With the Bruins down 21 points and in need of a change of
momentum, UCLA offensive coordinator Tom Cable employed the
two-minute offense for the first time this season against Stanford
last Saturday. It worked so well that UCLA scored not one, but two
touchdowns in only one minute, 56 seconds to claw back into the
game. “The kids did an unbelievable job managing it,”
Cable said. “That was as good as it gets. Their execution was
special.” The two-minute offense, in which the offense does
not huddle but immediately proceeds to the line of scrimmage,
appeared to tire Stanford’s defense while finally generating
an offensive rhythm for UCLA. Utilizing the two-minute offense,
Bruin senior quarterback Drew Olson engineered drives of 65 and 72
yards and completed all eight of his passes while moving
UCLA’s offense up and down the field with ease. But the
Bruins only used the two-minute offense because they once again
found themselves trailing in the fourth quarter. For the fifth
consecutive game, UCLA allowed its opponent to put points on the
scoreboard first after slogging through yet another inexplicably
slow start. “The way we’ve been coming back to win has
been great, but why not play a complete game?” UCLA running
backs coach Eric Bieniemy said. “We have to make sure we
start strong, not just finish strong.” “I’m
waiting for the day we put it together from the start in all three
phases (offense, defense, special teams),” Cable said.
“I think (all of the coaches) are. If that happens, someone
is in trouble.”
COMEBACK KIDS: Besides Cal’s 10-point
fourth-quarter comeback against Washington State two weeks ago, no
other team in the Pac-10 has come back from a double-digit deficit
in the fourth quarter except UCLA, who has made up deficits of 10,
12, 17, and 21 all in the month of October. The Bruins are
out-scoring their opponents in the fourth quarter and overtime by
an astounding 131-40 margin. In comparison, Arizona has only scored
166 points in the entire season.
INJURY UPDATE: Senior center Mike McCloskey
underwent more tests Wednesday after re-aggravating the injury to
his right shoulder during Tuesday’s practice. UCLA coach Karl
Dorrell, who expects to have an update on his center’s injury
by the end of the week, said that McCloskey will most likely not
play this weekend against Arizona. … Sophomore running back Chris
Markey did not practice Wednesday due to illness. Markey underwent
tests after complaining of shortness of breath.
EXTRA POINTS: For the second time this year,
the Bruins practiced with piped-in crowd noise in anticipation of a
hostile crowd in Tucson. … Dorrell, junior Maurice Drew and
senior Spencer Havner are semifinalists for the Maxwell Football
Club awards for coach of the year, offensive player of the year,
and defensive player of the year, respectively. Each award has 12
semifinalists that will be narrowed to three finalists in
December.