On paper, it looked like a huge mismatch. On the field, it was
much worse.
Listed at 5 feet 9 inches, Bruin defensive back Trey Brown knew
he was going to have his hands full going up against the
Cougars’ top receiver, 6-foot-1-inch wideout Jason Hill. But
little did he imagine that Hill would have 115 yards receiving and
Washington State would have 405 total passing yards against
UCLA.
“We just didn’t make plays as a secondary,”
Brown said. “They got a few big plays against us, and that
was pretty much the game.”
SLIDESHOW
Click here to see more photos from UCLA Football’s game against
Washington State.
After being held relatively in check during the first quarter,
the Cougars’ group of talented wide receivers and tight ends
really got going during the second quarter. Quarterback Alex Brink
had 205 passing yards, and the Cougars were able to benefit on some
questionable pass interference calls.
“We did a good job of throwing the ball, and we’ve
got some pretty good receivers,” Cougars coach Bill Doba
said. “I think Alex (Brink) had one of his better
performances tonight.”
After the game, the Bruins’ secondary, which had been one
of the strengths of the defense, had to look in the mirror and find
out what went wrong. Cornerback Rodney Van was his own harshest
critic.
“It hurts a lot to be outplayed like that,” Van
said. “This is a wake-up call for us.
“We can’t get down on ourselves and start pointing
fingers. We don’t want the season to go downhill.”
Van himself had one of the toughest games of all the Bruins on
Saturday. Twice, Van fell down while giving up big passing plays,
and he was beaten deep on two touchdown passes. Van was eventually
replaced by true freshman Alterraun Verner in the fourth
quarter.
“It was just a bad game,” Van said. “Today, I
had some unfortunate things happen. Corners have bad games, and I
had a bad game.”
Van will now be the subject of defensive coordinator DeWayne
Walker’s post-game film session. Walker said after the game
that if necessary, personnel changes in the defensive secondary
would be made.
“We need to go back to the drawing board,” Walker
said. “Take a good look at what exactly went wrong. This is
the first time in a while I’ve felt like this (after a
loss).”
Walker, however, didn’t take all the blame for the
loss.
“The guys were in position to make plays,” Walker
said. “Sometimes, it’s just a missed tackle, or a pass
interference call that can go against us.”
The Bruins certainly have to prove they have a good defense when
they face the Pac-10’s top-scoring team in Cal next
Saturday.
DAVIS SENDS MESSAGE: In the locker room after
the game, defensive end Bruce Davis, a vocal leader of the Bruins,
brought the team together to give them a message.
“I told them that we have to look at ourselves, and see if
all of us have given everything out there on the field,”
Davis said. “We have to really look at ourselves as
men.”
Davis knows that outside the football program, very few people
still believe in the Bruins.
“At this point, it’s very easy for people to get
discouraged,” Davis said. “But we have been through a
lot together as a team, and we can’t let this bring us
down.
“That’s why we are football players. We have all
gone through a lot to make it this far. Football is not
easy.”
INJURIES: Wide receiver Brandon Breazell
injured his ribs during pre-game warm-ups and had to come out of
the game after taking a few snaps in the first quarter. Linebacker
Aaron Whittington re-aggravated his sprained right ankle during
Saturday’s game, and was in street clothes watching from the
sideline in the second half.
EXTRA POINTS: With Saturday’s loss, the
Bruins had their 10-game home winning streak dating back from 2004
snapped. The Bruins have now lost three consecutive times to the
Cougars at home, and last defeated Washington State at the Rose
Bowl in 1998. Saturday’s attendance of 53,058 was the
Bruins’ second lowest attendance total of the season.