The Rose Bowl was supposed to act as a proving ground Saturday
for the UCLA football team. Entering the team’s season opener
against Oklahoma State, there were question marks in many places,
questions that could only be answered once the Bruins took the
field in a real game.
How would the young and inexperienced defensive line react to
the pressure of an actual game? Could the offense finally figure
things out and move the ball? Would the offensive line protect the
quarterback like it had been saying it could? And finally, would a
team that had lost its final five games to end last season remember
what it’s like to win?
After Saturday, many of the answers are overwhelmingly clear.
And the most important question has the most frustrating answer for
the Bruins. Oklahoma State ran all over UCLA’s defense, and
the Bruin offense made several critical turnovers in the
Cowboys’ 31-20 win.
“I hate losing,” sophomore defensive end Justin
Hickman said. “It hurts to see a team be as effective at
running the ball as they were today.
“It wasn’t fun.”
No kidding. It wasn’t fun for anyone on the defensive
line, a unit which will undoubtedly be a primary focus for the UCLA
coaching staff in the coming weeks. Oklahoma State (1-0) racked up
an astounding 441 rushing yards on 67 carries, accounting for all
four of its touchdowns, and the Cowboy ground game thoroughly
dominated the Bruin defense all day long.
Oklahoma State junior tailback Vernand Morency carried 29 times
for 261 yards and two touchdowns, establishing early on that the
Bruins wouldn’t be able to stop him ““ or really even
come close.
After UCLA (0-1) turned the ball over on its opening drive on a
fumble by senior receiver Craig Bragg, Morency and the bigger, more
experienced Cowboy offensive line started taking it right at the
Bruins. Six rushing plays and 63 yards later, Oklahoma State was
leading, 7-0.
“They were the better team up front,” UCLA defensive
coordinator Larry Kerr said. “You have to give them a lot of
credit.
“When you run the ball that well, obviously you’re
better than the guys you’re running against.”
That certainly was obvious. And though it didn’t exactly
come as a surprise, it was definitely a different feel from last
season, when UCLA’s defensive line was by far the strongest,
most effective facet of the Bruin team. That defensive line,
though, was full of experienced seniors, and this defensive line,
well, isn’t.
“These young guys have to get used to the college
field,” second-year Bruin head coach Karl Dorrell said.
“It’s hard to simulate game speed in practice, but
they’ll get better. Experience is going to help these guys in
the process of learning the college game.”
But unfortunately for the Bruins, the defensive line’s
first experience was far from a positive one. None of the defensive
linemen who played Saturday had started in a Division I game on the
defensive line. And now, with a group that has been ravaged by
injuries, people will need to grow up pretty quickly.
Hickman, a transfer from Glendale Community College in Arizona,
wasn’t too talkative about the porous defense. But he did
offer a pretty profound analysis of what the defensive line needs
to do differently to have more success than it had Saturday.
“Get better,” he said.
Saturday wasn’t all bad for the Bruins, as the offense
looked much improved from last season. UCLA’s play-calling
appeared more open under first-year offensive coordinator and
offensive line coach Tom Cable, and the Bruins were able to move
the ball with ease on several occasions.
But instead of capitalizing and finishing drives, UCLA’s
major problems came via turnovers.
First there was Bragg’s fumble. Then sophomore tailback
Maurice Drew fumbled in the second quarter, killing a Bruin drive
that eventually led to seven points for the Cowboys.
“It is frustrating, knowing that they didn’t stop us
and we stopped ourselves,” said Bragg, who finished with four
receptions for 87 yards. “I tip my hat off to them because
they did what they needed to do to win. But I think we gave it to
them.”
Even despite the early turnovers and the defensive ineptitude,
UCLA was still in the game until late in the fourth quarter. Thanks
to a huge day from senior running back Manuel White Jr. ““ who
finished with 20 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns ““
and some key receptions from Drew, UCLA had a chance to cut the
Cowboys’ lead to less than a touchdown with a little less
than eight minutes to play.
Junior quarterback Drew Olson, who finished 16-36 for 252 yards,
had just found Drew for a gain of 57 yards to the Oklahoma State
12-yard line. But Olson’s next pass was tipped and
intercepted, effectively sealing the Bruins’ fate. Olson was
intercepted one more time on the day, bringing UCLA’s
turnover total to four.
“The offense was good; I just feel like we gave it
away,” Olson said. “Even though the defense
didn’t really get a handle on the running game, I still feel
like we gave it away with the four turnovers. I feel like it would
be a different story if we had held onto the rock and kept the
ball.”
Saturday’s loss can’t be pinned on one thing, one
player or one unit. But the defensive line’s inability to
contain the run, combined with the offense’s unfortunate
turnovers, made pulling out a win next to impossible.
But Bruin fans can take solace in a positive sign that showed
itself after the game: the act of taking responsibility.
There was no finger-pointing in the locker room after
Saturday’s loss. Bragg and Olson said it was on the offense
for not taking care of the ball.
But junior linebacker Spencer Havner, who finished with 16 total
tackles, had a different idea.
“I’m pleased with our offense,” Havner said.
“The offense did more than enough today. Twenty points should
be enough.
“It’s on us, the defense, to get it
together.”
He has a point there, too. Everyone in the stadium knew that
Oklahoma State was going to run the ball, but there was nothing
UCLA could do to stop it.
And so it went Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Some things were most
definitely proven, as others were proven to be incredibly suspect.
But there’s no time to dwell on it, as UCLA faces Illinois on
the road Saturday.
“We just have to get in the film room, figure out what
happened, and get ready for Illinois,” Havner said.
That’s because they something to prove.