They owned the line of scrimmage. They gang-tackled Chris Markey
for a loss. They put pressure on Ben Olson and forced him to throw
an interception to Michael Norris. After the fall scrimmage, one
definitive thing can be said about a UCLA team for the first time
in a considerable while: The defense is good. Ask freshman wide out
Terrence Austin, who got hit hard going out for a pass. Ask
freshman quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson who, despite the red
jersey for quarterbacks, got hit even harder. UCLA’s defense
looked eager to change its reputation from last year, when it was
abysmal against the run and relied on the offense to keep the team
in the game. “Compared to last year, we’ve got more
attitude,” defensive tackle Brigham Harwell said. “We
have more pressure on the quarterback and the run, with more
technique and knowing what to do.” This year is different for
the defense. And it had better be. With Maurice Drew, Marcedes
Lewis and Drew Olson gone, the defense is going to need to step up.
A win like last year’s against Stanford, in which the team
came back from 21 down in the fourth quarter to win, was incredibly
unlikely. With this year’s team, it would be next to
impossible. For the Bruins to be competitive, the defense is going
to need to play strong the entire game to give the offense a chance
to put something together. “Guys are hungry to prove
ourselves,” Dennis Keyes said. “We had a bad season
last year. And we’re just anxious to get out there and show
that we’re actually a good defense and we know how to play
ball.” The safety net is gone, and it is time for the
defensive players to hold their own. In front of an all
blue-and-gold crowd at Drake Stadium, they looked ready. It took a
long time for the UCLA offense to get in the end zone, and this was
a game in which it was the only offense on the field. Harwell
played tough up the middle for a defensive line that got
penetration and forced the quarterbacks to make quick decisions.
“(The) D-line played excellent today, putting on pressure and
clogging the gaps. Just doing their job and making it easier on the
secondary,” Keyes said. It might be strange to say, but less
than a year after Cal’s Marshawn Lynch ran for 135 yards in
the Rose Bowl, UCLA’s D-line could be one of the better units
on the team, and the Bruins could be incredibly strong against the
run. The defense has a new leader at the helm in defensive
coordinator DeWayne Walker, whose new philosophy has the players
fired up and looking like an entirely different squad. On Saturday,
they definitely overshadowed the offense, which leaves one
question: Was the defense that good, or was the offense that bad?
The answer is both, but with more of the former than the latter.
Although the offense did not look stellar, the defense looked
aggressive. The official verdict on the defense will come Sept. 2
at the Rose Bowl.
QUARTERBACK LACK-OF-CONTROVERSY: It is in the official script of
a college coach to put off announcing the starting quarterback
until the last possible minute. A lot has been made about whether
it will be Ben Olson or Pat Cowan in the starting role for the
Bruins this season. A lot, that is, by Karl Dorrell. Cowan started
slow on Saturday, overthrowing his passes, before ultimately
putting it all together to have a good day. Olson did not have an
awe-inspiring day, but throughout camp he has looked stronger, and
all the smart money would say the starting job is Ben Olson’s
to lose.
E-mail Gordon at bgordon@media.ucla.edu if you want to
compete for the starting quarterback spot next year.