UCLA vs. Washington Report Card
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 7, 2009 10:14 PM PST
in Football
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PrintLet's be honest now. UCLA was far from flawless. While the effort, courage and heart that the Bruins displayed was admirable, you're not going to win many games with five giveaways. Two weeks ago, Arizona was kind enough to keep UCLA in the game before eventually winning. Today, it was UCLA who was kind enough to keep Washington in the game, but the Bruins did do enough to win and a team coming off of five straight losses isn't going to complain about the manner in which they get a W. Here are the grades for each unit, with A being exceptional, C being average and F last season's offensive line.
Quarterback
The Bruin quarterbacks were fantastic from the first toss of the game to the last. Kevin Prince put together a performance that justified all of the pre-season hype I was giving him as he put the ball in all of the right places, used his hot routes to perfection and even an audible. If he could just learn to slide, he'd be in great shape. With Prince on the bench due to injury, Kevin Craft got a shot and showed why he is a capable backup, making just about every throw. He wasn't perfect, but he was good enough and especially good when you consider the lack of snaps he's gotten of late. In his one series, Richard Brehaut proved that he still does have a ways to go. According to CRN in his post-game interview, Brehaut not only took a sack, but he also forgot to bring a guy in motion and was responsible for the illegal formation penalty when the Bruins were in the Wildcat and he did not get on the line. Overall, great day from the QB's, although the two interceptions were ill advised throws. Grade: A-
Running Back/Fullback
You have to hold onto the ball. Jonathan Franklin still hasn't figured that one out. Franklin has had a great freshman season, but fumbling the ball is the number one sin for a back and today was an example of that. Franklin made three great blitz pickups so he did some things right, but hanging onto the ball is number one. Derrick Coleman had a couple nice runs and while he still doesn't have the speed to break one, he picks up solid chunks of yards on just about every carry. Milton Knox was very good with the ball in his hands again, but that was mostly out of the Wildcat. When asked to work as a back in the base offense, he was hesitant, exhibiting why he's had issues getting on the field. Chane Moline is still an adequate blocker at best from the fullback spot, but he was tough running the ball. It was a sub-par performance overall, especially running the ball, but the blitz pickups were great all the way around. Grade: C-
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
It sure is nice to have a go-to receiver and it looks like the Bruins have one in Nelson Rosario. When a guy is 6'5'' and you know that all you have to do is get it up high, it makes things a heck of a lot easier on the quarterback so it's no surprise that Rosario has become a go-to guy. He's showing the focus and confidence he lacked earlier in the year and his second consecutive 100+ yard game is a product of that. Some excellent route running doesn't hurt either and his second quarter deep in that made the DB fall because he was caught by surprise when Rosario cut in is a perfect example of it. Terrance Austin showed some dependability and he's reading defenses better than any of the receivers, becoming a real weapon against zone defenses. Embree had a solid game, while Ketchum made an appearance. Ryan Moya made a good catch and Logan Paulsen had a big 56 yard catch, but for how much longer is the senior going to lead the team in freshman mistakes? Grade: A-
Offensive Line
The unit of the game, bar none. The growth from last season and even the beginning of this season is startling. Last season against a win-less Washington team, the Bruins gave up three sacks. Today, it was just two sacks despite 50% more pass attempts. Kai Maiava was a stud, getting side to side quickly to give the quarterbacks plenty of room to step up, while both tackles, Xavier Sua-Filo and Mike Harris, showed great feet, especially against the blitz. The guards were solid on passing plays, but the lack of surge on running plays has to be a concern for Jeff Baca and Ryan Taylor. The unit gets an A for pass blocking, but they need to be better on the run. The pass was the key to today's win though. Grade: B+
Defensive Line
A poor performance from the defensive line was the low light of the game for UCLA. It's concerning that the front four can't pressure the quarterback on their own, even occasionally and while they've done well to bottle up dive plays, they're not moving well enough side to side to stuff the runs off tackle. A lack of discipline on misdirection plays is also concerning, although they do a good job maintaining their position on the pass rush so even if they did not hit Jake Locker very often, they did keep him from getting the edge too often. At some point, someone needs to make a big play, especially if teams continually double Brian Prince. Two sacks and over six yards a rush for UW points to the defensive line. Grade: D+
Linebackers
The linebackers are fast, but sometimes too fast for their own good, especially Akeem Ayers. Over-pursuit has been a problem for the UCLA linebackers all year and reared its ugly head again today. Luckily, Reggie Carter looked to be in better health than he was last week and he was able to make up for some of the over-pursuit. Carter did a fantastic job holding the point and keeping big holes from opening up in the second level. The run defense of the UCLA linebackers was adequate at best, but they were fantastic in pass defense. They dropped back quickly to get into their space, were very quick coming up to make tackles and got to Locker when they were actually asked to blitz. Their ability to come up and make tackles after dropping into coverage showed just how much speed they have and their tackling was sure. Grade: B
Defensive Backs
Rahim Moore just manages to be in the right place at the right time. Some may call it lucky, but at some point, with how frequently he does it, Moore needs to get credit for it. Moor has eight interceptions now after picking one off the seal the win for the Bruins and he was very active all game, playing centerfield and making tackles against the run when the front seven didn't get it done. Alterraun Verner is still having issues that nobody was expected, but he's still the surest of corners for the Bruins, even if Sheldon Price made a singular great play on Moore's interception. One player who went largely unnoticed was Andrew Abbott, who did a fantastic job at nickle back. The safety position opposite Moore continues to be a trouble though as neither Tony Dye nor Glenn Love was better than mediocre. Grade: B
Special Teams
Kai Forbath is still automatic and while Jeff Locke has not showed the booming leg he did earlier on in the year, he's still be good. Austin's fumble on the kick is a concern for a guy who had been holding onto the ball, while the other candidates for the job haven't. Austin did have one big return to make up for some of his fumble. Kick coverage is still awful on a good day. Grade: C-
Coaching
Norm Chow called a great game and to the surprise of many, didn't take the foot off the pedal when Prince went down. It proved to be very successful and landed the Bruins a win. CRN's decision to go with Brehaut is questionable at best and his vow to get the freshman some meaningful snaps almost cost the Bruins a win, but the sack that took UCLA out of field goal range did not come back to haunt the team. Chuck Bullough's defense is doing just enough, but not as much as it should. He did show some more creativity and aggressiveness at the end of the game and we can only hope that he's turned a corner. The personal fouls are traced back to discipline and the coaching staff. Grade: B-
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Agree with you on all counts
But coaching should be at a B+… at best though. The addition of corner and edge blitzes are very important for bullough. He listened to us obviously.
D line should be more like a D- though. BP had a very undisciplined game, ie over-pursuing intentionally. But then again, losing Jerzy was a blow too
There's no one in the world that wants to beat UCLA more than _______.
Prince gets
an F for not sliding on that play! We most likely would not have a five game losing streak had he not broken his jaw. He needs to play smarter and not get hurt. I can’t blame him for his effort though.
He has clearly proven he’s the best option we have over the last two weeks and why CNC favors him over RB and KC. Hope he is ok and ready to go for next week.
I beg to differ
I don’t think that we would have beaten Oregon or Cal… or stanford The butterfly effect would end up keeping Masoli healthy, and he played well against Cal
There's no one in the world that wants to beat UCLA more than _______.
No way
we’d have beat Oregon and probably Stanford too.
O-Line A-
I was happy to see the O-Line pissed off & looking for Butler when KP was down. U could tell they really like protecting that kid.
by iwas5... on Nov 7, 2009 10:38 PM PST via mobile reply actions
KP’s dad
he feeds them every friday or something like that. hes a smart guy
There's no one in the world that wants to beat UCLA more than _______.
Butler came up lame later
But they never showed what happened to him. Did someone in the OL give him a nasty shot?
Some points on Craft
You’re right to point out how important it was that Chow stayed aggressive once Craft came in. I was worried he might not, and it was hugely important that he did — otherwise we would’ve lost. UW’s pass D is the worst I ever remember seeing, and it was our biggest advantage even with a below-average QB. So I’m really glad we didn’t cede anything.
Yes, CRN deserves some questioning for putting Brehaut in. I advocated loudly for Brehaut to play over Craft during Prince’s injury (Stanford, KSU), but it’s clear that he isn’t ready, and CRN should’ve known that. He’s made the same, unacceptable mistakes every time he’s played now, being completely unable to pick up the pressure and hold on to the ball. With us in the red-zone, going safe with Craft would’ve been the right move — as much as this goes against my accusations of conservatism all year. All Brehaut had to do was line up correctly on that Wildcat play, and we would’ve scored a TD there.
That said, and while I don’t want to take anything away from Craft’s steadiness in securing the W, a few things should be kept in mind in case anyone actually gets stupid about who our QB should be. Forget the interception. Craft missed a wide-open Moya for a TD on 3rd and goal, and missed a wide-wide open Austin on 3rd down in our penultimate drive. He also way underthrew a very wide open Austin on that lucky touchdown play. Kevin Craft is Kevin Craft.
Money on Craft
Bad throws that end up producing good results are still bad throws. We obviously shouldn’t be counting on any receiver pulling those in with any sort of consistency Craft is only as effective as the defense (and luck) lets him be.
One quick clarification
On that 3rd down miss to Austin, TA cut off his route. Had he kept running the post, it looked like the throw was there. As soon as the play was over, Austin was tapping his chest to indicate that it was his fault.
by insomniacslounge on Nov 8, 2009 1:58 AM PST up reply actions
While the quarterbacks
played well, two interceptions should be enough to drop out of the A range. A 1:1 touchdown to interception ratio isn’t good. B or B+. I think the horrible quarterback play we’ve had except for the last five quarters affects our assessment when the passing game actually proves competent.
The completion percentage
and the number of big plays makes up the rest of the difference IMO :)
Give UCLA Michigan's defense
and we go 0-12.
Question for Rye on bowls
Let’s say we finish 6-6, and USC doesn’t get an at-large. What chances do we have of getting into a bowl that hasn’t been fulfilled by some other conference (like the WAC or MWC)?
You mentioned earlier that something like that is possible if we don’t make it in the Pac 10 arrangements. Are there any openings on the horizon?
It's very possible
The whole bowl picture is a bit hazy right now, but next week it should be a little clearer. If the Bruins get a W on Saturday, I’ll do a full post breaking down the Pac-10 and the bowl possibilities.
Formerly ryebreadraz
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 8, 2009 10:23 AM PST up reply actions
Ted Miller
guesses UCLA will end up in the Poinsettia Bowl against a MWC team.
Good gracious...
And we thought our QB situation has been mediocre…
Looks like Matt Barkley just had a real clunker: 7 for 22, 112 yds and an INT… but saved by a nice catch and long run by Damien Williams.
I feel we are going to trounce the Trojans… they’re regressing and losing confidence, we’re getting better, gaining confidence.
Easy money and faithless women, red-eye whiskey for the pain...
Playing Washington at home would help most teams "gain confidence"
Trouncing USC at the Coliseum? I guess the most polite word I can use to describe that statement is bold. Ridiculous is probably more accurate though.
SUC has looked very beatable their last 4 games
Not saying we will do it, because we aren’t great, but they are not a top 15 team the way they are currently playing. They are better than us, but beating them isn’t totally out of reach like it was last year.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Nov 8, 2009 12:35 AM PST up reply actions
Using the word trounce
instead of “win” is the issue I had with that statement as I noted in the comment.
While using the word "trouncing" is an obvious exaggeration
SC game is in play as they look more than beatable. Ridiculous would be the word I use to describe any so called Bruin fan who comes on here to concede that game this season.
We need to stop gloating every time USC wins by less than 10 points
Especially when we just won by 1, against a really bad team at home. The arrogance is completely unjustified. If our defense could hold any (non-WSU) team to only 9 points on the road, I’d be much more confident, and we’d have a much better record. SC replaced almost an entire D, and their qb is a true frosh.
Let’s walk a little walk first before trash-talking a team when it wins. I look forward to the day when we start having “disappointing” Pac-10 road victories.
Nice job defending SUC
they have a freshman qb? So do we… But they also have 4 upper classmen 5 star running backs and arguably the best offensive line in the country and could only put up a td on ASU.
For having top 5 talent recruited each of the past 5 years, they look very poorly coached.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Nov 8, 2009 12:37 AM PST up reply actions
Whatever
I’m not a fan of Pete Carroll’s actual coaching. And, believe me, I loathe his demeanor as much as anyone. But it’s pathetic to gloat over their victories. For a very poorly coached team with a completely reloaded defense and a freshman QB with huge upside, they’ve only got 2 losses with a good shot at a BCS in their rebuilding year.
I’d like to be so poorly coached. And I really look forward to the day when our every victory is an object of endless scrutiny and naysaying, and our every loss is a major national event.
$C may have a completely reloaded D,
but how many schools are bringing in 4 and 5 star recruits. I would like to reload with the kind of athletes that they get year after year. Hopefully we will start seeing more of that in the near future.
Boy are you drinking the SUC Kool Aid
Completely reloaded defense?
Their “completely reloaded” defense starts 4 seniors, 4 juniors. 2 redshirt Sophmores and 1 redshirt freshman, none of whom were less than 4 stars coming out of college.
That means that for 10 of the 11 defensive players, this is at a minimum their third year in the program. I know the media loves to defense SUC for underachieving with their ridiculous amount of talent and experience, but its sad to see bruin “fans” do the same thing.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Nov 8, 2009 9:44 AM PST up reply actions
replace college with high school
but the point stands.
I do see having the passing game issues with a freshman qb, but has their been a freshman qb in college history who has played with a more talented and experienced offensive line and running back crew?
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Nov 8, 2009 10:28 AM PST up reply actions
I simply find our obsession with their underperforming
To be beside the point, and to sound an awful lot like the “gap-closing” crap from basketball — only with much less to go on. The biggest criticism comes down to the fact that they’ve ONLY won blow-outs in the Rose Bowl the last several years, when with any kind of coaching they’d never ever lose a game or national championship.
If the roles were reversed, I think we’d be pretty damn annoyed at such criticism.
Their OLine is overrated
Watch them. The OLine is the reason they are struggling. They can’t seem to open holes for the backs or protect Barkley for any reasonable length of time. It certainly isn’t like us last year but it is not your typical USC Oline play.
by 84 on Nov 8, 2009 6:12 AM PST up reply actions
I think they are poorly coached
SUC does not have good position coaches because of Pete Carroll’s arrogance. You are seeing the effects of that more on more as you get 4th and 5th year players now are playing for their 3rd inexperienced coordinator or position coach in their time with the program. I agree they aren’t playing well, but its not because the talent isn’t there
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Nov 8, 2009 9:46 AM PST up reply actions
It isn't arrogance
they look beatable. That’s all there is to it.
by captainqtp on Nov 8, 2009 12:58 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
If Prince is healthy
and we don’t make the same kinds of stupid plays we made against UDub (dumb penalties, tons of turnovers), we have a chance against $C. Their defense is down, Barkley has proven himself to be very average at times, and we can do it.
Agree.
How many times in years past have we watched our boys go into a game with U$C as huge underdogs and come out on top. Admittedly, this is not one of our better performing teams, but neither is $C. I think they can be had.
Agree With Your Title Line...
..although I’m not positive I see any “gloating” here. Our game against USC will be ours to win, I think, if our team goes in focused, poised, and determined. Trojie losses against other Pac 10 teams this year will have absolutely nothing to do with it, (she says, pointing to Dec. 2, 2006).
Pete has become such a blown-up cartoon clown at this point, there would be no point to trash talk him based upon his team’s losses or near-misses or mediocrity. Don’t give a crap…that’s the ticket! Just the mere fact that they are not the center of the college football universe is enough reduce Pete Carroll to obtuse gibberish.
Love My Bruins
Uh...
ASU has a very stingy defense. We have some playmakers on defense, but I don’t think we have been able to stop a decent running game at all this year.
With that said, I think we are going to have a chance against sc, but by no means should anyone expect a trouncing.
Their offense is worse than ours
10 fold. They rotate 3 qbs and ASU’s defense is very good. Very fast, but we have some taller receivers, and a QB in a rhythm. Barkley isn’t in any rhythm, and quite frankly, we have a better passing attack than SC as of right now
There's no one in the world that wants to beat UCLA more than _______.
Just keep in mind
that ASU has a much better defense than Washington or Oregon State.
Better defense
far worse offense. That ASU offense is right there with Wazzu for worst in the conference. I think that if we come out and play sound (with a healthy Prince), we should beat the Sun Devils. We need to come out and play sound though and first, we need to do that in the Palouse.
Formerly ryebreadraz
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 8, 2009 5:34 PM PST up reply actions
Suspect coaching call
Dropping back Brehaut on 3rd and 16 after he just came into the game, and with the history of having fumbled on his last possession at Oregon State, was plain stupidity by the coaching staff. Why take a very low percentage shot, taking on all that downside risk, when you had a chance to take the lead with the sure field goal? This very well could have cost us the game.
by You'reMyBoyBlue on Nov 8, 2009 12:19 AM PST reply actions
Good point
the guy behind me said after second down that Brehaut would drop back, hold on to the ball too long and fumble, and then he went and did exactly that.
The alternative
run it up the middle on 3rd and long? You can’t expect him to fumble every time.
by SuperBruinMan on Nov 8, 2009 1:13 AM PST up reply actions
Agree
If you expect him to fumble, have him just take a knee. You don’t lose as many yards or the ball. But if you expect him to make a play, let him give it a try.
Plus, the Washington secondary was not defending well
KP had some wide wide open targets up to that point. There was no reason to think that the line would not give RB time to hit one of those guys. I never saw a TV shot to see if anybody was open and RB just didn’t see the field. He still should have released a throw if someone was open or make a decision to tuck it and step forward if they were not open.
by 84 on Nov 8, 2009 6:19 AM PST up reply actions
It WAS pessimistic
but then again, it was a correct guess.
That is just rediculous
So on 3rd down, you say; instead of trying to get a TD, let’s just settle for a field goal ON 3RD DOWN?! Your QB should know the plays first all, (he missed a motion on the call) and then he should know where the pocket was, and hold onto the ball. If you put a QB in, he should be able to perform, and saying that the coaching staff is stupid for not giving him his bottle is just dorellian and rediculous
There's no one in the world that wants to beat UCLA more than _______.
by ucla13_usc9 on Nov 8, 2009 8:35 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
if you are going to put him in,
and its 3rd and long, you have to play to win.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Nov 8, 2009 9:47 AM PST up reply actions
General Question
Where were the students?
I actually went to this game and the announced attendance was somewhere around 70,000 which included all the school kids in both end zones.
But the UCLA student section appeared to be only about half filled. Anyone have any idea what was going on?
I was surprised.
I was also at the game and noticed the same thing
My only thought is that a five game losing streak combined with a 12:30 start was enough to convince a lot of students to sleep in and nurse off the effects of Friday night. It’s been too long and I can no longer remember- how many hours before the game do the student buses leave campus for the Rose Bowl?
by insomniacslounge on Nov 8, 2009 9:57 AM PST up reply actions
The five game losing streak is probably the main thing
I think there is a large portion of the student body that doesn’t know a whole lot about football, who probably go largely for the social side of things. When we’re losing, it becomes a lot less fun. Then, they don’t show up even though we’re playing one of the games we’re most likely to win, because they don’t know that Washington is kinda bad too, and they didn’t necessarily see the signs from the OSU game.
UCLA has a lot more kids that go home on weekends
than when I was there, and I think thats part of it.
Its weird that the increase in student housing has resulted in a decrease in school spirit…
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Nov 8, 2009 10:30 AM PST up reply actions
As is usually the case
It’s probably a little of everything. More students are leaving on weekends, but the administration has done a piss poor job as well. The Morgan Center alone hasn’t done nearly enough to built support for the teams, let alone the administration building school spirit.
Formerly ryebreadraz
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 8, 2009 10:54 AM PST up reply actions
good point
coincided with might be a better word choice than resulted in.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Nov 8, 2009 11:02 AM PST up reply actions
This is what happens
when you don’t have a winning team, play at 12:30 in a far away stadium for which you have to take a 9:30 bus…after a night of boozing it up until 3am. Most kids would rather wake up at 10, stroll into the cafeteria for a nice, long, greasy brunch.
The Pac-10 should give UCLA a bit more consideration with the start time since we don’t have an on-campus stadium…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Well, good analysis and posts as usual, but
you forgot to grade the unis, which gave this ancient fan an actual thrill. Also, one comment about KC: I used to hold my breath when he entered the game, but yesterday I was glad to see him come onto the field. Let’s face it people, we are lucky to have Kevin Craft. There, I said it. And Brehaut will be all right. He just needs to get into a game, manage a drive for a couple of first downs and complete a pass ot two. Maybe that could happen against WSU, who knows? Not that I, or any Bruin, should take Wazzu lightly at their place.
Gary Beban
Gary Beban came in off the bench and got the job done. Unfortunately, he was only on the field for the coin toss. But he is still a winner—we won the coin toss. His presence reminds us better days are ahead!
by peggysue69 on Nov 8, 2009 8:58 AM PST via mobile reply actions
Very good analysis!
I enjoyed Kevin Craft’s performance greatly. On numerous occasions, and without practice week reps, he is going through his progressions looking for the open receiver. I vividly remember last year KC locking in on his target and throwing the pick (and in all honesty, there could have been more last year but for defensive drops). But yesterday, he seemed to see the whole field. I believe it was KC who took the grounding call, but I seem to recall coming back from that play and still picking up the first down (?). Game ball shared between the O-line and KC.
I wouldn’t bet money on the Bruins winning out, but if I were in the PAC 10 right now I would least desire facing UCLA and Stanford. Both teams have a lot of upside and both keep getting better.
After 6 weeks I’ll commit and call this a great win, even if it’s just because it isn’t a loss. Is it just me or does everything seem just a little better this Sunday?
Couldn't agree more.
I have been bashing KC and wanting to see Brehaut get his share of snaps, ever since KP went down the first time. I was tickled to death to see KC come in a play so well. When he entered the game I thought it was all over and was ecstatic to have him prove me wrong. Way to go KC.
KC is a whole different player when he gets protection
This is real redemption for KC. I disagree with those that say he should be the starter, but I’m fine with his abilities as Prince’s backup now.
my two cents on the offense...
the o-line played great yesterday overall. couple of lapses here or there but the qbs usually had hrs to get the ball off and were getting a good push on runs.
jetski seems to have regressed a bit, major case of fumblitis which almost killed yesterday’s effort. i like the rb by committee approach coach has finally decided to invoke. i really feel getting the ball to playmakers like thigpen and knox, and hammering it with coleman and moline will pay dividends now and towards the future. in the meantime, jetski will get it together again.
nelson rosario is the man, i repeat, nelson rosario is the man
speaking of freak athletes, where was presley yesterday? i never heard his name called yesterday
Across The Face
Re: Presley
He sprained his shoulder in practice and was out for the game. His status for this upcoming week is in question.
by insomniacslounge on Nov 8, 2009 7:57 PM PST up reply actions
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