Bruin true freshman quarterback Drew Olson won his second start
after leading UCLA (6-3, 3-2 Pac-10) to a 34-24 win over Washington
(4-5, 1-4) Saturday.
“Drew made a few mistakes, he’s a freshman. But he
made some good plays,” head coach Bob Toledo said. Olson was
13-of-27 for 189 yards. Prior to Saturday, Washington had only lost
twice at home over the last 20 games.
“A lot of people say I looked nervous,” Olson said.
“Maybe I was excited, trying to get rid of the ball too
quick. But I wasn’t really nervous.”
Olson will start at Arizona (3-5, 0-5) but Toledo refused to
speculate beyond this week. Up by 13 in the third quarter, Toledo
thought about putting in true freshman quarterback Matt Moore, who
led UCLA to a win over Stanford, but then the lead dropped to three
points and with it, Toledo’s idea.
“Matt was great after the game,” Toledo said.
“I basically apologized for not getting him in and he told
me, “˜Coach, don’t worry about it, we won the
game.'”
This weekend Toledo will try to get Moore in at Arizona if the
opportunity presents itself.
“We’ll need them both down the line.”
Both will face a special challenge against Arizona which, unlike
any other Pac-10 school, runs a Double Eagle Flex defense, which
uses three down linemen, three linebackers, and two strong
safeties.
“The quarterback has to direct protections. That is going
to be the hardest part,” Toledo said.
Since senior quarterback Cory Paus went down with a broken ankle
at Cal, the focus for the young quarterbacks has been not making
mistakes.
“We focused on that throughout the week: let the team
score and win,” Olson said. “But I feel they have
confidence in us that we can make plays.”
Neither quarterback has committed a turnover in their
starts.
“I tell them it is okay to make a mistake but don’t
make the mistake that gets us beat,” Toledo said. “If
you make a mistake, don’t compound it by doing something
stupid.”
Sixty Men for Sixty Minutes
The Bruins went through almost their entire sixty-player travel
roster at Washington as several players went down with cramps and
various minor injuries.
“It was hard to get them to sing the fight song in the
locker room, they were all so exhausted,” Toledo said.
The secondary is still nicked up but all the starters are
expected to be fully healthy by gametime. Sophomore corner Matt
Ware had a strained hamstring and backup senior corner Joe
Hunter’s chest X-rays were negative.
“We need Ware to play,” Toledo said.
On offense, Manuel White is still questionable with a pulled
hamstring. Redshirt freshman Tyler Ebell has had five consecutive
100-plus yard rushing games in his absence.
“Let’s see if he’s healthy first. We’ll
pick our spots. We would play both (Ebell and White),” said
Toledo who added that White would likely play some fullback.
One Ball, Three Sacks
Junior defensive end Dave Ball put smiley faces on his late-hit
apology letter to Washington quarterback Taylor Barton last
year.
“I never heard back,” he said.
This year’s Washington quarterback Cody Pickett has shown
no interest in being his pen pal. Ball was named Pac-10 defensive
player of the week after Ball sacked Pickett three times. He had
only one sack last season.
“He’s using some fundamentals and techniques
he’s being taught,” Toledo said. “Those Ball guys
(twins Dave and Mat) are something else. You enjoy coaching players
like that because they put everything into perspective.”
Freshness Counts
“I’m cold. I’m sore. I’m tired,”
senior corner Ricky Manning Jr. said after the game.
Washington held the ball for 33:35 of the game, straining the
defense. Since senior quarterback Cory Paus went down at Cal, the
defense has had to spend more time on the field.
“We need to be smart. We’ve cut down
practice,” Toledo said.
The way the defense has shouldered the burden has taken some
weight off Toledo.
“We can play a little closer to the vest. We can win it on
defense and not lose it on offense.”