Saturday’s game was not a total reversal for the UCLA
football team as the offense was about as bad as it has been all
season, but it was certainly a defensive reversal. The Bruin
defense, which had allowed less than 300 yards per game in its
first five games this year, allowed a total of 515 to Washington
State in the 37-15 loss. A defense which had made its name by
pressuring the quarterback and not allowing big plays managed only
three sacks and was burned by big passing plays a number of times.
“It was definitely our worst performance as a defense,”
linebacker Christian Taylor said. “Thirty-seven points, you
think, “˜Man, they got their ass kicked.’ “(But)
we really didn’t. Guys were in position to make plays and
they just didn’t make the plays. They had 85 yards (after
catch), which is unacceptable.” Cornerback Rodney Van was one
of the main culprits among those who did not make plays. Van missed
several tackles despite being in position to make them. Toward the
end of the game, he was replaced by freshman Alterraun Verner, but
coach Karl Dorrell stopped short of saying Van would be replaced to
start this week against Cal. “Rodney played OK,”
Dorrell said. “He covered well. He did not tackle as well as
he is capable of. (A lot of the passes completed on him) were
really low-percentage throws.” A main reason for the
defense’s struggles could have been the fact that they were
on the field for a vast majority of the game. The Bruin offense
possessed the ball for just 23:01 of the game and for just over
eight minutes in the second half. Those are not numbers that would
usually mean anything good for a team’s chances of victory.
“We were out there for about three-fourths of the time in the
second, third and fourth quarter,” Taylor said. “It
wears on your body. “Everybody’s tired by this time in
the season; it’s game eight. We’ve played three
consecutive physical, difficult games. It hurts a little bit more
when you lose,” Taylor said. After looking at the tape of
Saturday’s loss, the Bruins were struck by one thing: In a
lot of ways, their coverage was good. They did not allow for easy
plays to be made. In their eyes, Washington State made a lot of
good plays and the Bruins simply did not make the necessary
tackles. “I was particularly impressed with No. 83 (wide
receiver Jason) Hill and their quarterback (Alex Brink),”
Taylor said. “They made some great plays. Their guys were
covered; it wasn’t like they were wide open. Their
quarterback was putting the ball on the money,” Taylor said.
Brink finished with 405 yards passing, by far the highest number
allowed by the Bruin defense this season.
OFFENSE TAKING BLAME: The offense has itself
taken some of the heat for the defense’s troubles in the
Washington State game. “(Getting the defense off the field
is) what we need to do,” wide receiver Junior Taylor said.
“It’s not fair for us as an offense to expect our
defense to be out there for 40 minutes a game. “We need to
protect the ball and kill some clock. We need to put up more points
to help them. Make the block, make the run, make the catch, keep
the chains moving. I don’t know how many, but there were way
too many three-and-outs.”
INJURY REPORT: Wide receiver Brandon Breazell
(rib strain), linebacker Aaron Whittington (sprained ankle) and
wide receiver Terrence Austin (strained hamstring) are all listed
as day-to-day. Running back Kahlil Bell is likely out for this
weekend with a sprained ankle. Quarterback Ben Olson, out with an
MCL injury, will likely not play this weekend. “Ben’s
progressing nicely,” Dorrell said. “He’s probably
about 60 percent, not really full speed yet. Pat (Cowan) will be
our starter, I believe, again,” Dorrell said.