Rosebowl Spring Scimmage Open Thread

by Nestor on Apr 26, 2008 3:41 PM PDT in Football

Well it has already been an awesome day on BN.

If you are out at the Rose Bowl have an extra beer for all of us exiles living aways from the Southland.

Enjoy a beautiful night at Arroyo Secco:

Photo Credit:fourflatfive's photostream (flickr)

If you are coming back on BN after the scrimmage, you can post your quick notes in the comment threads.

If you have extended noted/impression to share (more than 200 words) please put them up in the diaries. And as always we love pictures.

So with that have at it. Thread it up in a our special Sat. night spring scrimmage open thread.

GO BRUINS.

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Lakers up 7 at halftime

now they just need to hold on here and make my drive to the Rose Bowl a happy one.

by ryebreadraz on Apr 26, 2008 3:55 PM PDT 0 recs

I'm gonna try

and get a picture with Coach Neuheisel when they open up the field to the fans. I have always wanted to get onto the storied Rose Bowl turf, but even with the 13-9 win over USC in 2006, they still didn't let us rush the field. Alright, its 4:00, and I'm off!

by Steven on Apr 26, 2008 3:59 PM PDT 0 recs

Crap

Cowan out for 2008. May apply for a 6th year of eligibility. Looks like Olson will have surgery too.

"You don't make it to the Final Four three straight times for no reason..Obviously coaching has something to do with it." Darren Collison

by godblesstyus95 on Apr 26, 2008 6:48 PM PDT 0 recs

The dirty little secret here..

..is that this is an intra-squad game of perhaps little consequence and yet (from the picture) it appears to be a pretty packed house. One begins to wonder what regular season attendance figures will be with the enthusiasm CRN has generated. Compare and contrast, boys and girls, with the flagging attendance during the "reign of error" under KD.

Hate to be a crass capitalist, but full stadia most times yield top-ranked football programs; if not causality, at least a high correlation.

What kid seeing this enthusiasm and excitement wouldn't prefer to go to Westwood versus that down-town shithole and play in the Rose Bowl versus the Mausoleum?

Wonder how many folks show up for the Condoms final scrimmage?

God, it's great to be a Bruin!

by whp68 on Apr 26, 2008 8:07 PM PDT 0 recs

RE:

That picture isn't from the scrimmage, but rather UCLA beating SC 13-9 on that fateful day a bit back.
(Notice the trOJies on the left leaving with their heads held down)
Hopefully they'll again leave like that ;P

This is what's pop'n

by PopnFried on Apr 26, 2008 9:09 PM PDT up 0 recs

..o-o-o-o-f-f-f course it is..

..and don't I feel like the perfect dummy! Thanks for straightening me out.

God, it's great to be a Bruin!

by whp68 on Apr 27, 2008 9:25 AM PDT up 0 recs

scrimmage is over, fans allowed on the field

according to a friend attending the game. Coaches and players mingling.

by bruinhoo on Apr 26, 2008 9:04 PM PDT 0 recs

I'm envious

last year I went and this was the case. the players were great, fun to talk to.
Only D'OhRell wasn't there to talk.
I hope Neuheisel greeted the fans =)

This is what's pop'n

by PopnFried on Apr 26, 2008 9:10 PM PDT up 0 recs

scrimmage notes

from texts/calls from friend that attended:

Craft threw the ball a little better than Forcier, but was not as quick out of the pocket.
Rasshan took some snaps, but had problems with the center exchange, and was not playing later in the scrimmage.
O-Line not looking good.
running game "meh", likely related to the last point.

by bruinhoo on Apr 26, 2008 9:30 PM PDT 0 recs

i agree

defense was okay as expected. the o-line was still lacking the ability to keep the qb safe and create gaps for the run game. it really felt like dorrells system was still on the field -- i think we just need to give them some more time for neuheisel to train them properly and remove any last remnants of dorrellian mentality

Go Bruins!

by bruinpower on Apr 26, 2008 10:23 PM PDT up 0 recs

Scrimmage score?

What was the score of the scrimmage? Or is this usually not reported?

by dokein on Apr 26, 2008 10:47 PM PDT 0 recs

Score

I think it was:

Craft 17 - Forcier 14

by Bruins100NCAA on Apr 26, 2008 11:17 PM PDT up 0 recs

The Scrimmage

My wife and I arrived around 3 for the Lady Bruin activity. First Neuheisel spoke to her and about 150 other lucky ladies in the locker room, talking about the game and how it's played. They then got to run some plays down on the field. Every lady received gifts (which I should note cost more than the 20 dollar admission fee).

While I was waiting outside, the team walked by me through Gate B. Cowan was slow in going into the stadium. In fact he was lagging behind quite a distance even for someone on crutches. I feel for that kid and I'll never forget 13-9.

We then attended the scrimmage. First one I have ever gone to. Roughly 15K people were there. Neuheisel first spoke via the referee's lapel microphone. He said that was the closest he has ever been to a ref without getting a flag. Towards the end of the scrimmage, he brought Cowan and Olson onto the field for a rousing cheer. Cowen looked back at the stands and you could tell it meant a lot to him. It was the biggest round of applause of the night.

A few standouts from the game: #42 Tailback Chane Moline seemed to have a great night. He made positive yards when you thought he would not. In my opinion, MVP goes to #7 Cornerback Courtney Viney. This kid was everywhere. Quick. He's short but he is very fast. Ran a punt back for a touchdown (or at least would have) and I don't think he was touched at all during the play.

After the scrimmage, Neu got up on the stand and spoke to us about making UCLA football contagious and that we should go out and bring more people to the games. He reminded us that the season starts on September 1st against Tennessee.

After that we all got to get on the field and meet the players. This was cool to say the least. If you have not been to a Spring scrimmage, I suggest you go next year. Awesome experience.

by Bruins100NCAA on Apr 26, 2008 11:16 PM PDT 0 recs

Sorry...

Didn't catch the last part about 200 words. My apologies.

by Bruins100NCAA on Apr 27, 2008 2:36 AM PDT up 0 recs

I just got back from the Dodger game

not only was the 10 run first inning incredible, and the ump being knocked out as weird as anything I've seen in a game, but on top of the LRM sat down like 4 rows in front of me so I got to say high to him!

I wish I had been able to go to the spring game as well, but what a great night tonight. Also a Laker win, and the news about DC are fantastic!

Wow, great day, great day.

O.A.

by Ollie on Apr 26, 2008 11:16 PM PDT 0 recs

Thoughts on scrimmage...

our defensive front looked great (granted they were going against our inexperienced O-Line). Our lbs looked solid and our secondary didn't look young. We were HITTING and flying all over the place. The D was definetly excited to be on the field. One thing I did notice and liked about our D was that we as a unit are taking on a new personality. You can tell that there are new leaders stepping up. As far as our O looked. I was pretty please with what I saw. At times as Bruinpower mentioned above our offense did look Dorrelish, but that is because as Chow has mentioned before, going into a scrimmage you dont have a game plan. You run certain plays that you would like to see at game speed. KC got a lot better as the game went on and so did our offense. He threw a couple of bad balls however I believe the reason for the bad balls are because of 1. not having enough time (he looked really nice in the shotgun) 2. still getting familiar with the reciever/speed of the D1 level 3. not having the offense down. All of the three things I mentioned can and will be resolved with time and repetition. All in all I was happy with the way we played tonight. BTW my favorite moment of the night was when CRN called PC, BO and the head referee (to use his mic.) and asked the crowd to give them a round of applause for the work that they have put in these last several years. He went on to say how it is unfortunate the hand they were dealt a couple days earlier. There was not a person sitting right about then. CRN is a class act and as days goes bye I am feeling more confident in CRN and our football program.

by uclaenfuego on Apr 26, 2008 11:31 PM PDT 0 recs

Was there with my son...

... and got a football autographed by the entire Holy Trinity (CRN, DC, and NC).

Can't really comment much on the scrimmage, since I was watching with my boy, BUT...

... when I got on the field, I got within 5 feet of CRN as he was taking press interviews, and was able to record about 2-3 minutes of CRN answering questions. Assuming I didn't screw it up, I'll try to pass it on to Telemachus tomorrow for posting.

Oh, and interesting side note -- apparently, when NC was signing caps, programs, footballs, etc. in the bleachers area behind the team bench, some idiot tried to give him an $C jersey to sign.

Though unconfirmed, one person in the crowd said it was a Juice jersey.

In any event, NC saw it was an $C jersey and dropped it to the ground.

"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008

by Meriones on Apr 26, 2008 11:39 PM PDT 0 recs

RE: Juice Jersey

I was right there and it was definitely a Juice Jersy. NC refused to sign it but I saw that he had Neuheisal's signature on it. I was laughing

by vhx123 on Apr 27, 2008 2:21 AM PDT up 0 recs

Attendance?

How many showed up? It was a pretty nice day.

by Jack Disco on Apr 27, 2008 12:34 AM PDT 0 recs

Attendance

Attendance was a little over 15 thousand.

by Bruins100NCAA on Apr 27, 2008 12:40 AM PDT up 0 recs

Rose Bowl announced 15,502...

... or, put differently, the actual pink seats ( as opposed to the benches) on the pres side were practically FILLED.

In all honesty, it amazed the heck out of me, but then I've never been to a spring scrimmage before.

"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008

by Meriones on Apr 27, 2008 8:19 AM PDT up 0 recs

I was at the game yesterday

It was nice out! 90+ degrees here in Pasadena. What a perfect day for a Spring Game. After the game they let everyone walk on the field, get autographs, pictures, etc. I met a couple of the players and wished them good luck this year. They seemed genuinely happy that all of us fans were here today. I can't wait until Sep 1st. Bring on the Volunteers!

by mark the bruin on Apr 27, 2008 5:40 AM PDT 0 recs

re: Volunteers...

I have to give credit to the Volunteers. They seem to be the only SEC team willing to play Pac 10 teams on a regular basis. I'm a bit leery of Olson because I think PC is tougher and has that Rich Gannon factor, not the best quarterback but a winner. But we'll see. When Olson is good, he's really good. Jeez, how old is he now anyway?

by Jack Disco on Apr 27, 2008 8:12 AM PDT 0 recs

So old that, upon graduation, SJH, Fox, and I..

..will bestow honorary geezerhood upon him.

(Well, I will, at least, if I am not too busy drooling into my oatmeal and gumming my zwiebach.)

God, it's great to be a Bruin!

by whp68 on Apr 27, 2008 9:31 AM PDT up 0 recs

You call that old . . .

Where were you during that great trackmeet at the Coliseum when the gun sounded, the runners started in the shade of the Coliseum entry tunnel, and Mel Patton emerged into the sunlight ahead of Herb McKenley of Illinois. That was back in the days when you could get 50,000 people at a track meet. Back in the days when our local high school athletes were posting more impressive times than the Millrose Games.

And when Hugh McElehenny was running hurdles for Washington High School.
And what about those Friday night UCLA games at the Coliseum? Yes, I am a UCLA Grad.

by Offside on Apr 27, 2008 4:24 PM PDT 0 recs

The only Friday night game I remember..

..was the UCLA-USC game in 1975. It was one of the eeriest, most surreal games in the series. A bitter cold night (well, for Southern California at least) with a Santa Ana wind blowing. John McKay was coaching his last game for the Condoms and Dick Vermiel's team managed to hang on to win 25-22 despite some fumbles and sloppy play on both sides.

I just could not believe it was the real game. I kept thinking this only a practice and that they would line it up for real on Saturday. But we won and went on to the Rose Bowl which is all that counts, I guess.

God, it's great to be a Bruin!

by whp68 on Apr 27, 2008 5:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

You Are Too Young to Remember

I remember Friday night games in the C.

The bus rides with kegs on board.

A winning tradition -- we were both a football and basketball school -- as we are now.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Apr 27, 2008 6:09 PM PDT up 0 recs

I remember that 25-22 game vividly

I don't think I've ever been that cold. And naturally the Crapaseum ran out of coffee. I was sitting under the clock, and the wind was blowing the hands so much I thought they were going to come off. I think we had something like eight fumbles. But we also had a veer play and when Sciarra pitched the ball to Tyler, there was absolutely no trOJie on that side of the field. Tyler put it on cruise control into the end zone. That was a very neat play to watch from the end zone.

by Fox 71 on Apr 27, 2008 6:25 PM PDT up 0 recs

Talking about cold UCLA games....

The piss-bucket bowl in Vegas a few years ago was ridiculous. The wind was blowing freezing cold and blowing in from the open end of the stadium. NOBODY sat in the opposing end zone after halftime. As a matter of fact, most people either left at halftime or stayed underneath the stadium at the concession stands to watch the game and stay warm.

Of course, maybe the loss to Wyoming made the game seem even colder. Thank you Karl.

by bornagainbruin on Apr 27, 2008 8:33 PM PDT up 0 recs

Gentlemen..

..thanks for reminding me of the accoutrements but, for the life of me, I cannot remember games on Friday evenings (save for the aforementioned victory).

I submit that it was probably because of the kegs on the bus..

..Like you, Mr. Born, I endured a UCLA-Northwestern game in the Windy City. (Well, Evanston, really.) We prevailed 35-zip but it took some extraordinary hospitality from the NW Lambda Chis and a quart of Myer's Rum to thaw me out.

God, it's great to be a Bruin!

by whp68 on Apr 27, 2008 9:14 PM PDT up 0 recs