After three years of simply being the “other football
team” in Los Angeles, UCLA coach Karl Dorrell’s team is
no longer in hibernation.
Dorrell’s Bruins are 3-0 for the first time since 1998,
and are ranked in both major college football polls for the first
time since 2002.
“We’re back on the map,” tight end Marcedes
Lewis said.
“It’s nice to finally have some respectability back
in our program. We haven’t had that in a while.”
Three games into the season, the Bruins have averaged 49.33
points per game and are fourth in the nation in total scoring.
They’ve defeated a local rival in San Diego State, the
nation’s top running attack last season in Rice, and just had
the biggest win in coach Karl Dorrell’s tenure over
Oklahoma.
“I’ve never felt like this before at UCLA,”
linebacker Spencer Havner said after the Bruins’ victory over
Oklahoma. “It’s a huge step for our program; it gives
us the confidence for the rest of the season.”
The Bruins had yet to beat a ranked opponent since the beginning
of Dorrell’s tenure, and it was clear that the Bruins needed
a win against a team like Oklahoma more than ever.
“Hell yeah, we needed the victory,” Lewis said.
“With all the adversity we’ve gone through, we needed a
special victory like this.”
Luckily for the Bruins and Lewis, the UCLA defense, which has
regularly been criticized for its failures in the past, held up
their end of the bargain against Oklahoma, limiting the Sooners to
24 points after giving 59 points in their last match-up just two
years ago.
In fact, they’ve given up a average of 168.3 rushing yards
per game this season after giving up 284.3 rushing yards at the
same time last season. When facing arguably the nations’ top
rusher in Adrian Peterson, they held the 2004 Heisman Trophy
finalist to 58 yards rushing, the lowest in his illustrious
career.
“When you go up against a running back like Peterson, and
shut him down, it says a lot about your defense,” safety
Dennis Keyes said. “It was a statement game for us; we can
shut down a powerhouse like Oklahoma.”
The offense, meanwhile, has found a way to support the defense
with different stars in each game.
In week one, after preaching a consistent effort to get the ball
to the All-American Lewis during fall camp, the Bruins found the
tight end for a career-high seven catches and 131 yards in the
Bruins victory over San Diego State.
The next week against Rice, it was running back Maurice Drew who
took charge. The running back returned a punt for a touchdown for
the second consecutive week and rushed for 95 yards and one
touchdown for the Bruins.
During the fourth quarter of the game, Drew found out that his
grandfather, Maurice Jones, had suffered a stroke while sitting in
the stands. Drew was rushed to the hospital, and got there right
before his grandfather passed away.
“It was an extremely difficult situation for me,”
Drew said. “He was like a father figure for me; someone who I
could look up to when I needed it most.”
Drew returned the third week against Oklahoma with the name
“˜Jones-Drew’ on the back of his jersey, finding some
inspiration for the Bruins’ biggest game of the season.
He rushed 15 times for 69 yards, but his play was overshadowed
by quarterback Drew Olson, who easily had the best game of his
career, completing 28 of 38 passes for 314 yards, and three
touchdowns.
“The credit doesn’t go to me, it goes to
Maurice,” Olson said. “He’s the one playing with
a heavy heart. We’re all there for him, and it was a lot of
fun to see him run in for that touchdown at the end.”
Despite his reverence for Drew’s effort, Olson still fully
understood the significance of the Oklahoma victory.
“The game was huge for us,” Olson said. “Not
because of the standings, or rankings, but it’s good for the
program and where it can go and what needs to happen.”
The Bruins had a bye week after Oklahoma, and now move on to
face Washington this weekend at the Rose Bowl. The break was
welcome for the Bruins, who needed the time off to recuperate and
refocus after the thrilling victory over Oklahoma.
“I definitely needed the week off,” Havner said.
“But we haven’t accomplished anything yet, all our
focus now is just on beating Washington.”