A beautiful Sunday morning. How every Sunday morning should feel like. ESPN Sunday morning bobbleheads - Bob Ryan, Mike Lupica, John Saunders et al. are slobbering all over the Longhorns and the Ballroom dancer. Whatever. Our mind is somewhere else. Bruins together probably their first complete game of the season (although the defense still needs to tighten up way more) on the backs of two Drews - Maurice Drew and Drew Olson. Couple of days ago, I wrote how Olson has some ways to go before he takes his place next to no. 18. Saturday night was another giant step. Olson is now a definite Heisman candidate:
Olson, his former Westwood rival, threw for a school record six touchdowns on Saturday. UCLA handled Oregon State 51-28. Went to 7-0. Olson and UCLA continued to look like a quarterback and a team building something special.
[...]
Olson put himself ahead in a record book filled with some of college football's greatest quarterbacks - Bob Waterfield, Billy Kilmer, Gary Beban, Troy Aikman, Cade McNown.
Not one ever threw six touchdowns in a single game.
Yes, Olson was playing like a Heisman trophy candidate:[...]
Olson put himself ahead in a record book filled with some of college football's greatest quarterbacks - Bob Waterfield, Billy Kilmer, Gary Beban, Troy Aikman, Cade McNown.
Not one ever threw six touchdowns in a single game.
Photo credit: Gina Ferrazi, LA Times
Olson was taking advantage of matchups throughout the night:
He took advantage of every bad matchup that the Bruins could create against a sluggish Beavers' defense that came in ranked last in the Pac-10 pass defense, passing touchdowns allowed as well as scoring defense. [...]
On the first of the six touchdown passes, Olson rolled to his right and turned back to find Maurice Drew matched up against a linebacker, Andy Darkins. It was a mismatch. Soon enough, a 43-yard touchdown that tied the score in the first quarter.
On the second touchdown the Beavers again had a linebacker trying to cover Drew, this time Trent Bray. He had no chance. Olson lofted the ball over Bray, right to Drew.
Sitting upstairs, UCLA offensive coordinator Tom Cable could only smile at the matchups they were creating, the reads Olson was making, the plays that were available to them. A linebacker on Drew?[...]
It was like that throughout. Olson hit freshman tight end Ryan Moya with a 48-yard touchdown pass in which he ran right by an Oregon State safety in man-to-man coverage. He lofted a 2-yard scoring pass to the 6-foot-6 tight end Lewis, who was lined up wide on a cornerback. He hit Lewis again, this time from 3 yards out. And on the sixth scoring pass Olson hit Brandon Breazell on a 46-yard post.
Not to be outdone, other Heisman candidate Maurice Drew lit up the Rose Bowl score board too:
On the first of the six touchdown passes, Olson rolled to his right and turned back to find Maurice Drew matched up against a linebacker, Andy Darkins. It was a mismatch. Soon enough, a 43-yard touchdown that tied the score in the first quarter.
On the second touchdown the Beavers again had a linebacker trying to cover Drew, this time Trent Bray. He had no chance. Olson lofted the ball over Bray, right to Drew.
Sitting upstairs, UCLA offensive coordinator Tom Cable could only smile at the matchups they were creating, the reads Olson was making, the plays that were available to them. A linebacker on Drew?[...]
It was like that throughout. Olson hit freshman tight end Ryan Moya with a 48-yard touchdown pass in which he ran right by an Oregon State safety in man-to-man coverage. He lofted a 2-yard scoring pass to the 6-foot-6 tight end Lewis, who was lined up wide on a cornerback. He hit Lewis again, this time from 3 yards out. And on the sixth scoring pass Olson hit Brandon Breazell on a 46-yard post.
Bruins tailback Maurice Drew continued his move up the Heisman hopeful list with 120 yards rushing, touchdown catches of 43 and 20 yards and 250 all-purpose yards.
And, all of a sudden Plaschke has a revelation about what's been going on in Southern California this college football season:
Did you know that Olson has thrown five more touchdown passes with two fewer interceptions than USC's Matt Leinart?
Nearly as compelling is the comparison between the Trojans' likely Heisman winner and the Bruins' running back who will be fortunate to attend the ceremony.
Reggie Bush has 1,422 total yards and 13 touchdowns.
Drew has 1,299 total yards and 16 touchdowns.
We don't want Plaschke getting on the Bruin bandwagon, because bad things happen whenever the idiot jumps on board (think pre-Stanford week in 2001, when Plaschke declared LA as being a UCLA football town). However, on this BP has a point. Rest of the nation instead ogling all over the ball room dancer and no. 5, start needs to pay some serious attention to the two Drews of Westwood.Nearly as compelling is the comparison between the Trojans' likely Heisman winner and the Bruins' running back who will be fortunate to attend the ceremony.
Reggie Bush has 1,422 total yards and 13 touchdowns.
Drew has 1,299 total yards and 16 touchdowns.
Not just the two Drews. UCLA is not getting any respect not just nationally, but also locally (attendance wise), and getting dissed by opponents even after beating up on them:
But even after defeating Oregon State, 51-28, Saturday, the eighth-ranked Bruins still have their share of non-believers, including some of their own fans based on the announced crowd of 49,932 at the Rose Bowl.
Said Beaver safety Sabby Piscitelli: "They played well, but I don't know about them being a top-10 team."
In improving to 7-0 for the first time since 1998, UCLA remains one of six undefeated Division I-A teams, and that's the most important statistic.
We still have a long way to go. Right now IMHO we have put ourselves in a situation that if we don't do something special this season, i.e. win double digit games during the regular season and/or exorcise our demons on December 3rd, this will be a disappointing season. And let's hope the players keep remembering what has happened to this team in the past - again thinking back to that last Saturday of 2001 October, when we had our dreams crushed up their at the farm. We are going to be back there this next weekend, and it will be a huge game, where we may finally be able to put away some old issues. Stanford is now another huge game. Another must win Saturday. Meanwhile, let's soak in a beautiful Sunday. GO BRUINS.
Said Beaver safety Sabby Piscitelli: "They played well, but I don't know about them being a top-10 team."
In improving to 7-0 for the first time since 1998, UCLA remains one of six undefeated Division I-A teams, and that's the most important statistic.