BERKELEY “”mdash; Early in the fourth quarter, a California fan turned around toward the press box and had one question for UCLA’s beat writers.
“You guys really don’t have another quarterback?”
Kevin Craft’s performance on Saturday even had Cal fans second-guessing his ability to lead the Bruin offense.
Craft threw four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and failed to produce a touchdown drive for the Bruins.
After the loss, coach Rick Neuheisel acknowledged that backup quarterbacks Chris Forcier and Osaar Rasshan will get additional looks under center during the upcoming bye week.
“We’ll look,” Neuheisel said. “The idea is to evaluate everybody, and Kevin will be under evaluation. We’ll decide who gives us the best chance to win.
“We have to figure out some combination of players that gives us the ability to be balanced.”
Being balanced on offense is something the Bruins have not done so far this season.
On Saturday, they rushed for only 16 yards, forcing Craft to lead a very one-dimensional offense against a Cal secondary that now ranks No. 2 nationally in interceptions.
“We got to watch the tape, but at the same time, I don’t think four picks and two of them for touchdowns is good play by any quarterback, regardless of the circumstances,” Craft said. “Coming in every week, you assess how you play and you always want to improve. I don’t think this week is any different than how I’ve approached every single week.”
Craft’s play on Saturday was reminiscent of his first half as UCLA’s starter opening the season against Tennessee. His timing was off throughout the afternoon, completing 17 of 35 attempts and often throwing behind his receivers. Some of Craft’s passing woes seemed to be miscommunication between him and his receivers, as was the case late in the second quarter.
After a four-minute drive put the Bruins inside the Bears’ red zone, a miscommunication between Craft and receiver Marcus Everett resulted in Cal’s third pick of the half. With the Bears bringing a four-man rush on third down, Everett cut his route short as Craft’s throw went about 10 yards past him, straight into the hands of cornerback Sean Cattouse.
The Bears would punt a few plays later, but the interception killed any momentum UCLA had built on offense. Though the commentators on TV looked to blame Everett’s route running, fellow receiver Terrence Austin was quick to address that issue after the game.
“We don’t have problems not running the right routes,” Austin said.
Other mistakes by Craft cannot be blamed on miscommunication. The interception he threw in the fourth quarter to seal the game for Cal was a simple throwing error on about a 7-yard pass. Running back Kahlil Bell was heading down the seam and Craft floated the ball too high. It landed in the hands of a Bears linebacker who took it back for a touchdown.
Craft’s inability to adjust mid-play caused problems for the Bruin offense, Neuheisel said after the game. He often stared down one receiver instead of checking down to other options when his primary target wasn’t open.
“To me it looked like he had just made up his mind and was just throwing the ball where he thought it had to go,” Neuheisel said. “I don’t know that he was using his eyes enough. It’s difficult to make those assertions without really studying the tape. But from where I stood, it looked like he was just making some quick decisions and wasn’t giving time for the routes to develop.”
After Saturday’s game, Craft now ranks 94th in the country and last in the conference in passing efficiency with seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions on the season.