Late in the fourth quarter, on a simple five-yard reception,
receiver Craig Bragg made UCLA history. But few people had time to
notice. Bragg broke the UCLA career receptions record Saturday,
surpassing Kevin Jordan with his 180th catch. Unfortunately for
Bragg, the moment didn’t pan out how he expected.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” he said.
“Yeah I got the record, but we lost the game and so I’m
frustrated and disappointed in that. “I think I’ll
eventually be able to celebrate it. But right now it’s a big
deal for me to make it to a bowl game.” Coach Karl Dorrell
reiterated the sentiment in his postgame press conference.
“No disrespect to Craig, but that was not a very good
performance,” he said. Nevertheless, Bragg’s streak of
consecutive games in which he has caught a pass reached 42
games.
OLSON UPDATE: In an unofficial visit,
quarterback recruit Ben Olson was in attendance at Saturday’s
game. Olson, who is not related to current quarterback Drew Olson,
is one of the top-ranked recruits this season after he decided to
leave Brigham Young University during his redshirt season two years
ago. Olson returned home this week from a two-year Mormon mission
and said he will be taking his time in making a decision. He plans
to enroll at the university he chooses in January so he can
participate in spring football. “Right now, I’m just
taking a reevaluated look at the position I’m in,” he
said. “I’m looking at all my options and I’m not
excluding anyone. But UCLA has a lot to offer.” A former
Thousand Oaks standout, Olson was the top-ranked quarterback coming
out of his senior year. He grew up a UCLA fan, which he said makes
the school an appealing choice along with the fact that there could
be a possible opportunity to start three years once Drew Olson
graduates. “I think it’s very appealing,” he
said. “Any player looks at the depth chart and their window
of opportunity. At some schools that window might open up earlier
than others, and that’s something that’s very
intriguing about UCLA and a positive.” He has not decided yet
where he will take his official visits, but among the possibilities
are Miami, LSU, Oregon, Arizona State and UCLA. He could possibly
visit Oregon next weekend, where he can also get another look at
the Bruins. Olson said the fact that Bruins lost did not have an
impact and was impressed that UCLA “kept fighting and
didn’t give up.”
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?: The Rose Bowl
scoreboard operator decided to display the
“noise-o-meter,” encouraging the crowd to yell.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, it was during UCLA’s last drive
when they needed to tie the score. While at the line of scrimmage
on second down and 13 at the Cougars’ 27-yard line,
UCLA’s offensive line had trouble hearing Olson’s
audible and freshman Brian Abraham was called for a false start
penalty. Cougar players on the field picked up on the
operator’s untimely decision and also encouraged the fans to
yell, especially on the next play, where the
“noise-o-meter” was again displayed.
A FEW EXTRA MEN: After the game, defensive
coordinator Larry Kerr brought attention to the fact that several
times during the game, the Cougars had a few extra players on the
field. “WSU quite frankly had 12 or 13 guys on the field
three or four times, running guys off late,” Kerr said.
INJURY REPORT: Tailback Maurice Drew sprained
his ankle early in the first half and did not return the rest of
the game and tight end Marcedes Lewis bruised his tailbone and also
could not return. … Center Mike McCloskey, who suffered a mild
concussion after last week’s game against Stanford, did not
play as expected. … Freshman linebacker Fred Holmes suffered a
concussion. … Linebacker Wesley Walker suffered a shoulder
sprain. … Robert Chai, filling in at center, sprained his ankle
but returned later in the game.
ODDS AND ENDS: Punter Chris Kluwe, a
semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award for best collegiate punter,
averaged 50.3 yards per punt on seven attempts. Four of his punts
went inside the 20-yard line. … Linebacker Spencer Havner again
led the team in tackles with 11 solo and 12 overall. … The
Bruins’ game against Oregon next week will be televised on
ABC. Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m.