In the words of Bruin redshirt junior linebacker Reggie Carter, November has never been too kind to the UCLA football team.
Over the past five years, the Bruins are 5-9 in the 11th month of the year, including a 1-2 record last season.
Due to the slim hopes the team has to secure a bowl berth ““ the Bruins (3-5, 2-3 Pac-10) need to win at least three of their last four games to become bowl-eligible ““ they can ill-afford another mediocre November.
“In the past, we’ve tried to stress it ““ win in November and December ““ and November hasn’t really been our best friend,” Carter said. “But this season, it didn’t really seem like September and October were our friends, so maybe November will like us this year.”
As Carter hinted, the first two months of the season have been wild ones for the young Bruin team.
Through the first eight games, the offensive line remains in transition, the running game has yet to gain any consistency, and while the defense has played exceptional at times, there have been crucial moments when the unit has failed to come up with the big stop.
The Bruins are coming off their bye week after a deflating 41-20 loss to California, and Carter said that there could not have been a better time for a week off.
“I think we played seven weeks straight, so as the end of the season comes, it gives you time to try regroup, get healthy and get better and just try to play your best football toward the end,” Carter said. “Coach (Rick) Neuheisel, he’s stressing to us that they only remember what you do in November. So we’re trying to come out in November on top, so we’ve been working hard to get better as a team and individually.”
While Neuheisel was not on the Bruin team last season that went 1-4 over the course of November and December, he believes this year’s squad is a lot different.
The team has “got a complete new dynamic about it, whether it be coaches, whether it be players, whether it be who’s in the lineup or what have you,” Neuheisel said. “There are some holdovers, there’s no question. But this has to have a new feel, a new attitude, and that’s all part of what we try to do for each other, is bring a level of optimism and a level commitment that gives us the reason to believe that the results can be better.”
PREPARING FOR ELUSIVE RODGERS: One of the more intriguing players in Saturday’s game against the Oregon State Beavers (5-3, 4-1) will be 5-foot-7-inch freshman running back Jacquizz Rodgers.
Rodgers has started seven of the Beavers’ eight games, carrying the ball 197 times for 945 yards and nine touchdowns.
In the Beavers’ upset win over USC on Sept. 25, Rodgers rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns, which served as a sort of coming-out party for him.
The Bruins have made sure to take note of Rodgers’ abilities. Neuheisel said Rodgers should be the freshman of the year in the Pac-10 ““ if not the offensive player of the year ““ and Carter has compared him to former Bruin Maurice Jones-Drew.
So far this season, the Bruins have yet to face a running back of Rodgers’ size, and Carter said the biggest key will be to play until the whistle blows.
“You’re wondering if he’s down or not so they tell you you have to play to the whistles,” Carter said. “The offensive line, they work good together. He does a good job staying behind them until his creases open up, and then when he hits it, he hits it pretty hard.”
INJURY REPORT: Defensive end Chinonso Anyanwu was released from the hospital Sunday night after being admitted Saturday because of a stomach illness.
The cause of the illness has yet to be determined, and he is resting at home.