Upon further review, UCLA did not escape from its comeback
victory over Washington on Saturday completely unscathed. Starting
defensive end Nikola Dragovic will miss the remainder of the
Bruins’ season after it was revealed Monday that he suffered
an ACL sprain in his left knee. The injury occurred with 9:13
remaining in the third quarter of Saturday’s game, when
Dragovic, being blocked by a Husky offensive lineman, twisted
awkwardly and fell to the ground clutching his left knee, where he
spent several minutes writhing in pain. He did not return, but was
able to walk off the field after the game. “It’s like
getting punched in the gut when you lose a guy like that,”
UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. “But we have enough guys on
this team that want to showcase how they can help this team, and
this is one of those instances where we’ll have a guy step
up.” Though he wasn’t a projected starter before the
season, the 6-foot-3, 252-pound Dragovic, originally from the
former Yugoslavia, caught the eye of Bruin coaches with his
tenacity and aggressive pursuit of the ball. In just four weeks of
fall camp, Dragovic vaulted himself over fellow defensive linemen
Kyle Morgan and William Snead on the depth chart to earn a starting
spot. The injury to Dragovic comes at a particularly unfortunate
time for UCLA and a struggling run-defense unit that will be pitted
against No. 9 California this Saturday at the Rose Bowl. The Golden
Bears feature the Pac-10’s most potent rushing attack (259.4
yards per game) and two offensive linemen that were first team
All-Pac-10 selections in 2004 in center Marvin Philip and 6-foot-7,
360-pound offensive lineman Ryan O’Callaghan. UCLA, which
allowed a poor rushing offense in Washington to accumulate 213
yards on the ground this past Saturday, will now have to face
Cal’s offensive juggernaut without the services of Dragovic
and defensive lineman Kevin Brown, who is still recovering from a
high ankle sprain he suffered on Aug. 20. One of the likely
potential candidates to replace Dragovic on the line appears to be
sophomore Bruce Davis, who Dorrell expects to see time at defensive
end and linebacker this Saturday. Before the injury, Dragovic had
recorded 11 tackles, a sack, and a blocked an extra point in the
Bruins’ first four games. With Dragovic out for the season,
the running tally on injuries to sideline UCLA starters now stands
at four. Brown and safety Chris Horton suffered injuries during
fall camp and have not seen the field this season, while receiver
Junior Taylor had his season come to an end against Oklahoma on
Sept. 17 with a torn ACL. “Can’t do anything about that
now,” said Dorrell of missing multiple starters.
“That’s part of football, part of the game.
You’re going to lose people week after week. But you
can’t let that stop the progress of the program.”
NOTHING SPECIAL: Of the season-high 13
penalties the Bruins were flagged for Saturday against the Huskies,
an astounding 10 of them were committed on special teams. “We
had 10 special teams penalties ““ 10,” Dorrell said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had in my career 10
penalties related to special teams.”
HEELS OVER HEAD: Quarterback Drew Olson knew he
couldn’t run over two Washington defenders to get to the end
zone at the end of the third quarter, so he tried jumping over
them. That didn’t exactly pan out as planned. “I was
looking to land on my feet, not my head,” Olson said.
EXTRA POINTS: UCLA’s game against
Washington State on Oct. 15 will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. and be
televised nationally by Fox Sports Net. … Saturday’s game
against Washington was the Bruins’ third night game this
season. Last year, UCLA didn’t play a regular-season game at
night. … This is the third-straight week the Bruins are ranked in
the top 25, the longest such stretch since 2001.