Karl Dorrell was loud and clear at the UCLA football press conference Monday.
The embattled coach doesn’t want to talk about the mountain of injuries his team has faced this year.
He doesn’t want to talk about his tenuous job security ““ those loud cries for his firing ““ or if ending the season with two wins will save his job.
He doesn’t even want to talk about the Bruins’ (5-5) chances at bowl eligibility.
He just wants to beat No. 9 Oregon (8-2) this Saturday in what will be the final home game for the 25 seniors on his roster.
“I’ve had enough,” Dorrell said. “I just want to stop. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.
“I just want to finish this season positive with what we have.”
Dorrell delivered that resounding statement after a question on the possibility of quarterback Ben Olson stepping in for starter Osaar Rasshan in an emergency situation. In a similar fashion, he skirted questions on his future at UCLA and the Bruins clinching a bowl game.
Rasshan played most of the second half in the Bruins’ 34-27 loss at Arizona and then started against Arizona State, a game the Bruins lost 24-20.
Olson hasn’t played since UCLA’s Oct. 6 loss to Notre Dame. The redshirt junior, who started the team’s first game of the year, practiced lightly last week, and Dorrell is hopeful that he will be available for the Oregon game.
But Dorrell wouldn’t discuss any situation where Olson would be needed.
“We’re prepared for all scenarios, but we’re not going to look at the negative,” Dorrell said. “We’re looking at what is going to be positive. Ben is going to be given a chance to help if he is able to get through the week. That’s all I can really say.”
Dorrell has reason to be sick of dealing with injuries.
Only three offensive players have started every game for the Bruins, linemen Chris Joseph and Brian Abraham and tight end Logan Paulsen.
This year, UCLA has not had a quarterback who started in four consecutive games, and the offense has struggled in dealing with the volatility. In two of the Bruins’ five losses, a quarterback change was made in the middle of the game.
The turmoil at the quarterback position is far from settled. Pat Cowan, who started four games this season, has been cleared to begin conditioning after suffering a collapsed lung against Arizona.
But Dorrell refused to discuss the looming decision that could be the biggest of his career: who to play in UCLA’s last game against USC ““ Cowan, Olson or Rasshan.
“(That question) is way ahead of me,” Dorrell said. “I know that is going to be a question I have to answer at some point. … But given the circumstances, where we are as a football team, this week is all that matters right now.”
There’s no question that UCLA is a team with its back against the wall. The Bruins are teetering on the edge of missing a bowl game for the first time in Dorrell’s five years at UCLA. To make a bowl game, the Bruins will have to upset either No. 9 Oregon or No. 11 USC.
And at this point, Dorrell is starting to sound like a coach with his back against the wall as well.
“I’ve felt that my job is on the line from the very beginning,” he said. “I’m always on the line. That’s how I approach this game. Every season is that way. That’s how I have approached this profession for 21 years.
“Anything and everything can happen at this point.”