First ... Howland's Bruins are off to a winning start, as our JV team beat up on Carleton College, aka the "UCLA of Canada" by score of 78-51. Not bad for a team playing without four of its starters. On that note - another must win Saturday against a not so great program from the Pac-10. The players and coaches are saying all the right things with the appropo one game at a time clichés, and how they are focused. But we heard that before the Washington game as well. So, it would be really nice if we come out in first quarter and impose our will on those Mildcats from get-go, and play like you know, a top-5 BCS team. Here is MJD and Coach Cable on this afternoon's game in the dessert:
"Arizona is going to be tough," UCLA running back Maurice Drew said. "That's why I don't really worry about the BCS or any rankings because we have enough things to be concerned about."
The Bruins, the fifth-best scoring team in the nation at 42.6 points per game, should be able to move the ball against Arizona, which gave up 654 yards to Oregon State and 724 against USC early in the season.
The Wildcats' biggest problem has been their inability to stop the run. They rank next to last in the Pac-10 -- just ahead of the Bruins -- giving up 185 yards per game. But UCLA's ground attack gained only 79 yards last week in an overtime victory against Stanford.
"We have taken the attitude that this game is our biggest game of the season and the kids understand that," UCLA offensive coordinator Tom Cable said. "We have left no stone unturned this week. We've put some new stuff in. We're excited about going against their pressure defense."
The Bruins will be looking to start fast today after pulling off four come-from-behind, fourth-quarter victories in their last five games. Getting the ball to Drew would be a good place to start.
While on the defensive side of things we heard earlier this week about Coach Kerr may not be changing up any schemes for today (he could be doing a little gamesmanship with Zona coaches). But we do have to worry about Zona's QB, who is having nice debut in the Pac-10 conference:
The Bruins, the fifth-best scoring team in the nation at 42.6 points per game, should be able to move the ball against Arizona, which gave up 654 yards to Oregon State and 724 against USC early in the season.
The Wildcats' biggest problem has been their inability to stop the run. They rank next to last in the Pac-10 -- just ahead of the Bruins -- giving up 185 yards per game. But UCLA's ground attack gained only 79 yards last week in an overtime victory against Stanford.
"We have taken the attitude that this game is our biggest game of the season and the kids understand that," UCLA offensive coordinator Tom Cable said. "We have left no stone unturned this week. We've put some new stuff in. We're excited about going against their pressure defense."
The Bruins will be looking to start fast today after pulling off four come-from-behind, fourth-quarter victories in their last five games. Getting the ball to Drew would be a good place to start.
Tuitama checked in two weeks ago against Oregon and put 21 points on the scoreboard in a 28-21 loss to the Ducks.
He then led the Wildcats to a 29-27 victory at Oregon State last week. He passed for 335 yards and made some big plays, with his average yards gained per attempt (15.2) only one-tenth of a yard shy of the school record set by Tom Tunnicliffe in 1982.
In seven quarters he has passed for 517 yards (258.5 per game) with four touchdown passes and only one interception, giving him an efficiency rating of 152.91. Kovalcheck in the first six games plus one quarter passed for 1,321 yards (188.7 per game) and 10 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, for an efficiency rating of 113.94.
And the feel, the air, about the offense is just different. The Wildcats pose a threat.
For one thing, they are better in the red zone. Tuitama has led the Wildcats to scores on five of six opportunities inside the 20-yard line.
They also are more explosive. Arizona has had 12 plays from scrimmage of 20 or more yards in its past two games compared with 16 plays of 20 or more yards in its first six games.
Well ... IMO one of the unsung heroes of last weekend's game was our defense. Previously, on this spot I have been very harsh on Coach Kerr. So I have to give him credit when credit is dude. IMO it was UCLA's defense who kept us in the game against during the first three quarters when the offense was not doing anything. Let's hope they come out with the same tenacity today. I am hoping Hickman will play like beast again drilling this freshmen QB in the ground, and Page will continue to bring it from the defensive backfield. Sure some of our key personnel (Lombard, JLo) are a little banged up, but in totality we still have too much talent on this roster to piss away this game against one of the worst teams in the Pac-10. Elsewhere, Dohn has a report on Dorrell's candy session with players, and how it has brought the team together. Kind of like the piece Plaschke did earlier in the season. Oh well, Dohn IMO is the best beat writer in town. So we will let him slip a little doing one of those human interest/John Tesh like stories once in a while. lol Anyway, back to Zona. Since we are playing another Stoops brother today, thought I post the same pic. I posted the day we took on his older brother:He then led the Wildcats to a 29-27 victory at Oregon State last week. He passed for 335 yards and made some big plays, with his average yards gained per attempt (15.2) only one-tenth of a yard shy of the school record set by Tom Tunnicliffe in 1982.
In seven quarters he has passed for 517 yards (258.5 per game) with four touchdown passes and only one interception, giving him an efficiency rating of 152.91. Kovalcheck in the first six games plus one quarter passed for 1,321 yards (188.7 per game) and 10 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, for an efficiency rating of 113.94.
And the feel, the air, about the offense is just different. The Wildcats pose a threat.
For one thing, they are better in the red zone. Tuitama has led the Wildcats to scores on five of six opportunities inside the 20-yard line.
They also are more explosive. Arizona has had 12 plays from scrimmage of 20 or more yards in its past two games compared with 16 plays of 20 or more yards in its first six games.
Photo Credit:Alexander Gallardo / LAT
Here is to the Benz thundering and rumbling all over the Mildcats this afternoon. Time for Marcedes to send a message across the Nation and most importantly play like a BCS team. Start strong and then finish it. GO BRUINS.