UCLA Tries to Let OSU Win; Fails; Wins 27-19.
by freesia39 on Sep 24, 2011 3:43 PM PDT
in Football
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PrintWe tried to lose, we really did. Somehow, we won.
The first half was the best first half we played the entire season, if you completely ignore the last two minutes. It started out ominously, with UCLA punting on their first possession, only to watch Oregon State march down field, take over seven minutes off the clock, but we manage to hold them to only a field goal.
We respond immediately, with Richard Brehaut hooking up with Josh Smith (he is allowed to play on offense!) and then Richard Brehaut dangerously throwing into double coverage but Taylor Embree wins the battle with his size and comes down with the ball in the end zone for the touchdown.
Oregon State looks like they'll respond quickly with a score of their own, converting on XX and long situations, but Sean Westgate bails out the defense by reading Sean Mannion's eyes and picking him off. We capitalize on the turnover with Richard Brehaut scooting into the end zone for the touchdown. The downside on that drive is Jonathan Franklin is injured with a bruised hip and doesn't return for the rest of the game - not a problem though, because Derrick Coleman is here to pick up right where Franklin left off. The most interesting play of that drive is a hand off to Josh Smith who flicks the ball down the field Michael Vick style but the catch could not be made - hello arm strength, Josh Smith!
The defense then picked it up, and played with intensity, forcing a three and out. Unfortunately, our offensive line couldn't do the same, picking up two holding penalties in the next drive. The O-Line is bailed out by Sean Mannion's little hands though, as the ball just flutters out of his hands and Keenan Graham recovers the fumble. We hand the ball off to Jordon James and he scampers in for the touchdown. THREE TOUCHDOWNS. All looked good, and the UCLA offense capitalized on the turnover again.
After more great UCLA defense, with Nate Chandler putting some nice pressure on Mannion, UCLA runs the WORST two minute drill ever, first with NOT calling a timeout to save some time, and then wasting the first minute on THREE plays. On third and one, we pick up ANOTHER holding penalty, backing us up to 3 and eleven, forcing us to punt. Jeff Locke, who was told to kick it out of bounds, instead kicks it to OSU and they return it for a touchdown right before the half. Momentum: OSU. Even worse: Jeff Locke, our only able bodied recruited kicker, was leveled on the kick return was slow getting up.
The second half starts with OSU kicking a field goal, thanks to Aaron Hester, who delivered a late hit and was flagged, keeping an OSU drive alive and kicking. Thanks. Thanks a lot.
The offense, after a pass to Josh Smith, goes into super conservative mode with a steady diet of Derrick Coleman and Malcolm Jones, which works for a while until OSU figures it out, and stops it. Jeff Locke's field goal attempt is blocked.
It's ok though, because Rick Neuheisel's conservatism was being one-upped by Mike Riley, who decided one 4th and 1, to punt. Mike Riley reverts back 10 something years, and thinks he's still coaching the San Diego Chargers!
Don't worry Mike, we'll just punt it right back to you. We're polite Californians like that. And we have Aaron Hester helping you out, trying to hit people, not tackle them. Oregon State allegedly scores, which review allegedly confirms, when he was out of bounds TWICE before even getting close to the goal line, but we're nice and let you right into the red zone anyways, so go ahead and take the touchdown. They go for two, but OSU returns the politeness with a false start and pushing the try back to the 7th, which is picked off by Alex Mascarenas in the end zone.
After both teams exchanged the ball by failing to convert on fourth down, UCLA gets the ball and hands the ball off to Jordon James. Nice kid. He should get to play more. Which means we won't see him again for a few games. We nearly blow this drive with two ill timed timeouts, with Joe Fauria angry as heck about the second one, so we know he will not catch another ball this season. Anthony Barr launches into the end zone, but we miss the extra point on a low kick by Jeff Locke. Kip Smith, feel better quickly.
Oregon State tries for one last shot at the end zone, but Sheldon Price comes up with the defensive play of the game, swatting the ball away, and after a couple of runs, we somehow win the game.
Sorry, Beavers. UCLA is now 1-0 in the Pac-12. Who woulda thunk it?
After every game, we will grade the team based on the Eye Test:
1) Is our defense prepared for each and every team we play?
2) Do we call offensive plays to catch our opponents off guard?
3) Do our players look like they know what they should be doing at all times?
4) Do our players play for 60 G-D minutes every game?
5) Do our players execute?
6) Do we have leaders on the field?
1. We SHOULD have been rushing the hell out of a fricking freshman quarterback, but that didn't work out too well. Our blitzes are boring, and picked up EVERY single time. Aaron Hester had a few dumb plays, and we still nearly lost this game. However, in some big situations, the defense came up big (fourth down tries) and kept OSU from getting close enough to make me scream.
2. In today's game, we actually saw a few new wrinkles. Malcolm Jones picked up big chunks of yards at a time. Josh Smith THREW a pass that was very Michael Vick-ish, and was allowed to catch a few balls. We even saw Anthony Barr sneak into the stat sheet, which certainly caught me off guard. However, on the downside, we relied way too heavily on RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN (then turnover on downs...) and once OSU figured out that, shut us down for most of the second half - we only scored ONCE in the second half.
3. Aaron Hester did not know what he was doing when he made that hit, and Sheldon Price may have hurt himself when he was angry he didn't come up with a pick-6 late in the game. The offensive line had three stupid holding penalties, and our special teams allowed way too much penetration on the PAT miss and the FG miss. But, it didn't look totally horrible.
4. I think they actually did play the entire game. I didn't see much of a let up in effort by the players. The coaches on the other hand, tried to mail it in and go into the heart of conservative play calling with all the runs. There is a theory that you should run the play until they stop it. OSU did stop it, and we still didn't throw the ball. Brehaut hasn't thrown a pick all season, trust him to throw it.
5. With what they were given, yes our players executed well today. Don't celebrate. We played Oregon State, who lost to Sacramento State. Jeff Locke though is having problems with his kicking this week - all that NFL chatter must have gotten to him. His kickoffs were fine though.
6. Brehaut firmly established himself as the starting quarterback today. I really like Alex Mascarenas, and his effort, although I don't see a vocal leader on defense still. The offense I think looks fine, we just have some crap ass play calling.
Hey, we're tied for first place (for now) in the Pac-12 South! Rejoice! If you're not already drunk from all the drinking games during the game!
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Comments
NO-heisal
CRN stop talking about resiliency and start talking about DOMINATION. He was lucky to get the win.
by DaChiBruin on Sep 24, 2011 3:47 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Will we ever play to win or just to hang in there.
by DaChiBruin on Sep 24, 2011 3:49 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
hang in there. Winning is overrated.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Wow I didn't know the record
UCLA leads 41-15-4 all time
I’ll refrain from chiming in on the eye test, but I will say you guys have a decent pass threat with Brehaut.
I fail to see any wins past WSU.
Up at Standford, Luck will have a great shot at breaking the NCAA single game passing record against our D.
We have 6 "winnable: games on the schedule" Forget about @ Furd and @Utah.
I am hoping for 4-4.
by orlandobruin on Sep 24, 2011 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Shred our secondary
If OSU threw for 200+ on us, then Luck…
I say we keep our offense on the field as much as possible.
by robotchampion on Sep 24, 2011 9:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Disagree
I am sure the headline generated quite a few chuckles. Deservedly so, especially the manner in which we won. But the team deserves credit, and credit is due today. I disagree that they “tried” to lose, and “failed” at even that venture.
by DoubleBruin0711 on Sep 24, 2011 3:49 PM PDT reply actions
On the flip side
OSU lost to fricking Sacramento State. That’s a division II school. We should have beat them soundly – our backups are more talented than their starters. And what? Even with the four points we left on the field, it felt like we barely won.
The first 28 minutes of the game was the pace I expected against SJSU. It all disappeared once OSU ran that punt back. We kept OSU from winning, but we sure as hell tried to keep them in it.
Clarification
I agree with the substantive argument in your post, which is that we kept them in the game. Anybody who watched the game today could not dispute that fact.
What I have issue with is the wording of the post. It implies that we are already losers purposefully “trying” to lose. But for a stroke of luck, we “failed,” which is a clever use of the word to backhandedly refer to the fact that we have not experienced much success on the field.
I get it. It is a clever headline for a clever post. But I thought this blog reserved the sarcastic and implicit negativity for during the week, and not for posts immediately after decent wins like today.
by DoubleBruin0711 on Sep 24, 2011 4:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Did you really think that was a 'decent win?'
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Yes
The game was not great. The game was not awful either.
It is not a secret that we are not that good of a football team, despite showing some flashes of potential from time to time. That being said, any team in this conference can beat us on any given week, including Oregon State. That is the (sad) truth. Therefore, I do not understand why it was a foregone conclusion that we “should” have beaten them, or San Jose State for that matter, by more than we actually did. We have not earned the right to think that way. I suppose we “should” have beaten Oregon State by more if you take into consideration our proud athletic tradition and high standards of excellence. But for the past decade or so, we have performed sub-par – perhaps mediocre at best – on the field. So I think this is exactly the kind of performance that we would have expected for this team.
So yes, for this team, that was a “decent” win. There were some good things like a couple of touchdowns and no turnovers.There were some bad things like still sloppy tackling and still conservative play-calling. Throw in a win there, and you have a decent win.
by DoubleBruin0711 on Sep 24, 2011 5:07 PM PDT up reply actions
I can see 'silver lining' thoughts
But a ‘decent win’ implies a decent team. Oregon State is not. I get that we are not a good team right now, and we should be happy whenever and however we win; but that only underscores the fact that we play beneath our ability. Our defensive line was visibly bigger than the SJSU O Line and they got pushed around. We allowed Freshman QB to put up 287 yards! There is nothing decent about that.
So, yeah. I’m going to disagree.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
But
1. A decent win does not always imply beating a decent team. If we beat Oregon State 50 to 0, the win would not only be “decent.” It would, at the very least, be good.
2. I do not understand how you can argue that we play beneath our ability. If, for the past 3 years, we had accumulated winning seasons and had finished at or near the top of the conference, then today’s performance would certainly be “beneath our ability.” But given the fact that we have consistently finished at the bottom of the former Pac-10, I think today’s win properly reflects our team’s ability. If by “beneath our ability” you mean that we have promising athletes in size and skill and the type of players that should be winning games, then I agree. We do have those players. But for some reason, we hav not. Therefore, until we win on a consistent basis, we cannot say that today’s win was “beneath our ability.”
3. Using only one bad statistic (like you did here with the freshman quarterback’s yardage), while at the same time conveniently ignoring the good statistics, to support your proposition that the win was not decent is untenable. As I mentioned before, there were some sloppy and poor aspects to our game. But there were promising ones too. Merely because we gave up 287 yards to a freshman quarterback does not immediately take this win out of the decent category.
by DoubleBruin0711 on Sep 24, 2011 11:56 PM PDT up reply actions
*
*But for some reason, we have not been winning.
by DoubleBruin0711 on Sep 24, 2011 11:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Beneath the ability of the players
These are all high-school all-Americans. Position by position, our players, as recruited, stack up well against all but the top one or two teams in the conference.
They have underachieved. That’s what is meant by not playing up to our ability. And that’s on the coaching.
Team Neuheisel manages to do less with more than any other coaching staff in the conference.
Bad play-calling on offense, bad play-calling on defense, poor preparation, poor player development all add up to something I would not call a “decent win.”
by Seth Chandler on Sep 25, 2011 1:26 AM PDT up reply actions
I thought the post
was part straight reporting and part hyperbole and part parody.
That’s blogging.
And yeah, I am proud we won and I refuse to give up on Stanford. Its time we finally put it together.
@ peggysue69
Thank you. One game at a time, people. We are 1-0 in conference play. Beating Stanford is a tall order, but I never, ever give up hope for my Bruins.
by DoubleBruin0711 on Sep 24, 2011 5:09 PM PDT up reply actions
Also liked seeing Jordan James finally getting it going
Although it’d be nice if they tried running him out of more than that one same formation every time.
Don't know if we tried to lose...
but that sure is the way it looked.
I am pretty late noticing things…but our Linebackers are the worst I have seen in memory.
bruinhawk has it right I’m afraid.
If you count Smith's throw, and the 1 sack, it was 13 pass plays
kind of a joke, really.
formerly bruinhoo
Maybe it felt like more because the passes were big gains
at least on that one drive
Yeah, starting off the game with a 61 yard pass and a 22 yard TD toss
And next to nothing after that
formerly bruinhoo
Terry Donahue football.
Get a lead, try to run out the clock, let the other team back in the game instead. Neuheisel learned it as a player.
by Seth Chandler on Sep 24, 2011 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions
He must unlearn that. He must learn to get a lead, keep it, expand on it,
and crush the opposition. Give it no opportunity to come back.
He never will. I won't give up on this team, despite Neuheisel.
But Neuheisel, like Donahue, manages to do less with more than any other team in the conference.
by Seth Chandler on Sep 25, 2011 1:28 AM PDT up reply actions
It could be argued..
..that Neuheisal is running out the clock as a coach as well. Unless the Bruins get some fire, the waning seconds of the USC game could be the waning seconds of Neuheisal’s career at UCLA.
I didn't see the game, so this is based only on looking at the numbers
Not an assertion, but maybe an assumption. Could it be that CTSS is trying to decide on an identity for the team, and he’s thinking grind it out. UCLA is going to be a running team. I also assume that this identity could change if we play someone other than more of a doormat than we are.
The grinding became predictable.
The problem is when we were playing more freely and passing things, running around the edge, being creative, (first half), the offense flowed and moved and made lots of points. In the third quarter, RN got conservative and started just running the ball up the middle which became incredibly predictable and that is I believe what Freesia is speaking of when talking about trying to give the game away. When the play calling became conservative it became a close game. RN in the 4th finally opened things up again, not just running down the middle, and the offense came to life again. For the most part the passing game had been very successful and a flow had developed. When we finally started passing again it took awhile for that flow to develop again, IMHO.
Go Bruins!
We won't finish last in the Pac 12
I guess that’s something to be happy about. We won, which is always good.
overthrew the receiver
Washington’s going to win
I would love to know who made the decision for the Josh Smith pass
It’s been too long since we’ve seen a trick attempt like that.
Also nice to see us go for it on 4th down, despite not getting it.
Hope to see more aggression next week and that the coaches let Brehaut throw more.
By tomorrow or Monday, I hope that CRN publicly names Brehaut as the starter. That kid could use a public shot of confidence after a win, despite our team almost blowing it.
Dreaming of Westwood while in permanent exile in Virginia
Brehaut will need to throw more. I think 'furd
will be much better at shutting down our running game and forcing RB to pass to beat them.
I think RN was afraid of letting RB go. We scored
on our first drive after only plays. Way too fast. Left too much time for our D to go out on the field again. After that, it was ball control as RN feared having the D on the field too much of the time.
Sweet! Cal does
look quite beatable. Washington now looks more like a probable loss.
Good thing too.
There should be at least 4 winnable games ahead for us to add to the 2 we’ve won.
Fuck all ya naysayers... we won a Pac 12(14, 16) game on the road.
I am going to be at Stanford next week and I’ve got 50 bucks that says we win. I think ‘Furd is ripe for an upset. I think we can score 38 points on them. Not sure we can hold them under 40… but it’s possible. It’s CFB and these are kids who can suddenly play to their potential. I am most worried about our D line being pushed around, too much space in out defense sets, conservative play calling… and the usual head up the ass. Go Bruins….pop.
I prefer to completely write off that game and be pleasantly surprised if we pull off a miracle.
That’s why getting the win today was so important.
by orlandobruin on Sep 24, 2011 4:02 PM PDT up reply actions
+1
Like others, I sincerely hope we win. I just wouldn’t bet on it. And in this case, betting you we will lose looks like the safe bet.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
* Responding to Harry.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Here, here!
Agree wholeheartedly with Nestor! The furd is going down! GO BRUINS!
by Forever a Bruin on Sep 24, 2011 10:03 PM PDT up reply actions
We couldn't get to a freshman QB and he threw for almost 300 yards,
what the heck is Luck going to throw for?
He'll throw for more than 300
but we will still win. You heard it here first. Neu’s team have a disturbing tendency (despite Texas last week) to demonstrate their instability by playing unexpectedly well again really good teams.
That's it...50 bucks?
I’m sorry I hate betting against the UCLA, but common be realistic UCLA sucks. We got so much talent on that field and it’s being wasted by horrific coaching and play calling! So I will take that bet!
by Trojanswearskirts on Sep 24, 2011 5:23 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Actually, Harry if you’re right I will send you a check for $100. Plus, I wouldn’t mind one bit writing out that check!
by Trojanswearskirts on Sep 24, 2011 5:28 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I'll take that bet
I agree we have a chance, and if we do win, writing that 50-dollar check to you would put a huge grin on my face.
by Seth Chandler on Sep 25, 2011 1:32 AM PDT up reply actions
50???
Stanford has that many points by halftime…
OrlandoBruin is thinking properly!!! :-)
Not sure we can hold them under 40…
Well, if we can’t hold them under 40, the only way we win is with a D that plays beyond its current performance and RN lets RB sling away. He’ll need to make more than 12 attempts against Stanford. For Luck, 12 throws is a only half a quarter’s worth of passing.
I think Bre still has potential we haven't seen yet...
… and we’ll need to pass 25 times at Stanford. But the key might be running for 280 yards and not letting Stanford’s O have the ball too often.
Well, of course, if RN will just dial up more
passing plays. I’m thinking RN is still less than 100% confident in RB in that regard. That’s why so many running plays to chew up the clock and offer less potential for turnovers, in theory anyway.
If we can beat Stanford with the ground game, that might stifle RB’s passing I’d love to see us run all over Stanford.
Any way to win.
Hope you're right Harry...
Even at full potential…RB is 1/4 the QB Luck is.
by GogetemBruins on Sep 24, 2011 4:23 PM PDT up reply actions
For once, I'd like to see a Bruin QB in a breakout
game against a more experienced and talented opponent.
Stanford would be the perfect opportunity for RB even with 1/4 the talent of Luck’s.
Miracles can happen.
Here’s hoping it happens against Stanford.
KP starts 0-2, RB starts 2-0
Troy is burning
by bruinbasketball on Sep 24, 2011 4:05 PM PDT reply actions
RB has no interceptions. KP has almost as many completions to other teams
players than his own.
love stats like this
equating Houston and Texas with SJSU and OSU.
I like stats like this.
Points with RB leading the offense: 27, 20, 27, 34
Points with KP leading the offense: 0, 0 in his 2 atrocious quarters.
"I have one word for you...Be careful."
-Jose Guillen
By which time, the Cardinal puts its band on the field
to play us for the 2nd half, and one of their trombone players tackles Coleman 1/2 yard short of the goal line as time expires to preserve the win.
Glad to get the win
but this was a very very bad OSU team. UCLA’s talent is so far ahead of OSU’s that even Mike Riley was joking and laughing on the sidelines not even expecting to win the game. This is easily their worst team since the 90’s and I’m guessing they’re going to go winless in conference, perhaps 1 conference win if someone falls asleep against them.
The coaching advantage was the only thing they had going for them and exploited UCLA’s weaknesses on defense as best as they could with a freshman QB and offense littered with walk-ons. Redundant playcalling on offense by UCLA lead to OSU winning the third quarter and closing the gap.
So we stand here at 2-2 (1-0) with the two victories coming against winless teams with #5 coming up. UCLA must at least stay competitive with the Cardinal with a dynamic and effective game-plan. The coaches have this upcoming week of practice to figure it out. Stanford is the best team we play all season and the team collectively has to have the mindset to go up to the farm and play the game of their lives. If they can’t come out inspired it will be another red checkmark against this clueless coach.
Agree on all points.
FWIW, SJSU beating NMSU right now.
by orlandobruin on Sep 24, 2011 4:26 PM PDT up reply actions
New Mexico State
coached by none other than DeWayne Walker.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Could OSU's victory come against $c?
It has happened before…
by solidgoldsound on Sep 24, 2011 10:05 PM PDT up reply actions
I am pleased by a couple of things this game
For starters, we had players in there that we’ve been begging to see. No Dye = more McDonald and Riley, something that benefited our backfield. I know everyone was ripping on Hester (myself included) but remember, Abbot was out. We’re thin at CB. Otherwise Barocio would have had to play.
The offensive penalties suck, but the fat boys cracked open lanes for the Bash and RB. I give em props for that. I think our run D was a little better as well. Iuta Tepa is definitely able to blow up plays. If only the coaches could play him more…
On the negative side, it seems like we played 3 quarters of FB. We got sloppy in the 3rd quarter.
I don't think they tried to lose
I’d ammend the title to, “Bruins Win the Battle of Who Could Care Less”. The bottom of the PAC-12 South is officially better than the bottom of the PAC-12 North.
I'd like to think RN was just doing enough to win and
no more. He got as conservative as his mentor in just preserving the lead, stopoing OSU and hoping just to take as much time off the clock as possible. RN wasn’t going to let RB let loose with passing unless he absolutely had to.
And it was a great acheivement for RN to chalk up a
rare win on the road.
I'm going to pump some sunshine here
Sure the game was painful to watch, but you got the win, and got it at a great time. If the locker room report I saw posted here is true, the team should really get a good boost from this.
OSU was driving to tie up the game, and Bruins made a 4th down stop. Then they closed the game out by running the ball for two first downs. No turnovers.
There’s something to work with, at least I think so.
The game wasn't hard to watch...
… the second half was hard to watch.
Perspective I guess
For me it was all hard to watch XD
There was a lot of clamor to get Randall Carroll in the game
And indeed, he was on the field for many reps. Too bad all those reps were spent running up the middle for no gain.
by Objection Penguin on Sep 24, 2011 4:19 PM PDT reply actions
But...
he was OPEN on at least 2 of em. Keep trying please!
by GogetemBruins on Sep 25, 2011 6:12 PM PDT up reply actions
That was the most unsatisfying win I think I've ever seen
And I think we’ve seen a few.
1) Is our defense prepared for each and every team we play? D – our secondary is atrocious and continues to play 5-10 yds off receivers – even on 3rd and 2. And unfortunately also downfield. LBs appear to be wandering around most of the time as well. Tacking is still dismal and embarrassing
2) Do we call offensive plays to catch our opponents off guard? C – some of those plays caught OSU off guard (e.g. QB keeper on that 1st TD) but were otherwise largely unimaginative. Liked the Josh Smith toss downfield, we need more of that. The plays that worked were simple plays that were executed properly (e.g. Coleman up the gut, over and over again, James on the end around, some nice passes by Brehaut). I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, why aren’t we getting the ball in the hands of our playmakers with a well-timed screen pass now and again? Especially when the LBs have to commit to the box to contain Coleman.
3) Do our players look like they know what they should be doing at all times? C – No, unnecessary timeouts and too may penalties, again
4) Do our players play for 60 G-D minutes every game? B – the players didn’t give up and saved what could have really been a disastrous loss. Unfortunately, 21 decided to play for 60:05 minutes and picked up a 15-yder
5) Do our players execute? D – too many penalties, awful at nearly every facet of defense – a better team would have annihilated us today. And ST? I thought we at least had that figured out. Guess not.
6) Do we have leaders on the field? C – Brehaut, by default. Maybe Coleman as a quiet leader, who comes to play and is really the only kid who physically dominates our opponents. Love that guy.
Plenty of room for improvement, but then I really didn’t think we’d win. And for that I’m grateful. Would have been there at the farm anyway next weekend, but at least now we’ll be riding in with a little momentum and undefeated in the Pac-12, FWIW. Kinda looking forward to it.
most unsatisfying
even more that San Jose St.?
Agree magic.
After the loss to Houston I actually felt optimistic. After the win to San Jose I felt like the end was near. Today, I’m feeling a bit better. We did much better against the run, we know who are qb is and that he is capable, the receivers were catching. I’m worried about the laying off on pass coverage, but I feel better than after San Jose. JJ Stokes kept talking about hitting the receivers coming off the line. I hope that message gets to the team. Can JJ coach?
Go Bruins!
Sorry got cutoff
Meant yeah, but agree both were pretty dismal. But that was our 2nd game and this was our 4th. I’m still seeing so many of the same mistakes and only marginal improvement in the areas that need fixing. I still feel like we can’t tackle and the offensive gameplan is still less imaginative than I expected before the season started. The defense will get torched by any team that plays even average football. Anyway, it’s really a tough call, but I guess I just hoped for more after last week’s embarrassment. As I said, I didn’t expect that we’d win, but I also thought we would be more disciplined on D, more aggressive offensively and not play conservative if/when ahead. There’s no excuse for that SJSU game, but we’re too far along in the season to still be so remedial. That’s all.
by Nocal Bruin on Sep 24, 2011 8:00 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
This is another example of winning a game we should win.
Agree that this the worst OSU team Riley has had. We need a signature win followed by a second signature win to get some true momentum going.
I still think the win over SJSU ranks as the most
unsatisfying win. We should have crushed them without working up much of a sweat on our own home field.
At least I don’t recall seeing any stupid defensive penalties against OSU.
Late Hit
First quarter…? Late hit out of bounds…15 yards.
Missed it. Tuned in just after OSU's first FG.
Players responsible for such should be benched for an appropriate amount of time.
Happy Trails!!!
Listening to CRN’s on-field postgame interview, even he knows that he’s gone!!!
by Trojanswearskirts on Sep 24, 2011 4:26 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
If you think CRN isn't going anywhere
Think about this: Mike Riley is contracted through 2019
Oh, and he gets a year extension for each bowl appearance
Doesn’t look like that’s happening this year. But if you think Bruins are pulling for their coach to turn things around… oh man.
Only 4 penalties for 40 yards against us!
That’s an all time low this season!
1) Is our defense prepared for each and every team we play?
Nope, saw much of the same problems we’ve been seeing all season…
2) Do we call offensive plays to catch our opponents off guard?
In the first half, some of those plays definitely caught me off guard. It all boiled back to the same old in the second half though.
3) Do our players look like they know what they should be doing at all times?
Nope, those 2 consecutive timeouts in the second half were terrible and I think a result of confusion among our players and coaches.
4) Do our players play for 60 G-D minutes every game?
No…
5) Do our players execute?
Only in small bunches
6) Do we have leaders on the field?
Honestly, no. I thought Jonathan Franklin would be one after his somewhat successful season last year, but he went out. On defense, nothing but premature celebrations after “big hits” on 2nd downs, then failing to stop the 3rd down conversion. Then there was that late hit by Aaron Hester, did he get benched after that? Someone should have set him right.
biggest bright spot in this game for me
was the play of Richard Brehaut.
There has never been a doubt that he has the arm and good enough athleticism to be a successful QB for our team; but the questions about his mastery of the offense and decision-making have kept the QB competition alive.
Today was the game where I thought Brehaut had made strides in the mental aspects:
1) a few good audibles into better plays
2) only throwing into traffic when there was a mismatch
3) being willing to take a hit – or tuck and run for a small gain – rather than risk a turnover on a play that isn’t there
4) good pocket awareness and check-downs
additionally, watching his play in the mesh and with the playaction/deception, I thought he was much improved from previous appearances.
I have really believed that Prince and Brehaut have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to running this offense, without clear overall advantage; based on today’s performance, I think Brehaut has upped his game in the areas where Prince had an advantage. I don’t want to make too much of one game, but I think Brehaut did a lot to justify the faith CRN showed in naming him the starter at the start of the week. If he keeps it up, he should remain the undisputed starter.
+1
holding on to the ball… There were a couple of times where brehaut was going to pitch/throw but had a defender in his face and could not see if he was pitching/throwing to a teammate. He wisely maintained possession of the ball and took the hit for a loss – better than a turnover.
+1
I’m really optimistic about this QB, and that simply has not been true in many, many seasons.
Love My Bruins
VeniceBruin, as to No. 1, how do you know Brehaut's audibles turned into better plays?l
We have no way to compare the original play with the audible. Can you fake an audible to throw the defense off?
guesswork
though it seemed pretty clear to me that he was changing the play at the line of scrimmage; and that the resulting play was often well-suited for dealing with the defense. Mostly: audibiling to a Coleman handoff when OSU had only 6 in the box. While this may not seem like rocket science, it is good because (a) it is something that was happening less earlier in the season and (b) he was able to size up the situation, make a decision, communicate the decision to his teammates and execute the decision without being too hurried. He seemed pretty much in control of the situation. Again, this seemed an improvement.
Opposite
Had a good discussion where we thought his audibles were just switching the run to the other side.
by robotchampion on Sep 24, 2011 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions
+1
… a lot to build on. The only criticism I have/had with Bre is the weird way he freezes in the pistol handoffs… I know that’s the model, but it seems he’s a little slow and not real deceptive. But I think he could develop into a very good QB.
Let's celebrate the positives while lamenting the errors
No turnovers, good ball control offense and running game, some nice throws and receptions. Nice to see a big rotation at running back/F-back and all contributed.
Biggest error was not punting out of bounds late in first half (duh!). Still can’t believe how weak our defense plays plus the stupid mistakes (late hits etc.). NO pressure on any QB from the 6th senior (Keenum) to the raw freshman today.
I thought this post “headline” was too snarky. These young men are not trying to fail.
+1
I get sick of the negativity on here sometimes. I thought we played with much more poise on offense, and defense tackled much better. There’s plenty to work on, but so many people here on BN are purely negative.
"Good luck is when opportunity and preparation collide." - Coach Rick Neuheisel
by Zach Spitulski on Sep 24, 2011 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Even the defense... had good moments..
For the first time this year I saw pursuit and team-tackling, attacking the ball… not arm tackling. A characteristic of our teams the last couple years is trying to tackle with hands and trying to catch the ball with the body… reversed what it should be. Of course those good moments were not consistent. Of course the defense scheme, too much space, still gave up third down yardage too easily. Of course the D line still isn’t getting much pressure on the QB and a few creative blitzes would help a bit, duh. But change a couple things and this game is 31-13, just about what we could expect. Next week is key. This team could get team with this group of coaches. I loved seeing the players jump around happily as they were going into the victory formation at the end. They deserve to celebrate and they deserve a fan base who support them.
Why?
We did all these good things against a well inferior team, it should be like that! Yet, we barely pulled off a win. The Bruins are an experienced team, we shouldn’t even be questioning them on their tackling or their poise on offense. We should be destroying a team like the Beavers and SJSU. So it’s hard not to be negative when you know deep down inside they are WAY better than this.
by Trojanswearskirts on Sep 24, 2011 5:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Agree, agree
We tend to be too negative at times. I understand the frustration of not winning but we must back our coaches and players. We will put it all together soon!
by Forever a Bruin on Sep 24, 2011 10:10 PM PDT up reply actions
"We" aren't too anything
“We” are realistic, and “we” refuse to bury our heads in the sand and wait for the train to come rolling down the tracks and run us all over. “We” don’t have to do anything except call it as we see it, and anyone that doesn’t like that can get the hell out.
+1, "These young men are not trying to fail"
They won this game. That’s what we wanted them to do. Overall, they played better than they have before this season—they have improved. I have to, and do, believe that OSU is a better team than SJSU.
They are our team, we are their fans, and they won.
Congratulations to them, and now the hard work starts to get ready next weekend.
Love My Bruins
I don't think about our boys when I read the headline...
I read it as a well-deserved jab at Neuheisel’s “run the clock out for an entire half” conservative play calling…
Obviously our boys played well, but Neuheisel kept shackling them with conservatism…
by BruinBaller88 on Sep 24, 2011 10:48 PM PDT up reply actions
A warning to folks
If you are going to create fake accounts just to clown around, we will consider banning your regular account as well. The person who created the “RickNeuheisel” account, you know who you are. If we this from you again, you will be gone.
This goes for anyone else who are creating accounts, just to spam and hijack conversation threads here on BN. Thanks.
I Don't Think I've Ever Experienced A Situation....
Where a “win” really feels more like a loss. I just feel so let down right now. Yeah, I’ll take the “W” but it feels like a phyrric victory at best.
Los Angeles Rams and the UCLA Bruins!!!!!
by Minnesota Bruinfan on Sep 24, 2011 5:38 PM PDT reply actions
Well That Was Bad, Too
It’s just that, with today’s game, we were up 21-3 and THOUGHT we were SO close to a blowout win – and then everything suddenly went kablooey.
Los Angeles Rams and the UCLA Bruins!!!!!
by Minnesota Bruinfan on Sep 24, 2011 6:05 PM PDT up reply actions
I was very disappointed by the 2nd half
It seems as though our opponents always make half-time adjustments, and we don’t. Our play calling got too conservative and we kept running the ball over and over and over and it was completely predictable. We did well passing in the first half, and I agree that we made some good progress on the ground after Franklin went out, but I keep going back to last year when Chow would always start the first play as a run up the center every single time. Brehaut is a good passer and we need to mix up the plays more. In the past, we’ve been a stronger second half team – today we just seemed to go wimpy after a reasonably strong first half (last play 1st half excepted).
You know who else sucked at 2nd half adjustments?
Karl Dorrell, that’s who.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
no matter what WE WON!...and that goes along way to getting us into a bowl game...
if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it must be a win over the beavers…we are 1-0 against the state of oregon…as ugly as it was it was a victory…and with UCLA going to the farm next week i want to enjoy this while i can…as ugly as it was…
FYI
Chris Forcier, a transfer from UCLA, threw seven touchdown passes for Furman in a 62-21 win over Presbyterian.
Presbyterian
the mighty team that Cal played?
Chris Forcier
I don’t know exactly what year he would have been this year or if he would have graduated already but he would have been potentially perfect for this type of offense.
Nice Play By LSU
Now ready to go up 20-7 on WVU in Morgantown…
Wish we could run a play action pass like that sometime.
Los Angeles Rams and the UCLA Bruins!!!!!
by Minnesota Bruinfan on Sep 24, 2011 6:26 PM PDT reply actions
Ooops...
Sorry. Didn’t realize that this thread was up now…My bad.
Los Angeles Rams and the UCLA Bruins!!!!!
by Minnesota Bruinfan on Sep 24, 2011 6:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Amend title.
I would amend it to “UCLA coaches try to let OSU win”. The play calling in the 3rd quarter was horrible, conservative, and ruined our flow.
Go Bruins!
Brehaut is my quarterback. No more debate. Permanent starter.
Hundley is my next starter, if Bre goes down injured.
I would use KP if Bre gets hurt in a game. Then the next week give Hundley all the reps.
That kid came here to run the pistol. Get him in game situations. He will learn on the fly.
How are ya gonna recruit all world players, then put em on the bench? Nobody is backing up an All American here. That’d be the only justification to sit a stud.
Coleman is my #1 RB. Hands down. Not even close. I can count on this guy.
Malcolm Jones, National High School POY, is my #2 RB (you don’t bench kids like this).
(Mostly because National High School Runner-up POY is kickin butt at South Carolina).
J.Franklin… I honestly don’t get the infatuation anymore. He kinda seems like he should be a breakaway threat. But, he really does nothing to make me forget about Coleman. Give those two the same holes, and Coleman gets the same yardage, and more! Sorry.
I think Neu thinks he’s MJD. He ain’t. By a long shot. I just don’t get it.
Joesph Fauria. I love this guy. What’s not to love? Where is he? You don’t find diamonds, then stick them back into the ground. I just don’t get it. What gives?
On defense, I wish we had film so we can all see how many of our db’s hesitate, and freakin backpeddle as they watch the action come their way. That’s right, backpeddle a few steps back and watch the play, in the name of being careful, and not wanting to make a mistake. Don’t you guys see it too? We gotta start givin out decals for helmets for instant pops, or somethin. Or sit guys who are not in the pile. “Atta-boys” in film sessions. Somethin. I don’t know. So frustrating. lol.
U-C-L-A Fight, Fight, Fight! Go Bruins!
Go Lakers! Go Dodgers! Go Angels!
Disagree on the running backs
Jones was HS POY, not the #1 recruit. Scout had him as the #3 RB, Rivals had him as the #9, Lattimore was #1 in both, and the undisputed #1. I felt the same way as you last year, why aren’t we starting Jones? I brought this up to a friend who is a sportswriter in the LA area who saw a lot of Jones in HS and the first words out of his mouth were, “Jones is not Lattimore”, even before I mentioned Lattimore.
That is not to say Jones is not a potentially great RB, or that he doesn’t deserve more touches (I believe he will be great and does deserve more action), but 3rd in this rotation might be right for him. Remember, even though he is looking a bit down this year, Franklin is still averaging close to 6 ypc. Look back at the archives, last year a lot of people were saying we should bench DC, over reactions to a couple of games isn’t always helpful.
The problem with the UCLA running game is not the talent, it is the situational play calling. Clearly, against a small SJSU team, Coleman should have been in earlier. Same thing against a small(ish) OSU line. Again, this goes to the coaches. But, you can tell when we got conservative the 2nd half against OSU, up the middle with Coleman was somewhat contained. In this case, it is up to the coaches to find a way to keep a bruiser (DC or MJ) and a speedster (Jetski or Jordan James) on the field at the same to keep the running game going by having both options available. We need more running sets that aren’t pistol style, it just gets too predictable and it isn’t the type of set that works if the defense knows that a run is coming.
IMHO, this goes directly to the use of Fauria: if Fauria is used more often you can have a big running set with 2 TEs and 2 RBs in the backfield and still have a legit passing threat. The problem with the Bruins going to the big set now would be everyone and their brother would stack the box, double the SE and leave one LB or safety on the TEs knowing we never throw to them. Not using Fauria more negates our running game because of this.
agree with everything
Coleman doesn’t need a line to make a hole, he makes his own holes. Fauria needs to be utilized more, at 6’8" he could be THE short yardage red zone option (if we start reliably getting into the red zone)
I think Rick got one message from last week, (I wonder if reads BN), its that we want to see our young guys play. Lo and behold we start seeing all of our vaunted recruits in the stat sheet a week later
Barr touchdown
James touchdown
Owa tackle for a loss
Smith 62 yd catch
Malcolm Jones with serious yards/carry
I liked it. I want to see more of it. Still some quizzical play calling. I know we lambaste Rick for punting on 4th and 1 in opponent territory when we’re down by two scores. But going for at midfield when we have a lead doesn’t make sense. Field position and clock management more important in that situation. That almost fucked us.
I want to see everyone play loose at Stanford. This uptight play won’t cut it. No more slow it down huddle offense while Stanford scores every 40 seconds. We have to set the pace and put the pressure on them to have a chance. To do it, we need to keeping subbing guys in with fresh legs which we can do (we have a ton of athletes at WR and RB). Our offense is pretty predictable when the same personnel are out on the field on every down.
I hate Stanford. I hate the Farm. I want to see that tree get chopped down. Haven’t forgotten about last years blasting on network TV. Hope our boys get some revenge.
Your team Brehaut, make it happen.
by Strathmore&Gayley on Sep 24, 2011 8:29 PM PDT reply actions
No, it made perfect sense to go for it on 4th down
Not even close. Check all the statistics on 4th down. What made no sense was running the exact same dive play on 4th and 3 as on 3rd and 3 and as on the first two downs. You know you’re in 4 down territory, why not actually stretch that crappy defense? Such fear on the sidelines, such fear.
But going for it on that 4th down was about the only correct call CRN has made all year. And if you notice, it didn’t cost us anything. Keeping the ball there far outweighed the benefit of 20 yards of field position, and it would’ve been easy with a half-ass decent play call.
I think playcalling
Will always look conservative when you’re running the pistol without a running threat at QB. It’s basically one less option in an option offense. Defenses recognize this and the playcalling begins to look stale. That’s why I think Prince had been getting the nod. Brehaut had 8 rushes for 10 yards today. That won’t cut it next week.
To be fair, I think Brehaut managed the game well and threw a couple nice passes. He wasn’t asked to do much, so it’s tough to criticize. Though I’m not exactly brimming with confidence in our offense going forward.
I guess that’s why I scratch my head so much at CRN’s decision to go with the Pistol with a passing qb like Brehaut, then let a highly recruited running qb watch from the bench while our offense looks stale.
Did Fauria Really Shout At CRN?
I followed the game on the thread and didn’t see it myself.
There were a couple of comments that Fauria and CRN were shouting at each other. If true, it’s not good — particularly not good to have a player yelling at a coach.
Is there more story to be told?
sjh
had something to do with the play
We had to call a timeout because of a misunderstanding or something.
I didn't get that from the brief look...
I thought he was trying to calm down a pissed-off Fauria…
and I think I remember both of them teeing off on Neuheisel on (not quite national) TV…
by BruinBaller88 on Sep 24, 2011 10:52 PM PDT up reply actions
I thought Fauria was yelling at Brehaut
And Brehaut and CRN was trying to calm him down. But who knows. Miscommunication has been a problem all season with this team. Even with so many new coaches, this issue has been pretty embarrassing because it’s affected a lot of drives.
What happened to our special teams?
I don’t remember having trouble in the previous games. Why did we look so bad here?
Locke got hit hard.
The punt return is another matter, I have no idea what happened there, you are right. But I’m thinking Locke’s knock down affected him and his place kicking afterwards. I hope…oh so I hope…he is okay.
Go Bruins!
I'm blown away by the amount of people who read the headline as literal.
‘Letting your opponent win,’ or ‘giving the game away’ are well known and established sports euphemisms for playing poorly.
Be prepared: ‘snatching defeat from the jaws of victory’ is another one. You may see it. Calm down. There is no shark or alligator really on the field with the ball in it’s mouth. I just want to make sure everyone is aware of this.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
by MexiBruin on Sep 24, 2011 11:43 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
Am I the only one
that thinks this pistol offense is really just a fancy way of giving the ball to designated RB (Coleman or Franklin) no matter the situation? I thought the Pistol was supposed to open it up and allow a multidimensional attack, but through 4 games I always see:
The QB taking the hike
The QB standing there, holding it outwards offering it
Someone running by real quick past the QB, almost NEVER taking the ball,
The QB handing it to the RB Coleman or Franklin
and the QB running the opposite direction.
If I were to break down the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th option, 1st being immediate hand-off, 2nd being running back hand off, 3rd being QB run, 4th being passing, my guess is the breakdown would be something like:
1st option: ~5%
2nd option: ~85%
3rd option: ~5%
4th option: ~5%
It's gotten to the point where the opposing team almost never takes either of the 1st and 3rd option baits, and crowd up the middle where Coleman and Franklin runs.
And the worst part is, we can go in there and do it 4 times in a roll thinking it’ll suddenly open up a whole new playbook.
Ya and
Our QB runs are so weak. There has got to be a better way to use them.
by robotchampion on Sep 26, 2011 4:25 PM PDT up reply actions
on a side note,
I was reading what Jon Gold had to say and something really stuck out to me
Neuheisel said that the team was going to stick with its running identity – “We have games to win, and we have to use a formula that guys us best chance to be successful; that’s who we are” – but the Bruins might need to open it up more next week to keep up with a prolific Stanford offense that has scored 138 points in three weeks behind all-world quarterback Andrew Luck.
Really! this is our identity? This just solidifies what everyone thinks about RN. Conservative, lacking trust in a QB, and no respect for an OC. If this team’s identity is to run, please tell me how we are going to win. It didn’t take long for OSU to figure out what we were doing and they almost came back. What message does this send our QB who has shown that he has the ability to run the offense if given the opportunity? How do you instill confidence in a team when you blatantly tell them that you don’t have the confidence in them to win?
Since when was "running all the time" our identity?
I thought we were a mostly run team, with many different ways to run it and occasional passing – kinda team. Not a QB gives it to the RB all the time up the middle kinda team
Agree
This is why I want to see Hundley. If your qb isn’t a running threat, it’s one less option in an option offense. Playcalling begins to look stale, defenses get used to this, and our offense stalls. If you go from, say, 2 options to 3, you’ve just opened your offense by 50%.
A great example is Martinez at Nebraska. He can’t throw all that well, but he still runs an efficient offense because he’s an option, himself.
Run. Pass. Defense. Special Teams. Our identity shouldn't be pinned on any one
of these, but using everything we have in our arsenal to win. That and playing like you know what you’re doing and where you are supposed to be for a full 60 minutes.
Nice summary
Just need to mention that on that same Sheldon Price play he hurt himself jumping around from not getting the pick 6, exacerbating the growing list of injured players.
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