No Excuses

by Nestor on Sep 22, 2006 5:29 AM PDT in Football Comment 11 comments

After two games, the Bruin defense is feeling good about the statistics they compiled against Utah and Rice:

After two games, UCLA's defense has given up 26 first downs, 471 yards and three touchdowns. The numbers are much better than they were after two games last season when the Bruins had given up 39 first downs, 657 yards and six touchdowns.

It's this improved play under first-year defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker that has boosted UCLA's confidence heading into the start of Pacific 10 Conference play.

"It's only two games, but it definitely feels great to know that we have the No. 1 defense in the conference," junior safety Dennis Keyes said about the Bruins, who lead the league in fewest yards allowed (235.5) and rushing yards allowed (82.5) per game.

"It shows that all of our hard work is starting to pay off. Everything Coach Walker has been teaching us and emphasizing is starting to show results. That's keeping guys motivated and focused."

I like Dennis Keyes a lot. But I think I would wait if I were him before calling the D the best defense in Pac-10. We should all withhold making any judgment until the end of the game this Saturday. Because, given the quality of Washington's OL and running game, we will find out how much the Bruin D has truly improved.

And Dohn has more on the challenge for the Bruin defense this Saturday:

The members of Washington's starting offensive line average 308 pounds, and each weighs at least 300 pounds. Conversely, UCLA's starting defensive line averages 263.5 pounds and are backed by a small linebacker corps.

So UCLA believes it knows what Washington's game plan will be when the teams kick off their Pacific-10 Conference seasons Saturday in Seattle.

"They're going to try to run downhill with that big offensive line they have," UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis said. "That's no surprise. They probably feel like we haven't been tested yet. They figure they're going to go in and run the ball, and that's fine."

The Huskies (2-1) are averaging a conference-leading 210.7 rushing yards per game behind a balanced rushing attack. Tailbacks Louis Rankin (276 yards) and Kenny James (129), and quarterback Isaiah Stanback (211), each are averaging more than 10 carries a game.

Meanwhile, the Bruins defense, which yielded more than 200 yards per game in 2004 and 2005, limited Utah and Rice to 165 rushing yards combined in their first two games.

But neither Utah (spread) nor Rice (some option) ran conventional offenses, and neither had the girth of Washington's line.

We are going to find out early how much this defense has improved on Saturday. If Rankin and James are ripping off 5-6 yards a carry in the Huskies early drives, it could be a long day for Walker and co. It will be imperative for Bruins to stop the run early. Maybe bring up SS Horton to help out the run defense, while letting Keyes roam in the defensive backfield. If the Bruins can stifle the Husky running game, and our LBers don't let Stanback get out of the pocket, then we should be fine on Saturday.

On offense, it looks like the vulnerable Husky secondary may be even more vulnerable as Kuwada reports Washington CB Dashon Goldson may miss the UCLA game because of an angle injury. A situation I am sure Svoboda, Olson, and his receivers will keep an eye on.

As we head into tomorrow it is becoming a clear that this is a game Bruins should win. We have the talent to pull this off Saturday. If you think we are setting up these expectations to be hard on Coach Dorrell then think again.

Even the Husky fans know Bruins have more talent on the field. This is the teaser from one of Dawgman.com ($) game previews:

Make no mistake about the talent at UCLA. There are many more players on the Bruin roster that Washington wanted then there are current Huskies that the Bruins wanted.

Also from an impartial observer such as CFN:

Washington is clearly making strides, but not enough to topple a well-rested Bruin team that's going to light up the Husky secondary.

CFN Prediction: UCLA 27 ... Washington 20 ...

From BeaverFootball.com setting the picks for Oregon State football fans:

The 2-0 UCLA Bruins are rested coming off a bye week. This week's game marks the fifth time since 1997 that the Bruins have played Washington after a week off when the Huskies didn't have a bye. UCLA won all of those games. They beat the #13 Huskies in 1997, the #23 Huskies in 1999 in overtime and the 10th ranked squad in 2001. And it happened again last season with a 21-17 win. This year these kids from Seattle are far from ranked and the Bruins will be cracking the top 25 after they take care of them Saturday afternoon. They have won eight of the past nine in the series.

UCLA running back Chris Markey leads the conference in yards per carry at 7.5. I expect him to open up the passing game for quarterback Ben Olson, who has also looked good early this season. The UW secondary is banged up and inexperienced, expect them to get shredded. I'm not sold on the Huskies resurgence yet. The play is UCLA and I don't see shades of grey.

Back to Husky Fans. Kim Grinolds, the Managing Partner of Dawgman.com:

Unless UW can devise a scheme in the secondary or get big time pressure on the QB, Ben Olson will have a big day. He is too accurate and doesn?t look like he rattles too easily, being that he?s 23-years old. The Huskies will somehow need to get to him, or cover receivers that are faster than they are. That is not a recipe for success that the Huskies have just yet.

PREDICTION: UCLA 35, Washington 10

And lastly from another huge Dawg fan - Chris Fetters - the Editor-in-Chief of Dawgman.com:

The Huskies come off a solid win over a tough team in Fresno State, but the Bruins come calling...the one nice thing about this game is that Washington - if they play up to expectation - can hang with the Bruins, especially if they are able to run the ball like they did against them last year. Apparently UCLA's calling card on defense now is toughness, which is kind of funny in one respect and kind of scary in another. I don't think UCLA will play many teams that are as physical as what UW is going to be on Saturday, but I just don't see a defensive remedy for a potent Bruin attack. UCLA 42-28

PREDICTION: UCLA 42, Washington 28

We will take any of those scores and they seem to match up with the general consensus forming in the Bruins Nation.

To sum it up it will be the Bruins with more talent on the field coming off a two week rest. So it will be up to the coaches to pull it off. There will be no excuses for not winning this game tomorrow.

GO BRUINS.

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A few OTHER thoughts

There are so many reasons why our players SHOULD be fired up for this game:

They haven't played in two weeks.
They even took their last opponent lightly (Breazell comment).
We almost lost to UW last year, so we have something to prove.
First road game of the year.
First P-10 game of the year.
Lastly, there is no reason to look ahead to 1-AA Stanford at home next weekend.

If we don't come out and play with a ton of focus, emotion and passion, then the coaching staff must be held responsible.

Also, I believe that our rotating D-line (that keeps guys fresh) will be able to wear down the UW O-line, which is so thin on talent that they only play their starters.

by bornagainbruin on Sep 22, 2006 9:49 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Expecting a win

"If you think we are setting up these expectations to be hard on Coach Dorrell then think again."

As long as we aren't talking about needing to win by three touchdowns to prove that the team is on the right track, I agree with anyone here that this game needs to be won. If we don't, the fact that Cal and Notre Dame don't look as impressive as they did before the season started probably means that we could still do 9-3, but those teams' collapses (Notre Dame might be worse than even I had thought) has me leaning more toward 10-2 or 11-1 than 9-3.

We'll learn a lot about the team this weekend as they face a team more indicative of the type of opponents they can expect in the rest of the season, in terms of the style of play if not the quality of play.

by antipimp on Sep 22, 2006 10:30 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

11 - 1 !

I know a lot of you hate me for this but I said 11 - 1 awhile ago. I think it was in the preseason predictions.

by bruinelder on Sep 22, 2006 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Stick together

I wasn't as brave as you to call for the actual number, so I left it at a vague "9-3 or better" in my prediction.

I still don't know why I say 10-2 or 11-1 when I can't think of a team in the schedule we shouldn't have a chance against...

by antipimp on Sep 22, 2006 10:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am with you ...

I don't care much for the margin of victory. But I am expecting the Bruins to play a complete game on offense, contain the Husky running game effectively on defense, minimize mental errors, and get out with a solid win.

At this point I will be happy with 9-3 and a win over Souther Cal. Not ready to upgrade my expectations yet.

by Nestor on Sep 22, 2006 10:58 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

you didn't understand Keyes

he didn't say we have the best D in the conferennce, just that we are #1 right now-which is true and is something to feel good about. Last year's D would not have had those numbers at this point.

by OsoPuro on Sep 22, 2006 10:36 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

May be

But I don't really care about the talk of being the no. 1 team in the conference after playing Utah and Rice.

I will wait to see what happens against Washington on the road.

by Nestor on Sep 22, 2006 10:56 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't see that

we are the #1 ranked D right now and they are justifiably proud of that. that's a good thing. what they should mope around forever because of last year? Ds excel when they have good coaching that they trust. so taking pride in being #1 right now while realizing they have lots to work on is a good thing. IF they were scared and dismissive of their performances that would be awful. Their wasn't anything that looked like arrogance in that quote, just noting that they have made lots of progress.

Its ok if board commenters are pessimists. Its a disaster if players are pessimists.

by OsoPuro on Sep 22, 2006 11:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

They don't need to be pessmists

they can be a little more cautious when talking to the press.

We have hear all the talk before ... but we have been coming short when it is time to walk.

So being a little guarded in press doesn't hurt.

by Nestor on Sep 22, 2006 11:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree.

Lets stay HUMBLE in the press. Last thing we need is for another Arizona incident (sorry guys) where we embarass ourselves. Beat the teams we should beat suprise the teams that are favored and keep our mouths shut. Let our play do the talking. GO BRUINS!!!

by bruinelder on Sep 22, 2006 11:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

hopefully we'll see brown and harwell together

a lot tomorrow. sounds like they are both coming along and we will need their bulk. + we can get Hale in there to add some size to the LBs. Walker has the guys to get this done.

by OsoPuro on Sep 22, 2006 10:44 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs