Through the first two games of UCLA’s football season,
running back Maurice Drew was averaging 108 yards per game and had
scored a total of five touchdowns. He had runs of 42 and 66 yards
as the Bruins’ offense seemed to move at will. So in the
third game, when national power Oklahoma decided to place eight men
in the box against Drew and held him to less than 30 yards rushing
in the first half, many fans had reason to worry. But unlike in
past years, UCLA was able to exploit Oklahoma’s aggressive
run defense, and quarterback Drew Olson had the best game of his
career, recording 28 of 38 passes for 314 yards and three
touchdowns. “In the past, when one part of our offense was
shut down, we couldn’t respond,” offensive coordinator
Tom Cable said. “This year, we finally have the balance where
we can be proficient in both our passing and rushing game.”
Through three games, the Bruins are fourth in the nation in
scoring, with an average of 49.33 points per game. A large part of
the Bruins’ success has to do with their balance between the
running game and passing game. The Bruins are averaging 175 yards a
game on the ground, fifth in the Pac-10, and 266 yards in the air.
In the last game against Oklahoma, quarterback Drew Olson completed
passes to eleven different receivers (including three running
backs), an indication that the Bruins are extremely deep at every
position. “When our offense is blocking the way they are,
there is no reason why we can’t be successful,” Olson
said. “We have great depth at the receiver and running back
positions, and I have an abundance of options to choose
from.” Two players who have benefited significantly from the
Bruins’ increased passing efficiency are Andrew Baumgartner,
and Marcus Everett, both who received limited playing time prior to
the Oklahoma game. Baumgartner had two catches for 41 yards, while
Everett had six catches for 66 yards. Both were filling in for
senior wide receiver Junior Taylor, who suffered a torn ACL during
the first quarter of the game. “I knew I had to step up,
especially in my first game back,” Everett said. “Its
weird that when I went down, Junior stepped up for me, and when
Junior got injured, I was able to step up for him.” The
Bruins’ receivers will have greater chances this weekend as
UCLA’s opponent Saturday, Washington, has its pass defense
banged up. Starting cornerback Matt Fountaine is likely to be out
with an injury, and the Huskies will be using a converted fullback
at safety. So far this season, the Huskies have given up an average
of 249 yards per game passing, and 432 yards total per game.
“We know they have struggled thus far this season, but we are
not overlooking them,” Everett said. “We can’t
afford a slip up again this season like we did last year against
Washington State and Wyoming.” The other advantage that the
Bruins’ receivers will have is that Washington is expected to
focus their defense on UCLA’s running game, especially after
running back Maurice Drew scored a UCLA-record five touchdowns
against the Huskies last season. The Huskies are next to last in
the Pac-10 in rushing defense, and the Bruins have five rushing
touchdowns over 40 yards this season.
BYE WEEK: The Bruins’ are coming off a bye week, and the
time has allowed previously injured players to move back into the
regular rotation. Linebacker Wesley Walker, who missed the
Bruins’ first three games, is back at outside linebacker
after undergoing knee surgery in August. The week off also allowed
receiver Matt Slater to get back into the competition for the
Bruins’ current open spot at the wide receiver position.
Slater is competing against redshirt junior Matt Willis and
redshirt freshman Ryan Graves for the position.
WALKER BACK: The Bruins’ are coming off a bye week, and
the time has allowed previously injured players to move back into
the regular rotation. Linebacker Wesley Walker, who missed the
Bruins’ first three games, is back at outside linebacker
after undergoing knee surgery in August. “He’s been
ready to go for a while, but we just wanted to be precautionary
with him,” Dorrell said. “If there are no setbacks, we
fully expect to be part of our linebacker rotation on
Saturday.” Walker will be joined by freshman linebacker John
Hale, Aaron Whittington and Bruce Davis at the outside linebacker.
OTHER OLSON BACK: Redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Olson is nearly
“90 percent” recovered from the injury on his left
hand, and has been taking a number of reps during the Bruins’
bye week. “If the situation permits, our goal is to get Ben
some reps,” Dorrell said. “That would be the best case
scenario.” The freshman has been out the last three weeks
since injuring his left hand prior to the Bruins’ first game
four weeks ago.
EXTRA POINTS: The Bruins’ game against Cal on Oct. 8 at
the Rose Bowl will kick off at 4:30 p.m. and be televised
nationally by TBS. The kickoff for the following week’s game
against Arizona State has still not been announced.