Don't Feel Guilty

by tliggett on Oct 20, 2007 11:04 PM PDT

The post-game thread was pretty heated so I thought I'd stay out of that mess and bring my thoughts here.

This is a good win - be happy about it and don't feel guilty. It is never NOT good for UCLA to beat a top 15 team and even if it took a little luck to get the victory, it's STILL a good win. We should be happy with the way the defense played, particularly against the run. We should be happy with the guts and leadership displayed by Pat Cowan. We should be happy with the hard-running of Khalil Bell and the great run-blocking (and better discipline) of the O-Line. We should be happy with Verner's pick-and-score to seal the win - if you weren't jumping out of your chair for that one, you're not a real fan.
This is not a meaningful win. If anything, this win just further demonstrates the need for a new coach ASAP. Think about it - we should be 7-0 right now. 7-0! We should be top 5 in the BCS, if not top 2. But we're just 5-2 . . . which MIGHT be OK . . . so long as your losses aren't to Utah and Notre Dame. If we've got enough talent to upset Cal (yes, it's an upset - Cal's got a great team) then we have no business getting blown OUT by Utah and beat up by Notre Dame. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Some of my favorite parts of the game today were when UCLA would get inside the redzone and one of the ABC guys would say, "Karl Dorrell needs to attack the endzone right now." And I would just laugh as the ball was handed off to a RB on a zone play up the middle. It was great, though, to see said ABC guys get all over KD over the 4th-and-1 call. I'm hoping that the national guys are starting to realize how in-over-his-head our head coach is.

Bottom line: It's OK to enjoy the win. It was a good win so don't feel guilty about it. Even a win can demonstrate the need for a new head coach. I just hope that DG is wise enough to see it that way too.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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This begs the question

Why should a win over Cal EVER be considered an upset?

This sums up the state of the UCLA program.

by bluegold on Oct 20, 2007 11:33 PM PDT reply actions

Yeah

It would be nice if UCLA was never mentioned in an "Upset Watch" on ESPN.com, either as the upsetter or upsettee.

GO BRUINS. HOOK 'EM HORNS.

by uclawarren on Oct 21, 2007 9:49 AM PDT up reply actions

Realism

I see what you guys are saying, but we can only control (slightly) our own program. We can't control what Cal does. And Cal has built a pretty program over the last 5 years. Even if you build a good program yourself, there are always going to be people out there that build a better one. You're just never going to be the best team in college football for all-time. It's pretty fun to watch 'SC figure this out for themselves right now.

In any case, this means that even with a great program, we're going to go into a few games as the 'dog. If we win, it's an upset. That's just life.

I definitely agree on the "upsettee" part, though. You've gotta win the games you should win.

by tliggett on Oct 21, 2007 10:05 AM PDT reply actions

I think the point here is

Cal should have been the team gunning for an upset of us. This was the year that the stars align and we make a special run. We should have been underdogs to no team this year. Obviously with the two horrific losses this year, that is no longer the case.

by Tydides on Oct 21, 2007 10:59 AM PDT up reply actions