Anyway, to me it seems like there are two Bruin teams out there.  The D is fired up and playing with intensity ... through their play you can see they're well coached.

The O is another story.  You could see there was an effort there today to mix up the play calling ... but there's still something missing in the creativity of our offensive coaches.  The killer instinct to stick it in the endzone isn't there.  I hope we put it together, but it's frustrating watching so many offensive weapons going unused.

Sorry, guys (and BB), I missed the game.  Have we heard about the extent of Ben's injury.  Did Pat look okay under center?

More importantly, were the Cal uniforms as bad as I have been led to believe?

I need answers, people.

After Ben went out, I thought to myself I dont care how it comes, we just need a W.  The theme seems to be questions, and one we need to ask is, does the offense run more efficiently with Cowan than it does with Olson?  Pat makes desisions more quickly, is a little bit better rolling out of the pocket, and isn't afraid to go downfield.  I love Ben, but he seems to be an extension of Dorrell in the way he's so scared to throw the ball downfield.  Pat made some smooth checkdowns too... he just seems to be a bit more natural out there than Ben.  My point is if Ben is out for an extended period of time, Pat might be what we need to wake the offense up.  I'm hoping Ben is fine, but if he comes back, I think Dorrell needs to not hesitate to go with Cowan if the offense stalls again.

Other thoughts -

It was nice to see the WR's make more plays, but we need to get Terrence Austin in the game.

Running game needs to get better.  The holes weren't really there for Markey.

Our best two players right now are Justin Hickman and Trey Brown.  Hickman is almost unstoppable, I can't believe how well this guy is playing.  

Reggie Carter is getting better every week, him and Verner will be all-conference performers someday.

Does anyone know what Christian Taylor's injury was exactly?  I missed that.

Oregon didn't look impressive at all, but they will have a sense of urgency after their loss tonight.  We need to go up there and steal one.

I said Cowan was the better of the two quaterbacks right now ( See my page blog entry, "Ben the Canadian") and today he proved it.   Impressive start, two touchdowns, 200+ yards in two 1/2 quarters of play.  Ben looks the part of quarterback but doesn't play it while Cowan stepped up and showed us his abilities.  AND by the look of things the coaching staff trust him more than Olson, as we saw by the aggressive play calling in today's game.  The truth is  Cowan should of always been the starter.  The reason why he wasn't is b/c they are banking on Olson to be a better starter next year.  Can you blame them ?

and I usually think bruinsnation is right on the money but I am feeling good tonight:

1st, sc looks more beatable by the week
2nd Washington is not that bad as it turns out
3rd we lost our starting QB and WON

4th and most importantly, some big hits tonight from our D.

I have been cranky lately and I have found the cure to be watching the D hit people hard.   It is amazingly therapeutic.  

I am really kind of excited about this season for the first time since Utah win.

the zebras tonight?  they were fucking horrible, i heard we actually had a couple from the oregon oklahoma disaster.  im honestly suprised more players didnt go down with all the late hitting that was going on.  i think at points the refs lost control of the game especially with that bullshit cheap shot they took at christian taylor at the end of the first half, that got no flag.  even ben olson's shot was a little late.  if anything i was impressed with our D even though we were playing Arizona because of the hitting that went on tonight.  horton, keyes, and brown lit people up.

go bruins!

i just want to say I am ashamed by the lack of faith we are all showing in big ben olsen. We've hyped this kid ever since he stepped foot onto the westwood campus, and now, after a few lackluster performances (due mainly to horrible, uninspiring, and momentum killing play calling)and a semi-decent performance from Pat Cowan against a doormat Pac 10 team with a horrible pass defense, we're giving him the shaft. Ben is the future of this program. Pat is not. There was a reason Ben got the start over this kid and it wasn't just because he had a rocket arm. It was because the coaches (no matter how incompetent and retarded they appear to be) realized that the kid was just... better. Plain and simple. And to toss the best thing that has happened to UCLA football since Cade Mcnown on the bench and watch it waste away, is the worst thing anyone can do. Even if Pat wins against Oregon (very unlikely) and beats Notre Dame (even more unlikely. If Dorrell couldn't outcoach Tyrone Willingham, then I don't see any hope of him slipping by Charlie Weis) Ben Olsen should still get the start. He has the potential and he is the future. Plus, I remember a few weeks back when a certain someone was named national player of the week after torching a Utah defense for 300 yards and three touchdowns. That's 100 yards more than what Pat did today and a touchdown better. How can we just let talent like that go to waste?

During the spring and summer drills, KD kept saying that the QB competition was very close but everyone knew the starter would be Ben. We all drooled after the Utah game but the next three games made me realize that our expectations of Ben were unrealistic. He has proven to be extremely tentative and lacked confidence -- qualities not befitting a QB at any level.

When Ben went down, I whispered to my friend: "This may be the break we needed." Of course, I do not want any player to sustain an injury, but football can be a funny game and injuries can often produced unexpected or unintended results.

I could not believe how the offense opened up under Cowan. You could see the receivers pick up their game knowing that the ball was starting to fly. Cowan may not be the answer -- he will, no doubt, make mistakes -- but, at least for tonite, there should be no dispute that the O has been revitalized and that's a good thing.