at what they did well to see if we can eliminate it."

The main problem the Bruins have faced against Brigham Young is quarterback Max Hall, who completed 51 of 87 passes for 622 yards and four touchdowns in the two games last season. Hall nearly rallied the Cougars from a 20-0 deficit in the regular-season game, getting them within a field goal before losing, 27-17.

The Bruins did a better job on Hall in the second game, holding him to 231 yards passing by using more blitzes and man-to-man coverage.

"I'm sure they are going to have some wrinkles for us and we may have a few for them," Walker said. "The bottom line is going to be who can adjust the quickest once we find out each other's wrinkles."

The Bruins did have success in both games against the run. BYU had 44 yards rushing in the first game and 34 yards in the Las Vegas Bowl.

"I just don't think you can sit back and defend these guys," Walker said.

Walker probably caught the Washington game from this past weekend when the Husky defense mostly sat back and let Max Hall methodically shred them for the whole afternoon. If the Bruins want to stay competitive in Provo they will need to bring pressure from somewhere not allowing Hall to get in any kind of rhythm.

Meanwhile, over on the offensive side coaches are continuing with their tinkering of the OL:

The tinkering continued with UCLA's offensive line as left guard Darius Savage practiced with the first team and Scott Glicksberg, who started against Tennessee, was with the second unit.

Overall, it was not a stellar practice for the offensive line.

"They weren't terrific (Monday), but I just believe in them," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. "They just have to understand that they are not at a place with the luxury of taking a day off. They have to continue to fight, scratch, claw to get better."

Hopefully the OL can build on its performance from Saturday. While their pass protection was adequate, obviously they have no where to go but up in terms of getting the running game going. I think the issues facing the OL are probably correctable. So hopefully the continued tinkering by the coaches will show some dividends against the Cougars this weekend.

At least the one thing players are feeling good about their offense is the calm and poise of our young quarterback:

UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft won more than just a football game last week against Tennessee. He won over his teammates.

“We know we have a guy out there who's going to compete until the last horn,” receiver Dominique Johnson said. “It does a lot for our confidence. We're not worried about it. Confidence is not a factor for us anymore. We know it's there and we all believe Kevin is the leader of this team.”

Kevin is coming along thanks to the coaching of Norm Chow, who coached at BYU for 27 seasons:

Chow, UCLA's offensive coordinator, will return to BYU this weekend when he guides UCLA's offense against the 18th-ranked Cougars. Chow worked on BYU's staff from 1973 to 1999 and during that time helped direct some of college football's most prolific offenses.

But following Monday's practice, Chow was curt when asked about returning to BYU for the second time. He did so once as an assistant at USC.

"There is nothing to it," Chow said. "It's been such a long time that there is a lot of water under that bridge. It's another game, it really is. I don't want nothing more than that."

Chow left BYU for North Carolina State before going on to USC and the Tennessee Titans before coming to Westwood this season. He is one of two UCLA coaches who will be making a return to Provo. UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker coached at BYU in 1994, working alongside Chow.

"Norm is a poker player," Walker said. "He is not going to give in to his true feelings, but I am sure it's going to be rewarding for him to go back into that stadium. I think it's going to be a warm moment for him, but he is like me and wants to go in there and get a 'W.'

"Norm has a lot of respect for that program and I know going back it's going to be special for him. He knows he is a ball coach and he is coaching for UCLA now."

As mentioned above, Walker like Chow also spent time in Provo as an assistant coach. Couple that with his experiences from last season, he knows that program’s past and present as well as anyone at Spaulding. So it’s no surprise when CRN mentioned yesterday that he is going to have Walker address the team about playing BYU on Thursday. These coaches are doing everything they can to get that “W.”

GO BRUINS.