There are some things in this crazy, messed-up world we live in
that just make you wonder.
Why does your nose run and your feet smell? Why
isn�t there mouse-flavored cat food? And what the
heck is Rice doing on UCLA�s football schedule
again?
It is reasonable enough to think that little can be gained from
thumping an obviously inferior team. It would seem like the Bruins
should be trying to challenge themselves for what could be the most
brutal second-half schedule in the country.
Also, wouldn�t UCLA want to schedule a game
that would draw more fans than the 44,000 who showed up to last
year�s Owl annihilation?
The reward of a slight confidence boost that the Bruins might
get from creaming Rice might not be worth the risk of a key Bruin
player possibly getting injured in the end zone during a touchdown
celebration. (My mother would want me to say �God
forbid� after writing that sentence.)
But I�ve always been a believer in trying to
find an alternative viewpoint rather than accepting what is
seemingly obvious. And in this case, the alternative viewpoint
� that the Bruins scheduling Rice for their second
game of the season might actually work in UCLA�s
favor � has some merit.
Think about it. The Bruins already had their pre-Pac-10 season
�test� against Utah. It was a
game against a team that was supposedly good enough to let the
Bruins know where they stand as the season begins and what they
need to work on as their schedule gets harder.
Many teams scheduled �cupcake�
games in the first week and are playing more challenging games in
week two of their schedules. UCLA didn�t do that
and perhaps with good reason.
Now, by scheduling Rice for this Saturday, the Bruins
essentially have two bye weeks in a row to fix the problems they
had with the run game on both the defensive and offensive sides of
the ball in the game against Utah.
They even get to participate in a live-game-action scrimmage
against the Owls this weekend to see if their adjustments from the
Utah game work against actual people who may not be very good, but
are trying their very, very best.
Once the Rice game gets out of hand � and
it�s a safe bet that it will midway through the
second quarter � the Bruins will be able to
experiment with different looks and give players opportunities they
could not afford in a tougher game.
This is a good luxury to have at the beginning of the season and
an even better luxury to have before a bye week at the beginning of
the season.
Three weeks in a row of straight-up practice is a treat that
most coaches probably wish they could have after the first game of
the season; Karl Dorrell and the UCLA coaching staff have exactly
that before opening the Pac-10 season at Washington on Sept.
23.
By the time the Washington game comes around, you can bet this
team will know a lot more about its strengths and weaknesses than
it does right now.
Dorrell and his coaching staff have proven over the last few
years that they are very good at making adjustments in games and
practices that highlight the team�s strengths, and
the extra preparation time should serve them well.
So while the result of the UCLA-Rice game may become obvious
pretty quickly and hence, less interesting to follow, stay tuned to
watch what the Bruins do after they�ve established
their lead. Who do they play where? What types of plays are they
trying to execute? What works and what
doesn�t?
You may or may not be able to discover the answer to the last
question, but you can bet the UCLA coaching staff is going to be
taking good notes. And those notes are going to prove valuable to
this team later on in the season.
E-mail Azar at bazar@media.ucla.edu if
you�re excited to see the Owls fly in for
Saturday�s game.