Let’s continue with our notes on Oregon State. Here is the latest re. the QB situation in Corvallis:

Beavers quarterback Lyle Moevao, who injured his right throwing shoulder against Arizona State, didn't practice Wednesday and told The Oregonian that he didn't expect to start Saturday.

Sean Canfield, a lefthander, led Oregon State to a come-from-behind 27-25 win against ASU and will likely start Saturday.

I really like the way Walker is setting the mindset for his defense:

"We're still going to prepare for both," UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said. "They have a good system. They're not going to change the system. One is right-handed, one is left-handed. One's a little shorter. One's a little taller. But they're going to do what they do. It's more or less trying to prepare for their schemes, more so than which quarterback is going to play."

Crucial for Walker will be the continued solid contribution from ATV and Norris at our CB spots. Kevin Pearson from the Press Enterprise has a good story on how the Bruin CBs have been working to stay sharp and fresh (as much as practicable) while taking every snap with the first team this season:

Norris said he and Verner have been diligent about sitting in the ice tub after practice and staying off their legs during the day. The two are taking almost every first-team rep in practice all week and acknowledge they're often sore before Saturday's game even begins.

"We're knocking on wood," defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said. "You hate to be in this situation, but it is what it is.

"You have to give those guys a lot of credit. They've had a good year and kept us out of trouble. We just hope they can make it through the season."

That the two have been as good as they have while being used so much is telling. Walker likes to run a defensive scheme that gives its corners almost no help, and the pair has been solid in pass coverage.

With four games remaining, both Norris and Verner acknowledge they could hit a wall, but say they are doing all they can to not wear down. And while Verner said it's been physically demanding, the pair has had to be just as mentally tough to handle the challenge.

They will be under a lot of pressure on them this Saturday taking on Rodgers brothers (Jacquizz and don’t forget about James), Sammie Stroughter and Shane Morales. I am sure Walker and his coaches are going drill into their defense about the need to tackle because if they come out with a sloppy effort against this offense, Beavers will have no trouble ending Riley’s winless streak at the Rose Bowl.

On the other side of the ball, UCLA receivers see an opportunity against Oregon St. DBs:

The UCLA receivers have seen videotape of Oregon State's defense and know the Beavers have been burned on fade routes this fall.

"They play a lot of man bump," freshman receiver Taylor Embree said. "Any time you play that, you're susceptible to getting beat deep."

The question is, can the Bruins' offensive line supply the time to let longer routes develop? Embree said the receiving corps can't worry about what's happening back at the line of scrimmage.

"We've just got to keep believing in our line," he said. "We just stay true to what our route depths are and the routes we run."

Meanwhile, Oregon State Coach Mike Riley said his defensive backs are working to improve their coverage against the deep ball.

"Everybody sees the film, sees where something is happening," he said. "Yes, we have worked on it and we'll work on it some more."

CV300 over at Building the Dam has a good explanation re. Oregon St’s pass defense against the deep ball:

The Beavers defense is built to stop any elite offensive team, particularly ones with good quarterbacks, by making them one dimensional.  The first way it does this is by controlling the gaps in the middle of the offensive front and forcing running plays to the outside of the field where the Beavers superior team speed and ball pursuit will have the advantage against all but a few players in the conference.  

Joe McKnight couldn't get to the corner, maybe Jahvid Best can?  Remember, these guys practice against James Rodgers--so they have an idea about defending speed.

Stopping the run is the key to putting teams in 2nd or 3rd and long so they are forced into low percentage passing plays against a heavy pass rush that gets to the quarterback. If you can't stop the run on first down, then you will lose ball games--ask USC how it felt to constantly defend against a short line to gain.   They probably didn't like it.

Effective man coverage is essential to this strategy on passing plays because it provides Mark Banker's defense with more personnel options to hurry the quarterback. Sacking a quarterback significantly reduces the chances that a team will score on their offensive possession.

As for the defensive backs--in man coverage--their first job is to play the man.  Receivers are always at the advantage because they know where they're supposed to go and the defender does not.  If a defender turns around to look for the ball and it's properly thrown to hit the receiver in stride over-the-shoulder style, then he is probably face down and out of the video frame like that guy Quizz mauled on that outside counter play against ASU.  And your guy will be in the endzone every time. 

That's why they coach it like they do; it's to prevent touchdowns and force the offense to consistently drive the ball with running plays.  Not a lot of teams can do that against OSU. 

Good to see those guys are already looking forward to taking on Jahvid Best (j/k people).

In all seriousness, that explanation makes a lot of sense and as he goes on to explain the scheme is the right one for team that is trying to put together a program without having access to kind of blue chip talents usually available to perennial top-5 programs.

I think the key to beating these guys again will be Kevin Craft. He will have to make smart decisions by not trying to win the game by himself. I don’t expect UCLA running backs to have a lot of success against the Oregon State defense. What I am hopeful about is Craft to be able to move the ball by completing those short passes on first and second down, which should essentially serve as quasi running plays for our offense. That is the classic WCO, the late great Coach Walsh mastered at Candlestick Park. Hopefully the bye week has reenergized Bell, Coleman, Moline, Craft and rest of their team-mates. If they come out with focus, purpose and aggression against the Beavers on Saturday, Bruins will able to start the second half of this season on a great note.

GO BRUINS.

Before getting into some of my specific impressions from yesterday’s thrilling win let’s quickly reset the big picture here a bit. We now have a record of 3-4 with a conference record of 2-2. Looking back at last 7 games, the loss that really hurts right now is the one against Fresno State. Given what we have now seen from Kevin Craft (more on his clutch second half below of course), I think we would have had a good shot at winning that game if we hadn’t turned the ball over in that last drive. If we had won that game we could have probably looked at a record of 4-3 (and if we had gotten lucky at Oregon) perhaps 5-2. 

Given what we have been through in terms of injury situation that pretty much wiped away an entire starting offense from last spring, lack of experienced talent in our roster , what the coaches have done is nothing short of remarkable. I am still not sure whether we are going to get to a bowl game this season. My brain tells me it’s a tall order since every game for this team will be a challenge. But it’s obvious now that when CRN and his players and coaches talk about "relentless optimism" and not giving up on this season, we are hearing more than just words:

Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Time

So with that here are some thoughts from yesterday’s afternoon hear stopper.  For today though, I will start with the portion from yesterday’s notes that are disconcerting before going on to the positive/inspiring moments from yesterday’s resilient win.

I will break up my negative notes in two sections. First, talking about personnel related issues then raising question about decisions (just for discussion’s sake).

So let's start with the personnel issues. Here is my question that I think is on lot of people’s mind: can we afford to stick with Kahlil Bell as our starting tailback?

Let’s first look at the numbers from yesterday: Bell had 28 yards in 11 carries (2.5 avg), while Coleman rushed for 20 yards in 4 carries (5.0 avg). For the season now Bell has rushed for 187 yards in 71 carries (2.6 avg) and 5 TDs. While Coleman to date has rushed for 191 yards in 32 carries (6.0 avg) and 1 TD.

In terms of number, right now I think it is pretty clear who has been the more productive back at least when it comes to sustaining drives and getting us into more manageable 2nd and 3rd down situations at a more consistent level.  From what my eyes are seeing, it appears that Bell is playing injured. He still has the power to go straight up, but he is not as effective as he was before getting injured, when he tries to make his cuts. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the effort this kid is giving for this team and the leadership he brings to the table. But at the same time, I think we have to ask the question whether the coaches need to lessen his load a bit so that we can look at more productive options.

I think based on numbers at least it makes sense to increase the work load of Coleman a bit and also give Aundre Dean some good looks so that perhaps we can take advantage of the speed and power he brings to the table. Am I off here? One explanation I can think of about why Bell is getting more time is perhaps Chow and Palcic think he is a better option when it comes to providing Craft a little extra protection as he is more familiar with blocking schemes and in sync with our OL. They see the tapes lot more than I do and I will not question their eyes given their proven track record. However, I am still a little perplexed.

Staying on the theme of personnel issues, Bret Lockett was getting lit up against yesterday. I am sure you have seen the highlights Tele posted below and saw the block Gerhart made on the poor kid. Lockett at times looked helpless when it comes to providing help against the Stanford rushing attack. But Walker stayed with him yesterday:

After playing poorly last week at Oregon and nearly losing his job, Bruins senior strong safety Bret Lockett played so well Walker scrapped plans to use redshirt freshman Glenn Love to spell Lockett.

"It was probably the toughest week, this and the Tennessee week when I did not play (because of suspension)," Lockett said. "All the criticism and the people doubting me, but I just used it as motivation."

Lockett finished with three tackles and also forced a first-quarter fumble.

"I felt like he was playing well enough to where it was like, `OK, let's not break the rhythm,' because he's been ridiculed the whole season," Walker said. "For him to be having a little bit of success, in terms of doing his job, I thought that was important for his confidence."

I actually thought Walker had a good game scheme wise yesterday. Our tackling looked much better than it did against Oregon (and previous game) and he seemed to put our two monster DTs in best position to contain the Stanford running attack. Moreover, I think he deserves credit for the coverage our secondary provided the whole game, which completely shut down the Stanford passing game. Still that said, I would have love to see a little bit of Glenn Love at SS and see what the kid could do. It’s obvious Love can hit, as he showed in that hit during Stanford punt return leading to turnover. He is a physical player. I think it would be good to see him in there in the coming weeks and see what he can do. Again just my 2 cents because whenever I see an opposing TB bowling towards Lockett,  I think I am not the only one with a lump in my throat.

Those are the two personnel issues that stick out to me for now. Now let’s get to one specific decision from yesterday’s game. Here was the sequence after UCLA had a 1st and goal on the Stanford 6 yard line towards the end of 3^rd leading to a Forbath FG:

• 1st and Goal at STAN 6: Chris Forcier rush for a loss of 1 yard to the Stanf 7.      
• 2nd and Goal at STAN 7: Kevin Craft sacked for a loss of 3 yards to the Stanf 10.    
  
•  3rd and Goal at STAN 10: Kevin Craft rush for a loss of 1 yard to the Stanf 11.

I will never question Chow’s over all game scheme just like I have never called out Coach Howland’s game schemes. Chow had no peer when it comes to devising schemes. None (at least in college football). But honestly just in this specific case, those three plays left me confused. Perhaps it showed he is merely human. :-) I would have loved to hear his explanation for those calls and find out what his thought process was behind those calls. I don’t write that to be snarky at all. I am genuinely curious behind what he was thinking.

So those were the negatives. Let’s pivot from the negatives to yesterday’s heroes and great storylines, and the perfect transition is this guy:

Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Uh yeah … count me in as one of those who got excited when Forcier was warming up on the sidelines.  I have been supportive of Kevin Craft all season and I more than understand how at this point it is probably the best decision on RN and Chow’s part to stick with this kid. But at the same time while watching the first half, the question kept popping in my head: could Forcier be any worse?

After KC fumbled in the first half, I don’t think I was the only one somewhat excited in reading CRN’s lips saying something like, "that’s it. We are going with Forcier." From CRN in today’s DN:

"There was a point in the game where I did consider it, and sometimes it gets the better of me because I'm an old quarterback and an old quarterback coach," Neuheisel said. " It was probably a little irrational on my part, but the kid, God bless him, he responded. His resiliency is one of the reasons why we're standing here with a victory. Norm calmed me down."

Two things here.  First, and 66 already noted this in his as usual brilliant observations, note how CRN had no problem checking his ego and deferring to Chow. For those who have been involved in leadership positions or observing effective executive decisions, that is pretty much perfect example of how an effective CiC takes in the feedback of his trusted advisors and has the instincts to overrule himself after careful insta-analysis. That’s good stuff. Second, going back to Chow, given how KC has his trust, I think rest of Bruin Nation should have the same faith in this kid who is doing as much as he can within his athletic ability to listen to his coaches.

More from Chow on that last play when Craft and Harkey did their impersonation of Montana to Clark:

The last play Craft made up was a scrambling throw to backup tight end Cory Harkey, a freshman who has had a bum ankle.

It came with 10 seconds left, it was for a seven-yard touchdown, and Chow said that if Craft hadn't trusted his instincts he might have settled for a receiver who was open on the one- or two-yard line.

"The initial read Kevin wasn't real patient with," Chow said. "The initial read would have gotten us four or five yards, and we needed seven. Kevin scrambled around and made that play. If he would always trust that instinct, he's a really good player."

And it’s not just Chow, who are believing in the Bruin QB:

"He's clutch," UCLA offensive lineman Nick Ekbatani said. "I really believe he's a clutch player. When it comes down to it and it's on the line, he's going to make plays. I love blocking for him."

Craft, the son of former San Diego State coach Tom Craft, could spend the game ripping his offensive linemen for ridiculously poor protection - they allowed seven sacks against Stanford - but he doesn't.

After a roughing-the-passer penalty, lineman Jeff Baca tried to help Craft up and make sure he was OK, and Craft flung his arm away.

Craft can take a hit and bounce back on his own.

What was even more impressive was how Craft handled himself after the game. Instead of being over exuberant, he was ice cold, composed and talked about how he needs to address all the issues from first half. To me that was even more impressive on how didn’t lose perspective despite the great win.

Speaking of instincts perhaps the coaches should think about getting Craft and co in the "hurry up" no-huddle mode all game? The results kind of speak for themselves. No?

In addition to Craft’s clutch turnaround there were other heroes in our offense. From the LA Times:

UCLA wide receiver Nelson Rosario, a freshman from Oceanside who has been slowed by a sore knee, had a career-high four catches for 71 yards. One catch came over the middle where he was unfazed by the hard tackle that came immediately, and another came during UCLA's game-winning touchdown drive.

"It feels so great," Rosario said. "I think I'll get more chances as I'm healthy, and when I make catches the quarterback will have more faith in me."

Another freshman, Taylor Embree, was on the receiving end of a 43-yard pass from Craft in the third quarter -- UCLA's longest gain on a pass play this season.

In addition to Rosario and Embree, huge props go out Terrence Austin. Austin was nothing short of a warrior, leading the team with 5 receptions (for 50 yards) and catching that huge TD of Craft’s shovel pass. There was also Chane Moline’s clutch run in that last drive when he rumbled up for 17 yards on 3rd and 1. Ryan Moya also came up big with not only a huge catch, but also to have the smart instinct to run up and hustle towards the sideline to save time on the clock.

Going back to game winning touchdown the LA Times has some interesting quotes from Micah Reed on what went on in the huddle:

"I told those guys, this was a moment we could look back on down the line," Reed said.

If hindsight is 20-20, Reed's foresight turned out to be 23-20 -- the numbers favoring UCLA on the scoreboard at the end.

Craft scrambled to his right and flipped a pass to Cory Harkey, who was in the back of the end zone.

"Micah told us," guard Scott Glicksberg said. "This was a chance to move forward as a team. This makes it easier to believe in what we're doing and keep doing it."

Reggie Carter had this to say about the same play:

"I had a few tears," UCLA linebacker Reggie Carter said. "After the offense scored that touchdown, my eyes watered up. You get emotional. It's hard to hold all that emotion in. Winning is fun."

I know I am probably not covering number of other details from yesterday’s game (i.e. we still need to see better coverage from our special teams) … but I can’t think of any better way to end on that note for this Sunday, before starting to focus on what will be an incredibly difficult and challenging game next weekend.

 I like this team … a lot. They are making football fun (despite the frustrations we experience as fans), which I haven’t had following UCLA football since Cade left Westwood.

GO BRUINS.

Homecoming Saturday. Let's get the day going.

Bruins are off to their worst start (2-4) since 1994 when they started the season 2-6. The tough start this season was not unexpected here in Bruin Nation. However, it’s evident from the way our team has played in last few weeks since the disaster in Provo that they are not going away without a fight. Brian Dohn has a good read in the Daily News today, which accounts how the Bruins haven’t given up on getting to the post-season:

"Coach (Neuheisel) puts the standings up every day, and the best team in the conference is 3-1 right now and still has to play a lot of people," Bruins center Jake Dean said. "You win the rest of the games, it's going to come down to two losses to be tied for first place. It shows he still believes in us, that we can accomplish our goal of winning the Pac-10 championship, although I'm pretty sure no one else in the country has that belief."

And, yes, Dean understands there may have been some chuckling and coffee lattes spat out at that statement.

"You have to have something to play for," Dean said. "If you don't have something to play for, you might as well not play the game at all."

Well to get to the post season, Bruins will need to 4-2 rest of this season, which is a tall order considering some of the competition that is coming up in next few weeks. However, CRN is making sure the focus remains on Stanford:

"That would be a terrific thing to accomplish," Neuheisel said. "To be able to go 4-2, or better, in the second half of the season would be a great thing for these youngsters and our coaching staff alike, so that'd be terrific. But to do that you have to win one at a time, so we just have to focus on Stanford."

We have been talking about Stanford all week. We have specifically noted Stanford being as one of the most if not the most physical team in the conference. Walker noted the change in Stanford’s culture under Harabaugh (in the DN report today):

UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, the architect of the 2006 defense that limited Stanford to 166yards of offense, said coach Jim Harbaugh has done wonders in changing Stanford's attitude and approach. The Cardinal is 4-3 (3-1 Pac-10), and ran for at least 200 yards four times. A week ago, Stanford rushed for 286 yards in beating Arizona.

"I give credit to the head coach. I think he's done a good job changing the culture, and you see it," Walker said. "They've got three good running backs. You can just see it. They've changed the culture. I think their backs are physical."

More from the challenge facing Bruin’s defense from the PE.com’s game day report:

Harwell, UCLA's captain and senior defensive tackle, said both backs are a primary concern for the Bruins, who struggled against the run at Oregon last week, allowing 323 yards on the ground thanks to shoddy tackling.

In reviewing film this week, Harwell noted Kimble's speed and his ability to hit fifth gear in one step, something that seemed absent in previous years.

"He is stupid fast," Harwell said. "He is a great, great running back."

Then there is Gerhart, the Norco High product who was last week's Pac-10 player of the week.

Averaging 91.6 yards per game, Gerhart, 6-foot-1, 232 pounds, is a bruiser between the tackles and likes to dole out punishment while running downhill.

"This is going to be a huge challenge for us," Harwell said. "It's going to be a tall order for us.

"Wow, those backs, they opened our eyes. I can't even put it into words. This is a fully equipped offense."

Hope Harwell and co will have their eyes wide open and ready for Gerhart and Kimble coming at them all afternoon long. For the Bruins to win this game today, they will have to keep Stanford under 200 yards rushing and force them to win it with their passing game.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, Chris Foster from the LA Times notes KC’s opportunity to take advantage of a vulnerable Stanford passing defense:

The Cardinal has given up more than 300 yards passing three times this season. Meanwhile, the Bruins and quarterback Kevin Craft have put on a few aerial shows this season -- the fourth quarter against Tennessee, cameo appearances through the Washington State game, and the second half against Oregon.

This could be a harmonic convergence that pleases UCLA.

More from Ted Miller at ESPN on the need for KC to have a good and more importantly a consistent performance:

UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft needs to put four quarters together: Stanford is going to gang up on the run and try to force Craft to win the game. For much of the season, the Cardinal secondary looked vulnerable, but last weekend it did a masterful job containing Arizona's top targets, Rob Gronkowski and Mike Thomas, and didn't allow quarterback Willie Tuitama to throw a touchdown pass. Stanford also brings a lot of blitzes (see 19 sacks on the season). Craft has had fits and starts of success, and he seems to go in and out of rhythm throughout a game. He was sacked six times by Oregon and he threw a lot of ill-advised passes that were dropped by Ducks defenders. If the Bruins are going to defend their home turf, Craft needs to make plays consistently.

Well good news for KC is that he will probably have TA ready for action this afternoon.  Per LAT’s report TA is “expected to play today,” which is great news. The reports also has a nice feature on Chane Moline fitting in really well at FB and giving Chow multiple options (with his pass catching ability) from the backfield.

For more on the game from non-Southern California traditional media pov, here are the reports from ESPN, AP and the San Francisco Chronicle.

 We will have a special pre game thread going up around 9 am PST and then the game thread will go up around 3.30 pm PST, about half an hour before this afternoon's kickoff.

For those heading out to the Rose Bowl, enjoy the Home Coming Saturday. Let's get a win.

GO BRUINS.

Let’s do a quick reset before getting to extended thoughts on last night’s game. Let’s take a count on what CRN and Norm Chow were working with in one of the toughest venues in college football against one of the more talented teams in the west coast:

• A 3rd string JUCO transfer (playing his first year under Chow and CRN)
• A hobbled starting tailback and a true freshman in Derrick Coleman
• A backup fullback (Theriot out for the season)
• Backup TEs (as we lost our starting TE, one of the only players on the offensive side of the ball with experience and NFL potential in first game of the season)
• Backup WRs (without our senior WR who went down in the first game of the season and TA who we lost during crunch time)
• 4 different starters at OL from last spring (after losing three of our most talented starters - Lanis, Sheller and Kia - to an array of injuries ranging from career/season ending to nagging kind impacting effectiveness)

Basically in a sense we were fielding what might have been a scout team from this year's spring ball. And yet after all that the Bruins gave us a game, in which our hearts were beating almost to the closing mins against a team that was favored to win by almost three touchdowns on the road? So does anyone still in their right mind want to call that performance Dorrellian?

So with that out of the way, here are some thoughts on certain aspects from last night’s game. From my jotted down notes from 2 am stream of consciousness (writing down on post-its before going to sleep):

Playing to win: I have absolutely no problem with the call re. that onside kick. I find all the second guessing and Sunday morning quarterbacking of a head coach’s willingness to go for the win, after being subjected to years of timid and playing not to lose mentality that have driven us over the wall here on BN. At least here on BN we are going to appreciate a coach being fearless and going for the win. We are going to appreciate a head showing complete faith on his entire team (including on a defense which might be finding it’s away) in the most crucial moments of the game.

 I haven’t seen any specific data points re. success rates on onside kicks.  The only statistics I was able to look up this am was from the wiki entry pointing the 2004 success rates in the NFL which was around 24 percent. That is not very high. But it is probably not a reach to assume that success rate is a bit higher when it on side kick comes in a situation when the opposing coaches are least expecting it (would love to see some data points on that).

[UPDATE] silverlakebruin with a solid find re data points re success rates of surprise onside kick:

[T]he success rate of a surprise onside kick, one that happens prior to the fourth quarter, is 71 percent from 1997 through 2006.

Well that certainly gives support to CRN's decision.

Also, couple of more factors to consider in what kind of risk/rewards analysis CRN might have done to make that decision.  Until that point of the game (except for that last drive to end the first half and Masoli’s early success in the first quarter), UCLA’s defense was adjusting pretty well. They were throttling the passing attack. I don’t think it was unreasonable for CRN to assume that even if we didn’t recover the onside kick, our defense would be able to contain Oregon’s offense to a 3 point FG (which they did after Craft’s interception resulting from TA’s scary injury). Another factor to consider, given how we have been unable to kick it deep all season routinely giving up great field position, giving up good field possession on a surprise onside kick, wasn’t really the end of the world.

In any event, it didn’t work out due to a bad call (although the bad calls evened out in another badly officiated Pac-10 game). But I am not going to second guess CRN’s decision to be aggressive and play to win by showing his faith in his young team. I love that kind of aggression and eventually balls are going to bounce our way in the coming years. This is what makes football fun.

Sticking with Craft: Speaking of second guessing, after sleeping on it, I am not finding a lot of reason to clamor for a QB change. CRN and Chow are working with what they have right now in Kevin Craft. KC to this point of the season has completed 59 percent of his passes for 1233 yards with 5 TDs and 6 picks. Yes, he had a lot of Vinney Testeverde moments from his Tampa Bay days last night. Yes, we were holding our breath at times when he was throwing it underneath. But we have to ride this out with him (even if he can’t throw deep). The cold fact is that despite being at UCLA for one extra year and having full opportunity to compete for this job since last spring, Chris Forcier hasn’t been able to charge up the depth chart (at times falling behind true freshman Kevin Prince).

Also, I can’t fault the coaches for not wanting to burn up Prince’s redshirt season unless they are totally desperate. Even with Craft’s at times erratic throws, we have been hanging in there except for one and half football games (BYU and late second half against Zona) this season. I don’t mind that all too much.

Moreover, think out loud a little bit before getting frustrated over Craft not being able to go deep last night. The Ducks’ defensive frontline was at times pile driving our OL with a 3 men rush. Jake Dean (who is giving it all he has at center) was getting driven into the turf. Baca was getting terrorized (not too surprisingly) by all Pac-10 DE like Nick Reed.  It’s not like Craft had time to settle down and pick apart the Duck’s defense. He got sacked 6 times and hurried countless others. So considering the circumstances, I think he did what he could and at this point, I am going to put my complete faith in the combination of Neuheisel and Chow in their managing of Craft and UCLA’s QB position until it gets settled in next couple of years.

Clock Management at the end of the second quarter: So that brings me to the issue of clock management particularly concerning our second to last possession at the end of the first half. Here is how it went with 1:08 left in the first half and UCLA down 0-7 courtesy of WWL’s playchart:

1st and 10 at UCLA 11Derrick Coleman rush for no gain to the UCLA 11.
2nd and 10 at UCLA 11Timeout OREGON, clock 01:08.  
2nd and 10 at UCLA 11Kevin Craft pass incomplete to Taylor Embree.  
3rd and 10 at UCLA 11Kevin Craft rush for 1 yard to the UCLA 12.  
4th and 9 at UCLA 12Timeout OREGON, clock 00:50.  
4th and 9 at UCLA 12Aaron Perez punt for 40 yards out-of-bounds.  
DRIVE TOTALS: UCLA drive: 3 plays 1 yards, 00:24 UCLA PUNT

I think the key here was the play on 2 nd and 10.

IIRC (haven’t reviewed the tape) KC rolled out to his right and had a little bit of real estate to gain perhaps 3-5 yards. Instead he rolled it and flinged it for an incomplete pass. I think that is where it went wrong. If KC had just tucked it in (similar to a decision he didn’t make against Zona and couple of other occasions last night) and gained 3-5 yards using his feet in that play, he would have made the situation much more manageable on 3rd down. I understand even if he ran, Oregon would have taken a time out, but it still would have made the situation manageable. And I think the roll out is designed to give him the option to make the decision between going up for positive yardage and completing to an open receiver. He made the wrong call in that split second. It happens for a first year QB (Cade made lot more bonehead mistakes in his first two season, not just his first season). But those play calls by no means were bad clock management on the part of UCLA’s coaching staff.

Running back rotation: I think this is where we have some rooms for raising questions re. personnel decisions. No doubt Kahlil Bell is a warrior. The kid is giving everything he has out there but at some point the coaches need to ask the question whether it would be more productive to go with Coleman and even Dean. The only explanation I can think of coaches not trying out Dean as much is probably because he is still learning to pick up blitzes (which right now is essential given the precarious state of protection our QB is getting from the OL). Kevin and his OL need all the help they can get and if that means going with the experience of Bell (despite being wobbly) or Coleman (due to his size) over Dean, that is understandable. But in terms of getting reps, I wouldn’t mind if I see more of Coleman over Bell.

The kid runs with aggression:

Photo Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer / US Presswire (via the LA Times)

Also Moline is really coming into his own at FB and at least to this 49er fan bringing up fond memories of Tom Rathman.

Defensive adjustments: The final score doesn’t show it. The rushing totals for Oregon is cringe worthy. Still, I thought Walker coached one of his better games as UCLA DC last night. I was very impressed with the way our defense adjusted after getting stomped early on by Masoli’s read option play. Ayers  finally had his much anticipated coming out party as a starter. I love this kid’s game and I think the way Walker has slowly worked him into the starting rotation is a very encouraging sign.

The question remains around the issue of tackling. Brett Lockett once again had a glaringly tough night (no hiding from the highlights on what Masoli did to him). But what can Walker really do? Replace him with Ware who was not all that effective against Tennessee? There is not a lot of options he has right now except to burn the red shirt years of E.J. Woods or try out someone like Love. But I rather have those kids red shirt and get physically ready for next season, instead of exposing them to D-1 speed and ferocity as a true freshman. Ask any Washington fans about how Willingham has ravaged his depth chart by burning through his freshmen’s redshirt seasons. Again, I don’t really have any answers here except for hoping that somehow Lockett will be able to get it together rest of this season.

Still, give all the adversity this team has gone through (outlined at the very top of this post),  I am feeling pretty good about where we are as a team. After the massacre in Provo, I am seeing unmistakable progression on both sides of the ball from game to game. The game to game improvement will still likely not result in a winning season, but now more than ever I am confident we are headed towards the right direction.

Now the challenge remains is to build on the positives. One of the more encouraging aspects from last night’s game was Watson’s sideliner report that the offense was upset even after scoring the final TD to make the game close in the waning mins. I like the fact that the team wasn’t smiling or hamming it up after a moral victory, instead showing the same kind of angst and frustration we kept seeing in the faces of AA and JF in their first season at UCLA. This is going to take a long time but now after few weeks, the signs are there that this team is taking one positive steps after another. Hopefully they will have a chance to take another a big one by flipping the scoreboard in our favor next Saturday.

GO BRUINS.

The word for this Sunday is "efficient". That’s what the beat writers are using to describe Kevin Craft’s steady performance from last night. From the LA Times:

[Q]uarterback Kevin Craft was efficient enough and tailback Kahlil Bell repeatedly burrowed into the Cougars' defensive front. The Bruins defense, which spent the last three games back-peddling, pretty much smothered an anemic Washington State offense.

Kevin Pearson sounds off similar theme in the Press Enterprise:

Craft was efficient with his decisions, finishing the night 23 of 36 for 225 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Moya. He connected with seven different receivers and helped direct an offense that was solid on third downs and overcame a run game that was effective though not dangerous.

As well as Brian Dohn from the Daily News:

Quarterback Kevin Craft wasn't spectacular, but was an efficient 23 of 36 for 225 yards and two touchdowns. And, almost as important, he did not turn the ball over.

UCLA's running game wasn't as explosive as the 200-plus yards it gained in last week's loss to Fresno State, but it was effective enough to rush the ball 37 times and get a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs from tailback Kahil Bell.

"It's good, but by no means are we satisfied," Craft said. "I think guys are still hungry. I definitely know I am."

Kevin’s attitude is very encouraging because that is pretty much the right mindset our players should have after pulling off an expected win against one of the worst teams in D-1.

Last night’s game against Washington State by no means was the most exhilarating or spectacular wins we have enjoyed as UCLA football fans. However, it was enjoyable and worthwhile staying up late here in the East Coast. We shouldn’t make too much out of a win against the Cougars team. However, there are certain trends, I think worth noting. 

Kevin craft (as referenced above) continue to improve as Norm Chow’s latest project. From Jon Gold in the Daily News:

"It has been two weeks in a row where I thought he was really good," Neuheisel said. "He made some big plays, especially in the pocket as it was collapsing and looking downfield. Instead of looking claustrophobic in the pocket, he made some good plays. Washington State was very aggressive; it took a good job by the offensive line and Kevin hanging in there. A lot of progress has been made there."

It's the type of progress that offensive coordinator Norm Chow anticipated out of the redshirt junior quarterback. Chow said Craft, thrust into the starting lineup before the season after injuries to seniors Ben Olson and Pat Cowan, is beginning to come around.

"That's what we hope," Chow said. "He's managing the game well, and he has for two weeks in a row. I think we only have one turnover in those two weeks. He's getting more familiar with the offense, and making good throws."

Particularly to Moya.

His team-mates are certainly impressed by his development to date:

"Kevin played phenomenal," tailback Kahlil Bell said. "He made great decisions, hit the open man, hit the hot read, stepped up in the pocket and played great.

"He's young but he's learning on the fly. Before it's all said and done, he is going to be a good player."

What I loved about KC’s performance last night was his pocket presence (referenced by CRN above).  He didn’t get rattled with the Cougar’s defensive linemen were barreling towards him (and on couple occasions had their arms around him). I love the way he distributed his 23 completions to his receivers (13), TEs (7) and backs (3). Overall he completed passes to 7 different receivers:

Photo Credit: Lori Shepler/LA Times

He has also emerged as one of the clear leaders in this team. He has developed a presence which one can see through his body language during the team huddle. When Bell dropped a pass (I believe it was in the second half) which could have been a TD, Craft didn’t waste seconds to point towards himself, smile at Bell and say "my bad." That kind of gesture/leadership from QBs taking responsibility doesn’t show up on box score, but makes unmistakable impression on team-mates (particular when he is producing results).

That said Craft I am sure will acknowledge that right now there is still lot of room for improvement. First, I think he is still a little too streaky. Once he throws a bad pass, it seems like it takes him a little while to get back in rhythm. We were seeing that in first quarter in the form of two straight ineffective drives. Also, he is getting a number of his passes tipped at LOS. I am sure that’s an issue Chow and CRN have noticed, and they will work with him to correct that in coming weeks. All in all, not a bad night for Craft.

Craft wasn’t the only with a decent night. It looks like Austin is slowly getting settled in this offense. He is also becoming a fearless weapon for KC. He is not showing any hesitation when coming down the middle (exposing his slight frame to opposing DBs). He did it few times last night after laying out for a spectacular reception against Fresno State last weekend. Taylor Embree also continues to shine as he is emerging as the most dependable (possession) receiver in this offense. As for Ryan Moya, he was already referenced above as the money receiver for Kevin Craft.

The running game was somewhat disconcerting last night as the Bruins managed 100 yards (in 37 carries) against a team that was allowing 269 yards rushing per game. Bell didn’t seem too worried about it after the game:

"I don't think there was anything wrong with the running game," Bell said.

"They had nine and 10 guys in the box a lot of times, so I'm not really worried about that."

I guess it worked out last night because Craft stayed poised and was able to manage the game by being efficient through his pass completions. Still I think we need more production out of our ball carriers.

One thing I want to note though: I really like Moline at FB. He provides lot more options at that position. He is very good in catching the ball out of the backfield and is a decent blocker (prolly the main reason he was getting PT over freshmen early on this season).

Speaking of disconcerting, the defense started off on a bad note (although not evident in box scores). We continue to see just too many mistackles out of this bunch. There were a lot of them early on and if we were playing a decent and experience offense, they would have made us pay.

But there were some good notes on defense. I liked what Walker did last night in terms of his blitz packages. He was mixing it up with Reginald Stokes and Chinonso Anyanwu at DE. I love the speed and intensity of Akeem Ayers at LB. More of him please.

Walker at times was subbing in 5-6 players in a play. It seemed like the speed and athleticism of these new kids and along with Walker blitzing from different angles, was allowing Price and Harwell to be even more forceful from the middle. Price is simply a monster. Also, as we heard during game week, Dye got a lot of reps in nickel situation.

Again, not sure how much we can take from this defensive performance against a dreadful football team. However, the signs were certainly positive and encouraging. If they can figure out a way to completely address their tackling issues, I think there will be reasons for optimism for this young team heading into rest of the Pac-10 season.

Hopefully the guys can use the efficient performance from last night as a motivation to get better this coming week. They are going to need to turn it up another notch (and then some) if they want to put together a competitive performance against what should be an angry Ducks team next weekend in Eugene.

GO BRUINS.

Sooooo. What a way to wake up this Friday morning.

I am sure all of you have something else on your mind today, but I need to keep the focus on our Bruins at least to start our day. We will end this game week by closing the loop on all the discussion re. UCLA Athletic Department’s unconventional and bizarre (to put it charitably) marketing blitz around tomorrow’s game. I hadn’t really formulated any thoughts on it because I thought sooner or later DG would step up and address the situation head on. Well DG didn’t disappoint and stepped up yesterday:

Guerrero said, "We expect 70,000 fans and maybe 60,000 in blue. There is a fine line between what the [marketing department's] charge is and balancing that toward talking about marketing to the enemy, if you will."

Guerrero said, "You will see a different approach from this point forward on how we market the team. I'm not throwing anyone under the bus . . . but some things work and some things don't."

Pat Hill, Fresno State's coach, said he expected 20,000 to 25,000 Fresno State fans to attend the game. Fresno has already sold out their allotment of 9,700 tickets.

UCLA's marketing department also has run an ad saying "the college football monopoly in Los Angeles is over," and another that reminded Bruins fans that there was still room on "the bandwagon."

I think it is now crystal clear that CRN had nothing to do with that “monopoly” ad even though he took all the potshots from all corners of the country. In some sense it is very comforting to see how CRN did not throw any one under the bus when that monopoly ad became national news, and instead tried to make the best out of the awkward situation the marketing department put him in, by using that ad to reignite the Bruins. Then again, that ad might not be too far off, given what we saw last night. But … time for us to talk about that game will come later this Fall.

As for the ad campaign leading up to tomorrow’s game, Brian Dohn has more on DG’s thoughts:

Guerrero said it was his understanding "everything was pulled" in relation to the marketing campaign in the central valley, but damage was already done.

Not only was there a quarter-page ad in the Fresno Bee, in which UCLA originally planned to use a photo of Bulldogs quarterback Tom Brandstater, which Fresno State asked UCLA to change, but radio sports were also purchased.

"I can assure you, from my prospective as we move forward, you'll see a different approach to our marketing efforts this season," Guerrero said.

"I don't micro-manage. Those types of things don't usually come to me unless there's an issue. Obviously, there have been issues that have been raised relative to the approach that our marketing folks have taken, and so as a result of that I'm involved.

"I want to make certain we allow them to do their jobs, but we do it in a manner that doesn't compromise our ability to fill our seats. But on the other hand we don't want to give the impression at all that this is designed to bring the enemy (to the Rose Bowl) against our team."

That works for me and I think it is best that we just move forward from this issue. That explanation and pledge from DG is enough for me.

Speaking of tomorrow’s game, Kevin Pearson from PE.com zeroes in on concerns re. repeated breakdown in our punt coverage:

UCLA ranks 105th in Division I-A in punt return defense, allowing a staggering 19 yards per return, a problem that has been addressed this week in practice as the Bruins look for an explanation to their struggles.

Last season the Bruins were stellar in punt coverage, holding opponents to a 6.7-yard average on 38 returns. UCLA has allowed 247 return yards in three games this season, nearly eclipsing last season's total of 263 in 13 games.

"We always have confidence in our punt coverage, and there are some things we need to clean up and emphasize a little bit more, but aside from that, we're confident we will improve," said senior Michael Norris, who serves as the gunner on punt coverage.

Aaron Perez ranks sixth nationally with a 46.3-yard average on his 21 punts. He tied a school record with 11 punts last week against Arizona and dropped his first two inside the 2-yard line.

But some struggles with open-field tackling led to a rough day for the coverage team. Arizona finished with seven returns for 162 yards, including a 55-yarder late in the game.

"I'm not making any excuses," Perez said. "It's on us for not covering the punts. I have to kick better and get the ball in the air and place it better, and when we have a chance to make a tackle, we have to make it.

"When it comes down to it, it's a matter of being a football player and going down and making a tackle. If the offense is struggling, it would help if the punt team is doing its job."

I made a mistake when writing down my notes on Fresno State couple of nights ago. I thought I read that Fresno State was averaging (a staggering) 44 yards per punt return this season. I went back and looked at the numbers again. I goofed up and was reading the column on yards/punt instead of the one for punt returns. FSU is not averaging a lot in their punt returns (3.8 yards per return). But that doesn’t mean the special teams can take it easy tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully they can use tomorrow’s game as an opportunity to get better for rest of this conference season.

Also, in terms of personnel issues, injuries continue to dog the team, as we will now be without FB Theriot, who is out for the reason. Chane Moline will take over at FB. From the OC Register:

“It’s a tough loss, because he was valuable on special teams as well,” UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. “Trevor’s a great kid. He’ll rally and be back next fall.”

Theriot, nicknamed “Moose,” will undergo arthroscopic surgery in the coming weeks, though a date has not been set. He will be replaced against Fresno State by Chane Moline, who moves from the tailback position.

Switching Moline could leave the Bruins thin in the backfield. Starter Kahlil Bell has been slow to return from an ankle injury. While expected to play Saturday, Bell might be limited.

That leaves the Bruins with two other tailbacks, Raymond Carter and Derrick Coleman (Troy High). Aundre Dean is expected to return in time for next week’s Washington State game. Neuheisel said Bell is “over 90 percent,” recovered from a high ankle sprain.

Theriot, a junior, injured his knee late in Wednesday’s practice during team drills. A former walk-on, Theriot was awarded his first athletic scholarship last spring. He was used primarily as a blocker and had not carried the ball this season.

Theriot already used his redshirt season, so he retains one more season of eligibility.

Best wishes to TT. As for the rejiggering, it might actually work out well. I kind of like the idea of Moline at his natural position, while being able to utilize the speed and explosiveness of either Bell, Carter (provided they are in full form) and Coleman at the TB spot. Hopefully they can break through tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps they were watching some game last night that will get them extra fired up and inspired for tomorrow.

GO BRUINS.

We are now three games into Rick Neuheisel’s first season at UCLA, and I think it is starting to become clear to everyone in BN, precisely what we were foreshadowing when we were writing all those posts with taglines “dose of reality” during this off season. There is no escaping from it. We find ourselves at this position not by accident. This is a result of total mismanagement and lack of competent leadership this program has endured for more than a decade (note we are not just pinning this on the previous HC, even though he hastened the downward spiral this program has been going since December 5, 1998).

Right now, I am not sure if there is any use for UCLA fans to get upset every loss this season and probably the next one. I agree with Telemachus that more than ever we need to stand behind our team and with Class of 66 that we need to circle the wagon by getting behind the kids we have in our program, while we wait for the recruits CRN, Chow and Walker bring in next few years. However, at the same time, I think it is important for us to make honest observations about our week to week performance that will enable us to maintain perspective and appreciate the week to week progress that might not be showing up in the final scoreboard.

With that in mind, I will start with the offense. Kevin Pearson from the Press Enterprise flagged the obvious positive marker from yesterday:

An offense that had gained a mere 38 yards rushing in two games, 29 inches for each of the 47 carries against Tennessee and BYU, had just picked up 115 yards and averaged 4.1 yards against the Wildcats.

Those totals beat Arizona's 111 net yards and 3.2-yard-per-carry average.

And how about the somewhat unlikely pair that put up those numbers. First was 232-pound Chane Moline, with a mere 23 yards in 13 attempts coming into this game, who ran for 72 on 11 carries (a 6.5 average).

Moline's first carry of 9 yards eclipsed the Bruins' previous season high of 7 by Ray Carter, one of three UCLA running backs to miss this game. Carter was out with a knee injury. Kahlil Bell and Aundre Dean were out with ankle problems.

So there was Moline, a junior from Mission Viejo, twisting and turning for 40 yards at the end of the first half and eclipsing UCLA's two-game team total in one run.

"I thought we rushed the ball all right," Moline said. "But we gotta stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We had a good week of practice. We focused on running the ball. And we had a chance today. But we've got to be perfect. And we have to build on it.

"We have to improve even more running the ball this week to get ready for Fresno State."

We also have to give our beleaguered OL some credit. They showed improvement yesterday and they started to get it going starting with the last drive at the end of the first half. Note how the coaches put in freshman Jeff Baca at LT to replace Kia to start the second half. I think that was a clear message sent to the entire OL that no one’s starting assignment is safe. Sure, the production of OL is not close to where we want it to be. But we still have to appreciate the obvious progress that took place yesterday. (UPDATE: It looks like Baca was inserted due to Kia's backpain (HT Bald Eagle). However, as noted the OL played much better once Baca got it).

Speaking of bright spots, Derrick Coleman made a nice debut at the Rose Bowl as he rushed for 24 yards in 7 carries. In the limited carries he got, it was clear DC hits the holes with authority and aggression. I liked the term Papadakis used to describe him as someone who runs with “violence and fight.”

That said, we can’t escape the fact about what went wrong with the offense. Tele already noted the bad and ugly below. I think we have to discuss the QB situation. There is no doubt the kid is giving a valiant effort and we will never forget his second half performance against Tennessee (who BTW is turning out to be a very over-rated, mediocre team which might be firing its head coach at the end of this season). However, based on what we have seen last two weeks, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for coaches to ponder about what other options they might have to jump start the offense. Here is Rick Neuheisel in Jill Painter’s DN report:

Craft's not getting the job done, and it's unclear if UCLA will turn to someone else - be it Kevin Prince or Ben Olson when he returns from injury. Everyone's position is tenuous, according to Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel.

"We're going to evaluate all the positions," Neuheisel said. "It's easy in these situations to hide behind the team. When you're the quarterback, you don't get to hide. It's easy to say he must be the reason you're unsuccessful.

"Kevin wants to (be successful). He works hard, and I hope he can continue to work hard and continue to improve. Just like all positions on the team, we're going to evaluate them and keep working to find answers."

And Norm Chow:

Asked if he was concerned Craft might be taking the brunt of the criticism, UCLA offensive coordinator Chow said: "He should. He's the leader of this group, and he needs to take responsibility. The other 10 guys need to take responsibility as well."

I think Craft is doing the best he can in terms of managing the game. To his credit he hasn’t thrown a pick since the first half of the Tennessee game. But at the same time the coaches need a little bit more at the QB position to keep the offense moving.

From what we have seen to date, it looks like KC doesn’t have the arm strength to look off the D and complete a medium range pass over 10 yards. That’s a problem because it is allowing the opposing D to cheat and bring up their LBs to completely stuff the short passes. Those short passes are effective when the defense has to be wary about the QB being able to go downfield. Right now from what we have seen it looks like KC doesn’t have the physical tools to keep the opposing D honest and off balance.

Also there were couple of plays yesterday  that really pointed to the glaring talent issue (I know it’s not a fun topic to discuss, but it has to be pointed out to keep things in perspective) in this offense. There were two potential situations that could have been game changing moments in Bruins favor. First, there was that Moline rumble for 40 yards. Moline was able to get himself in a nice space and then bust into the open field. All he had to do is just break away from one takler. But he didn’t have the speed to break away. Again, big ups to Chane for giving the effort he did yesterday. However, you would have to think that if the Bruins had an elite back with true breakaway speed, the game could have turned. Similarly Dominique had a chance to catch a Craft slant pass and house it. I think that’s the kind of opportunity we have to take advantage of. As I pointed out during the game thread Arizona had three dependable game breakers in Gronkowski, Thomas and Grigsby (along with Tuitama). To date we have no one has emerged as a game breaker in our team.

I think Chane is getting lot of reps because he looks like he is the best blocker among our backs. And given the tenuous situation with our OL, it is understandable why coaches would give him large chunk of our reps. Hopefully Bell will get healthy soon because if he comes back in top form, our offense could become serviceable if the OL continues to show same the improvement it did on Saturday.

Shifting our focus to defense, Walker’s unit made a decent showing yesterday. The run defense was much better as Harwell and Price sealed up the middle. We are still having issues with tackling though. Perhaps as our young secondary gets more experience, they will become better at it.  

Also, speaking of our secondary, our pass coverage is still an issue. I think Walker has been solid in terms of scheming against pro-set base offense. However, I think for him to emerge as truly one of the best five defensive coordinators in the country, he will need to improve his schemes against spread offense formations. I don’t think I was the only one holding my breath when Tuitama was airing it out deep at the Rose Bowl. Well, I think the silver lining here is that I think if Walker brings in few more good recruits this season and next, he will have that opportunity to improve on that aspect of coaching and emerge as one of the best in the game.

Moving over the special teams, it was an ugly performance for Gansz’s crew.  Let’s start with the return coverage. Arizona piled up more than 200 yards in return yardage at the Rose Bowl. Seems like they are couple of issues FG needs to correct. First, let’s start with Perez. He had two booming kicks. However, he also had few line drives with not much hang time not allowing our guys much time to get up field. Second, our gunners were atrocious. We are hoping this is something coaches can correct in the short term because the horrific coverage led to short field, putting our defense in bad spots.

Also, speaking of special teams, I wonder if the coaches can look at other options for punt returning. Austin is a talented athlete but he needs to work on getting up the field, instead of dancing around too much to avoid tackles. There was another situation where he let the ball go even though he had room to catch and go. Again, just like coaches are making sure no positions are safe (as they showed by starting Baca over Kia and putting Craft on notice), I am assuming they will take a close look at punt returning position in the coming week.

Well despite the above reference concerns about our current personnel, I trust these coaches to make the right decision. I don’t think there is a better combination than Chow and Neuheisel to address quarterback issues. I think they will make the right decision when it comes to trying out Prince or Olson (whenever he is 100 percent healthy).

It’s not a fun situation that we are in right now. There is a long road ahead, as CRN mustered up the following remarks to stay with his relentlessly positive mantra following yesterday’s game:

"There is not, I don't think, a quick-fix solution to this," he said. "It's about everybody getting focused, and really getting involved with individual improvement, that will then show collectively. I am optimistic. I'm always optimistic. I do believe there will be brighter days ahead."

UCLA's anemic showing was so mesmerizingly inept, Neuheisel showed gratitude to those of the 65,434 in attendance who endured all 60 minutes, of all things, not booing.

"I appreciate our fans for staying," Neuheisel said. "It must have been hard to watch as we were trying to climb back into the game, and yet there was very little in the way of booing. It showed a lot of class."

Losing should never be acceptable and we deplore moral victories. However, as mentioned above the situation we are in right now didn’t happen overnight, and our coaches no matter how good they are, cannot resolve it over night. This is going to take a lot of time and patience on our part collectively as member of the larger Bruin athletic community.

We will need our coaches to recruit speed and athleticism at all the skill positions (on both offense and defense) so that we can emerge as an above average BCS conference team in next three seasons. Meantime, we have to ride this out and appreciate the progress we are making on a week to week basis.

GO BRUINS.

As the Bruins look to recover from Saturday’s nightmare, coaches are promising to go through the entire game and figure out what they can do to address some of the glaring concerns (there are so many of them) facing this football team. From Chris Foster in the LA Times:

The aftermath of the 59-0 shellacking Brigham Young laid on UCLA on Saturday had Bruins coaches poring over the film while trying to prop up their players' psyches Sunday.

That will require a detailed review of the horror film -- for the Bruins -- that was shot in Provo, Utah. It will provide players, and coaches, a to-do list that must be at least partially handled before Saturday's game against Arizona.

"When you take a tail-whipping like we took, the first thing you want to do is throw away the tape," Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "The second thing is to analyze it ad nauseam because you have to fix it.

"So we will spend more time on tape and more time on the players, not berating, but in teaching mode. The coaches will evaluate themselves, in terms asking, 'Are we asking more and expect more in terms of schemes?' "

One thing the coaches will continue to ask is that the Bruins try to run the ball. UCLA has 38 yards rushing, averaging 0.8 yards a carry, in two games.

"We have to control the game," Neuheisel said. "We can't have our defense out there for 80 plays."

Well to keep defense off the field, coaches will have to figure out a way to kick start a dead running game. Brian Dohn reports that there may be lot of shuffling going on in the OL and RB depth charts this week:

Senior tailback Kahlil Bell is expected back, but junior Chane Moline could plummet on the depth chart as the coaching staff looks at younger talent.

Offensive tackle Mike Harris could challenge for a starting job, but starting center Micah Reed is expected to miss at least a game, maybe more, with a sprained right knee.

As of today, Jake Dean is the starter, but that could change by Saturday's Pacific-10 Conference opener against Arizona. […]

At the forefront are adjustments to the running game, which, in UCLA's case, could be termed the crawling game.

"The only way I know (to improve it) is hard work, and maybe some different backs," Neuheisel said. "Chane has had some chances and hasn't burst onto the scene. I'm not faulting Chane, just we might have to try some different combinations."

More on the OL shuffling from Dohn:

With Reed injured, starting right tackle Nick Ekbatani is also the backup center, and he could slide there while Harris gets a look at tackle.

Also, Neuheisel said sophomore Brandon Bennett and true freshman Jeff Baca could also factor into the mix.

"We'll look at some different combinations," Neuheisel said. "We're always going to try and find our best five, so we'll look at the different options."

They have no choice to but try out different combinations because what they have put together so far has provided nothing positive, in terms of production on the ground. Again, this is something that is not surprising given the fact that coaches are dealing with an OL that features converted TEs and DL. So hopefully they can figure out something in the short term that allows them to generate a running game that is at least serviceable. Moreover, it is good to hear we might see more youngsters getting shot at TB because that position is in desperate need for speed.

Also from the same article Dohn indicated that Ayers might be getting shot over Hale at LB. Given what we saw on Saturday, it would be a logical move.

Lastly, it looks like the comparison to Howland’s first year resonated beyond BN. Adam Rose from LAT also brought up CBH’s first year to offer his “small dose of perspective” on “What’s Bruin.”

Remember Ben Howland's first year as the men's basketball coach? The Bruins went 7-12 in Pac-10 play and finished 7th in the conference -- the worst result for a UCLA basketball team. Ever. Their 17 total losses was among the worst in the post-Wooden era, second only to the previous year's team.

That was in 2003. The next year they were back in the tournament. Then they made the next three Final Fours. Now they look like a perennial threat for the national championship.

Sure, football has a longer rebuilding process. No, the monopoly is not over. But expect the prodigal son to rise -- eventually.

Glad Adam is paying attention to what we have been saying here on BN.

GO BRUINS.

So lot of BYU fans are feeling pretty confident about their games against us on Saturday. They are coming off an emotional win at a tough Pac-10 venue and are now fired up to get over their main obstacle – UCLA – on their road to a BCS bowl game. So can’t really blame them for getting all fired up.

As of Sunday BYU opened up as 9 point favorite over UCLA per the Salt Lake Tribune:

BYU is a nine-point favorite over UCLA in this Saturday's game at LaVell Edwards Stadium, according to this Web site.
I figured the Cougars would be favored between four and six points, but what do I know? I think the betting public will go with UCLA, and wouldn't be surprised to see the point spread drop to around seven by game time.

Not sure where the line is right now. But 7 points seems to be a fairly substantial margin.

Yet according to some BYU fans like byujim, who have been offering some good takes here on BN, Bruins will have a chance to pull out an upset on Saturday:

The way to beat BYU? I’ve been watching long enough that I know how it’s been done. The first is to get them riled up. Emotion works against this Cougar team (they should be more mature due to their age, but a lot of times they aren’t). Get a lot of penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct, holding and false starts. Next, get a good defense in there to stop the run. UCLA has good enough cover corners to stack the box with 9 if they wanted to and effectively take away both dimensions of this game. And lastly, get Craft to play like the second half of the Tennessee game instead of the first!

Well, right now there are big question marks IMO on exactly how Craft is going to play. I know lot of folks are hoping Craft’s second half performance will carry over into Saturday. But I think we will have to wait and see. As we have been tracking practice reports, he can be very streaky.

Also as mentioned this am, it would really help if we can put together a semblance of a running game. I know some folks are wondering why Moline is starting (since Bell is looking “doubtful”) in place of some one like Carter who has the speed to break through. Well, Chow alluded to the fact that Moline is a good “zone runner”. I think another factor we might have to consider that coaches probably think Moline is a better blocker within their protection scheme (See tasser's point here). I think this is probably a significant factor into Chow’s game planning.

Anyway, as Tydides pointed out right now there are lot of questions despite the exhilarating win from labor day re. what our Bruins can bring to the table:

If for no other reason than for their opponent, this is the first road test for a very young team. For better or worse, we had quite a bit of experience last year. What kind of experience we had is up for debate, but it was certainly more than what we have currently. Frankly, if we see a repeat performance of the first half from the Tennessee game, that will likely be game over, and there’s no doubt that our defense will be called upon to shoulder more than its share of the burden, as will probably be the case the rest of the season. The UW game showed that BYU knows how to execute. They are the known quantity. What will the Bruins bring to the table? I think that’s the real question, and I don’t think anyone has the answer to it.

Again here are some of the questions swirling around our team:

• Which Craft are we going to see on Saturday: the one from first half or the one who led the glorious comeback in the second?
• Will our offense be able to put together some semblance of a running game giving Craft some room to operate and helping us to sustain some long drives?
• Will the defense be able to put enough pressure on Hall to get him off rhythm?
• Who will win the battle of trenches between BYU's OL v. the UCLA DL (anchored by the Killer B's)?\
• Will our LBs be able to contain Pitta?

I am sure you all can think of few more. But just like Tydides right now I don't have the answers.

So I think once again it’s important for all of us to not lose perspective after first game while we wait to find out some of the answers on Saturday.

GO BRUINS.

Bruins continue to prepare for the Cougars while working through injury issues on a number of fronts. While we lost Paulsen for an extended period of time (possibly the entire season) and Everett for few games, there was some hope re. Bell coming back on Saturday. Dohn reports that right now it is looking very “doubtful” that Bell will be in action against BYU: 

UCLA running back Kahlil Bell was in full practice gear Tuesday, but remained a spectator at practice as the Bruins moved forward in the likely event the senior running back will not play Saturday at No. 18 BYU.

While an official decision on Bell's lack of availability is expected today, running backs coach Wayne Moses said junior Chane Moline would start and redshirt freshman Raymond Carter would be the backup if Bell does not play.

"It's closer to doubtful than it is probable on Kahlil," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. "I'll leave it as questionable because I don't want to doubt the kid. He's really trying. But it's a long season, and this is only game two. I don't want to have it be one of those things that hamper him for a long time."

Moline and Carter lack Bell's experience, but the duo combines to give offensive coordinator Norm Chow versatility in the running game.

"I think Chane Moline is a good zone runner," Chow said. "I think Raymond gives us a good burst."

If we are hoping to hang with the Cougars this Saturday, we are going to need better performances from both Chane and Raymond. Neither of them got it going against the Volunteers. I think Chane is one of those physical tailbacks who can be effective in short yardage situations. As for Raymond he needs to do a much better job of recognizing the holes to better make use of his speed. Hopefully it starts coming together this weekend. In addition we would love to see Dean or Franklin get some shots against the Cougar defense.

Meanwhile, the team is working through bumps and bruises:

Bosworth (left ankle injury – BN Ed.) and Harwell (got his left arm examined. – BN Ed) sat out the last part of practice, though Neuheisel said both would be ready to play against Brigham Young on Saturday.

Said Neuheisel: "Knowing the Bosworth boys as I know them, it would have to be an amputation for them not to play."

Harwell, Neuheisel said, "has a bruised elbow. He'll be fine."

The Bruins can absorb injuries more readily on the defensive side, as "our front seven is deep," defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said, adding, "We have some talented young guys. They just don't have experience."

The offensive front is another matter. Glicksberg will play Saturday, but said he tweaked his shoulder. "It's going to be sore. I dislocated it last season. But it's nothing I can't work around."

Well it looks like Glicksberg and his team-mates are doing what they can. Kevin Pearson from the Press Enterprise reported the OL had a good practice on Tuesday along with some positive news re. Ketchum:

Wide receiver Gavin Ketchum, who missed the opener with mono, worked extensively with the first team on Tuesday and will make his season debut this weekend.

After being critical of the effort of the offensive line a day earlier, Neuheisel said he was pleased with the way they practiced on Tuesday.

Shifting our attention on the opponent, there is good article in the Salt Lake Tribune on BYU’s efficiency in converting 3rd downs in first two games of this season. The Cougars converted 12 of 14 3rd downs against Washington and went 7 for 10 against Northern Iowa:

The Cougars have yet to attempt a field goal, and they've punted just five times - three against Northern Iowa and two against Washington.
    Hall has not been sacked, and most of their penalties on offense have been 5-yarders, so they've rarely faced third-and-long. Of the 14 third-down situations they faced against Washington, only two were longer than 8 yards, and on the longest, third-and-14, Hall threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Austin Collie.
    "It is just what you see out there," Collie said, pointing to BYU's practice field. "It is just execution, and working on it every day, and making that one of our goals. I think a lot of credit has to go to Max and what he is doing behind center."
    The BYU offense will face a much tougher test this week against UCLA (Saturday, 1:30 p.m., Versus), however. The Bruins (1-0) held No. 18 Tennessee to 5-for-17 on third down in their 27-24 overtime win on Labor Day.
    BYU was just 5-for-14 on third down in the Las Vegas Bowl last year against UCLA.

I think it is safe to assume that our defensive coaches are all over this stat. If our defense find themselves in constant 2nd and short/3rd and short situations against Hall on Saturday, it could turn out to be a long afternoon. And this also goes back to the need for our offense to put together clock chewing drives against the BYU defense, allowing our boys to stay fresh and mount all out pressure against Hall. More than ever it will require a total team effort on Saturday, if the Bruins are looking to pull off an upset against a team that IMHO will be lot tougher than Tennessee.

GO BRUINS.