Redshirt sophomore quarterback Pat Cowan will remain the starter
this week against USC, ending a weeklong debate over whether Cowan
or fellow redshirt sophomore Ben Olson would be the
quarterback.
The decision came after coach Karl Dorrell said Olson was
physically ready, but that his decision-making needed work. He said
that ultimately, it came down to the seasoning of the
quarterbacks.
“I made the decision before practice today to go with
Pat,” Dorrell said. “Pat has a little more seasoning
with all the experience he’s had playing the last few weeks.
He’s going to do a great job.”
Olson began the year as the starting quarterback and started the
first five games before suffering a ligament injury in his knee
against Arizona on Oct. 7.
He went 4-1 as the starter. Cowan took the reins from Olson, and
the Bruins have had a 2-4 record since.
Cowan’s most recent two games were wins over Oregon State
and Arizona State.
Dorrell had previously said he didn’t believe a starter
should lose his spot because of injury, basically implying that
Cowan was a temporary replacement until Olson was healthy.
Now Olson is, in his own words, healthy, and he is not the
starting quarterback.
The quarterbacks were not available for comment after the
decision was made.
Cowan’s statistics as a starter are less than stellar. He
has completed just 53.9% of his passes and has a 9-7 touchdown to
interception ratio.
Olson, in comparison, has completed 63.7% of his passes,
although he has made his fair share of mistakes, throwing just five
touchdowns along with his five interceptions.
Still, the common perception among those around the program is
that Olson is the one with more talent and potential. Olson was a
five-star recruit, as rated by scout.com, while Cowan was a
two-star.
But Dorrell’s decision does give the Bruins some
consistency at the quarterback position. The Bruins have had
slightly better offensive production in recent weeks than they have
seen for much of the year, so the move can be seen as an attempt to
continue the offensive improvement.
Cowan and Olson underwent a quarterback battle in fall camp.
Ultimately, Olson came out the starter, but the competition between
the two was described by Dorrell as very close.
When Olson came in, he was cited by fans and scouting services
as the “savior” of the UCLA football program. He will
have to wait at least another game before he can hope to prove that
nickname accurate.