Chane Moline knew he couldn’t afford to make a mistake.
A senior fullback given a limited amount of carries in the UCLA offense, Moline understood his role:
Be the lead blocker for the running backs. Go out wide on swing patterns. Gain the first down in short-yardage situations.
So when the opportunity came last Saturday against Washington State to be play a significant part in the offense, Moline knew he may never get this chance again.
Three touchdowns later, Moline made his point.
On Tuesday at practice Moline continued in his increased role, receiving a great share of the carries as the Bruins (5-5, 2-5 Pac-10) strive to become bowl eligible against Arizona State (4-6, 2-5) at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
Coach Rick Neuheisel declined to elaborate on how Moline would be used this week, citing a desire to keep it under wraps for strategic purposes, but said he considers Moline to be a valuable part of the Bruin offense.
“He’s such a steady player, and now that it’s crunch time we’re going to rely on him,” Neuheisel said.
In Saturday’s 43-7 win over Washington State, Moline led the team with seven receptions for 60 yards, while rushing for three touchdowns on three carries.
“When they put me in the backfield, they know what they’re getting,” Moline said. “I’m not the fastest guy, I’m not the most athletic guy, but I’m going to try my best to hold onto the football, and I’m going to get up field and try to break a tackle. I’m going to stick my head in there and hit a linebacker, and hopefully he feels me.”
Fumbling has been a season-long issue for the Bruin running backs, and on Saturday it reared its head again.
The Bruins have 29 fumbles (11 lost) through 10 games this season, and one running back who has had an especially difficult time is redshirt freshman Johnathan Franklin.
While Franklin has been UCLA’s most productive runner ““ rushing for 532 yards and five touchdowns this season ““ he has shown a knack for giving up the ball, fumbling seven times.
“I mainly have the biggest problem so far,” Franklin said. “Just speaking for all of us, it’s just attitude. It’s being aware of the ball and caring about the ball and holding the ball with two hands in traffic. Just little things we need to take care of with the ball that we haven’t been doing.”
Neuheisel added that they simply need to take advantage of the opportunity when they are presented with it.
“We’ve got a lot of young players and guys get chances,” Neuheisel said. “Now it’s important that they’re savvy enough to take advantage. There’s a rotation and when they go in there, the easy thing will be to say “˜I got to get warmed up.’ But the facts of the matter are you got to be ready to go.
“I’m not mad at anybody but they got to understand when they get that opportunity, they’ve got to take advantage of it.”
After a string of mediocre rushing performances, the Bruins rushed for 232 yards on 37 carries against Washington State on Saturday.
Franklin said he believes that the Bruins will need more performances like that in the team’s final two games of the season.
“Running backs, we just need to become more play makers,” Franklin said. “We have to make plays pretty much, and as a whole we haven’t been doing that too much.
“We need to be the spark of the offense.”
At one time a half back with a few starts under his belt, Moline has gained the trust of the coaching staff and feels that if he maintains his mistake-free mentality, he will make the most of the opportunities he is given.
“The coaches look at me and I’m a veteran guy, I don’t really make that many mistakes because they expect me not to,” Moline said. “So my mind-set is I can’t make mistakes or I won’t get any more opportunities. So when I get out there my mind-set is I can’t make mistakes, I can’t fumble the ball, and I just got to do everything I can to help out the team.”
Injuries
Senior defensive tackle Jerzy Siewierski, who has missed the last two games because of plantar fasciitis, practiced a great deal on Tuesday. Neuheisel said the plan was for Siewierski to practice “as tolerated.”
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Ryan Taylor (ankle) sat out practice and Neuheisel said he has not ruled him out for Saturday.
Redhshirt freshman cornerback Aaron Hester (tibia) practiced with the second team.