With four simple words, coach Rick Neuheisel might have tried to fend off the critics.
Those same four words also put quarterback Kevin Prince’s less-than-memorable return into proper perspective.
“He is a freshman,” Neuheisel said Saturday, following UCLA’s 24-10 loss to Oregon.
After missing two games with a fractured jaw, Prince’s return as the Bruins’ signal caller was rather forgettable.
He simply looked like a quarterback that had not played a game in four weeks.
The redshirt freshman struggled all afternoon, throwing for just 81 yards on a mediocre 13-of-25 passing.
His biggest completion was to Talmadge Jackson, who was wearing the opposing team’s jersey. Jackson returned Prince’s pass 32 yards for an Oregon touchdown in the third quarter.
On the next Bruin possession, Prince lost a fumble, which led to another seven points for the Ducks.
Afterward, Prince did not mention the same four words his coach used.
“We had a good plan and we knew what (the Ducks) were doing (defensively),” he said. “I just didn’t execute.”
Prince seemed rusty right from the start, failing to connect with a pair of open receivers on the Bruins’ opening drive. On a second and four, he skipped a pass to sophomore Taylor Embree. Prince’s next throw sailed over senior Chane Moline’s outstretched arms.
“I just had a little bit of getting-back jitters,” Prince said. “It is what it is. I felt like I calmed down after that.”
Neuheisel said he didn’t “second-guess” his decision to start Prince.
“Kevin Prince was our starting quarterback, Kevin Prince had a broken jaw,” Neuheisel said. “He was running, he was throwing, he was doing some good things in practice that merit you thinking that he can go out there and do it.”
But when it became obvious that Prince wasn’t doing it, Neuheisel replaced him with true freshman Richard Brehaut.
Brehaut took the field in the fourth quarter and completed five of 10 pass attempts for 64 yards. He threw an interception and was sacked four times.
“I came in and did what I could,” Brehaut said. “Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get it done.”
Neuheisel added that the quarterback position would be reviewed closely in the coming week and mentioned three things that the coaching staff has to focus on.
“We’ve got to right the ship,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to play our best football game next week, and we’ve got to determine which quarterback gives us the best chance to do that.”
Brehaut sounded confident as he talked to reporters in the locker room following Saturday’s game.
“I think I can be that guy,” Brehaut said. “I for sure have the confidence in myself that I’ll be that guy.”
Midair Ayers
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Akeem Ayers experienced a pair of career firsts Saturday afternoon.
While blitzing Oregon quarterback Nate Costa late in the third quarter, Ayers leapt and somehow came away with an interception and touchdown, which he had never done before in a Bruin uniform.
“I was surprised,” Ayers said. “I saw (Costa) throwing it. If anything, I thought at least I would bat it down.”
Instead, Ayers caught the ball and had the awareness to keep his feet inbounds as he landed.
“When (the ball) ended up in my hands, I was surprised,” he said. “It was just instinct.”
QUICK HITS: With his 52-yard field goal in the second quarter, redshirt junior place kicker Kai Forbath moved into a tie for third place on UCLA’s all-time list. Forbath has made 57 career field goals, eight of which have come from a distance of 50 yards or more. … Oregon’s Kenjon Barner’s 100-yard kickoff return touchdown was the first given up by the Bruins since 2003, when USC’s Reggie Bush did it. … Redshirt freshman punter Jeff Locke booted a 77-yard punt in the third quarter that was the longest by a Bruin since Chris Sailer’s 81-yarder 14 years ago. … For the first time since 2001, Oregon is 3-0 in conference play.