When Ben Olson went down with a knee injury nearly one month
ago, everyone knew that it would be a big blow to the UCLA offense.
No one knew it would be this bad. Without its starting quarterback,
the offensive unit has waned and the Bruins have not won a game,
losing two tough contests on the road against Oregon and Notre Dame
and also bowing out to Washington State at home last Saturday. The
recent slide has been particularly hard for Olson, as he can only
watch from the sidelines. “It can’t get any
worse,” Olson said. “But I have confidence that we will
pull ourselves together and get out of this.” While Olson was
not exactly lighting it up before he sustained the strained knee
““ he had thrown just five touchdowns to go with five
interceptions in five games ““ he was still the unquestioned
commander of the offense. Since Olson has been out, the offense has
struggled mightily, scoring an average of just over 17 points a
game in his absence. Having to witness his teammates struggle from
the bench has been very frustrating for the redshirt sophomore
southpaw. “It has been very hard,” Olson said.
“You are helpless, really. You can’t do anything. You
just sit there, hoping that your team does well and rooting for
them, but you can’t physically help them in any way, so it
has been tough.” Olson believes he will be ready to play
against Oregon State at the Rose Bowl next weekend, though the
coaches and team doctors have given no official word. Olson’s
knee has not completely healed, but he believes he has made
significant strides ““ enough to be able to start in the next
home game. “Right now, it is just my range of motion (that is
keeping me out),” Olson said of his knee. “I can plant,
and laterally it feels pretty good, it’s just tight.”
Olson has also been keeping sharp on the playbook, making sure that
once he does return he will not miss a beat, which will be
important to the team as it is just midway through the toughest
stretch of the season. “I have had a lot longer layoffs in my
life than just four or five games or however long it is going to
be,” said Olson, who missed two years of football after his
freshman season because of his Mormon mission. “It is
obviously a setback, but you just have to work hard and get the
timing back. But I don’t think it will take that long,”
Olson said.
COWAN STEPPING IN: In the meantime, fellow
redshirt sophomore Pat Cowan has been captaining the offense for
the Bruins. Although he has not exceeded expectations, he has been
gritty enough to hold his own as the starter for the time being.
Cowan has tossed five touchdowns and four picks in four games,
three of which he started. Though he has played decently, he has
yet to translate any of his efforts into a win. Cowan has kept
upbeat during the team’s losing streak and feels that they
have the tools to get back on track. “It is amazing through
these last few weeks how tough our team has been together,”
Cowan said. “It’s real positive. … We just need to
execute and have fun.”
MEDLOCK WATCH: Senior kicker Justin Medlock was
placed on the list of semifinalists for the 2006 Lou Groza Award on
Wednesday, an award which commemorates the nation’s top place
kicker. The list included 20 of the countries best kickers,
including last year’s winner, Oregon State’s Alexis
Serna. Medlock currently leads the nation with 18 field goals
made.