And I'm not referring to Halloween

FUCK.  KARL.  DORRELL.

Damn.

In the first half on offense, we never really got started, and in the red-zone, we never finished and had to settle for field goals. Cowan is only adequate. He can develop some rhythm on occasion, but the talent around him doesn't seem to be enough. (We certainly don't have anything close to a Drew Olsen this year.)

On defense, the team made a good effort, but when you look at how our talent matched up, WSU had equal or better stuff. For example, Van is too small to cover one-on-one. He usually finds himself in a mismatch against a taller player. It is inevitable that he will lose the battle. I'm not picking on Van, but he is only typical of the kinds of problems that UCLA has in talent (or lack thereof).

I actually thought that Dorrell made a better effort as a sideline coach in this game. He actually seemed to be personally involved in the game decisions, and his interaction with the players was more visible.

Is Dorrell the best coach that UCLA could get? No, but with the current talent pool and against the PAC-10 which seems to have parity across the conference (with the exception of Stanford,where the shelf is empty, and SC which this year has immature but superior talent ), UCLA is a mediocre team getting mediocre results. If you fire Dorrell at this point, don't expect anything much better to happen. We have a mediocre team and a mediocre coach, and (surpise!), we're getting mediocre results.
 

Let's be positive about DG and give him the chance to be great!

I'm new to BN and I'm a long time reader - you guys do a great job and are loyal and passionate - everything a sports program (college or pro) would want from its fans.

You cheer when we win, but you make comments that are supportive even when we lose. You stood by Howland last year in the beginning, and so did I. You could tell despite the losses that he was building a program and instiling toughness and discipline that was evaporated by Lavin.

But its really clear to me that 4 years ago when Guerrero hired Dorrell he took a big risk, and that risk has backfired

KD is a good team guy - he'll go out and do what he's told and execute. But he doesn't have the toughness (read: meanness at times) to be a true leader. His expressionless flat demeanor is a drawback in the college level. How are his pupils to feel his passion for the game if he himself can't communicate it? Neither does he innovate or develop his players.

KD has been coasting for 4 years now - he has delivered consistent mediocrity. The talent pipeline overall is drying up for UCLA and we are surrendering prospects we had a good shot at now to SC, and Cal. Would you want to go to UCLA now as a highly rated prospect? Probably not. How many 5-star prospects other than a Mormon mission transfer have we landed in 3 years since he's been here? How many have Cal or SC? You can say the deck is stacked against him, but that's bs - football is a tough game, people kick you until you get back up and fight back and prove yourself - a facsimile for life. That's how program turnarounds happen. Others have done so, why not here at UCLA?

KD is NOT a good manager of games either - consistently dumb game management mistakes are made often at the worst times. OC's and DC's are blamed, run out of town. But really, who is really responsible?

This man was a reach when he was hired - overpromoted beyond his experience (WR coach? Not even an OC/DC?) for a major football program.

We are ultimately held back by our administration and our measly pay packages. If Cal can pay Tedford up near a million a year with incentives, redo their stadium, and build a new practice facility - I ask you why UCLA with its $2 billion endowment goal can't. (I think its 2 bil, someone double check if I'm wrong, but I'm not far off).

Guys and gals, face facts and the truth. UCLA FB is an also-ran in the Pac-10 now. A middling mediocre undsteady program that is a couple of bad breaks (injuries, transfers, suspensions) away from a lower-tier team.

In college it all comes down to the coach. He sets the tone for everything. I'm a Niners fan and you can see what Mike Nolan (pro example albeit) is doing in SF vs. what Donahue and Erickson did. Just watching a game, yes they suck, you can see they are developing and maturing gradually slowly.

We haven't developed a program in 4 years under Dorrell. We haven't learned from our mistakes. Our recruiting talent is dwindling vs. SC/Cal. Our coaches aren't doing the best job of developing talent for the next level which further entices recruits to come in a virtuous cycle.

Its time to cut the cord and bring in a coach that is a program builder. My vote (if he'll have us) is Butch Davis. See the implosion of Miami without him? Just someone who is tough, but fair and gains the respect of many of the spoiled, me-first high-school athletes of today. Toughness, grit, passion, but fairness and intelligence. Someone we can all respect win or lose. The results will follow - we all deep down know this.

1. Field goals should be 6 points and not 3.
2. Each team gets unlimited timeouts.
3. "Going for it" on 4rth down is prohibited, only punts and field goals are allowed.
4. Being unpredictable on offense is prohibited.  The offense must tell the defense what play has been called before the ball is snapped.
   

Karl Dorrell seems to be a decent man.  

But he is only a decent coach.

That's it.

In every game it seems, there is a play where the team simply does NOT know what to do, and has to burn a costly timeout to do what other teams are prepared to do at a moment's notice.

The 4th and 1 play resulting in a poorly thrown pass to Pitre on the left side?  THAT WAS IT.

The Notre Dame was not a "moral victory."

It was a LOSS.

Worse, it was not a moral win, but a loss of MORALE.

Our D didn't show like it has most of this year, but given that it actually HAS shown far more often than not this year, I can let it slide.

But the team, overall, is getting WORSE.

I will still believe they CAN win each game this year, because I am a fan and I love my school and its people.

But I no longer have faith that they WILL win any given game.

And the clock ticks...

MIM

Or a dark navy blue with gold writing so it's reminiscent to the "Save Bruin Basketball: Lose Lavin" shirts.

Its not going to get any either with Cal next week and SC... well be luck if we get 1 more win from OSU..who beat SC tonight....

If anyone can provide online support for sales I will take care of the rest.  

If you are serious about making Fire KD shirts or anything to save Bruin Football please email me at alfredo@merchlab.com