TEMPE, Ariz. “”mdash; It may not have been the prettiest of wins.
It may not have been the most well-played game.
But thanks to a lockdown second-half defense and a few clutch
plays, the Bruins are now bowl-eligible.
If you’re going to criticize the Bruin coaching staff for
in-game management at every possible opportunity, then you have to
give it due credit when warranted.
While the play-calling on both sides of the ball was stellar all
game long, one drive in particular left a mark on this game.
With UCLA up 14-12 and time winding down in the third quarter,
the Bruins were stopped on third down, on their own 27-yard
line.
When the punt team came on, no one had any reason to expect that
the Bruins would do anything but punt the ball.
UCLA had the lead, was deep in its own territory, and no one
would have questioned a decision to kick the ball away.
But that’s exactly what made the call to fake the punt so
great ““ it was a genuine risk that caught everybody,
especially UCLA fans, off guard.
The truth is, that call may have saved the Bruins the football
game.
I realize that UCLA added another touchdown afterwards, but if
you go three-and-out and bring a tired Bruin defense back on the
field to face an Arizona State team with momentum, you never know
what could have happened.
But rather than wait to find out what might have been, the
Bruins decided to take action and put themselves in a better
position to win the game.
To me, the Arizona State game was a sign that the coaches are
adjusting and learning from the mistakes and non-action that
occurred earlier in the season. It was a welcome change of
attitude.
The shame of it is that this win doesn’t really seem to do
that much.
Sure, the Bruins are now eligible for a bowl game, but if they
lose to USC, there is no guarantee they will be selected ““
and even if they are, it will be an insignificant bowl game.
If the Bruins fail to beat USC (and for that matter, even if
they do pull the upset), this season will be looked back on as a
season that could have been.
That’s a viable way to look at this season, and the sting
from Notre Dame is something that will likely stick with every UCLA
fan who saw the game ““ particularly those who were in South
Bend, Ind., at the time.
Obviously, a win against USC would erase a lot of the bitterness
from this season, but even so, it is frustrating to know that once
again, the best the Bruins can do is go to another mediocre bowl
game.
If the Bruins had won even one more game, the ASU game would
have been a benchmark win for the Bruin players and coaches.
It could have done great things to rejuvenate and reunite the
Bruin fan base.
Instead, the reaction seems to be one of nonchalance.
Whoop-dee-doo, we’re 6-5. Now what?
While this view is certainly justified, I think it is the wrong
way to look at the Bruins’ situation right now.
The last two games have been positive steps for everyone
involved in a UCLA program that could have thrown in the towel
after four consecutive bitter losses.
We’ll see just how much progress this team has made two
weeks from now.
E-mail Azar at bazar@media.ucla.edu.