It wasn’t perfect. Too many errant passes, too many drops
and too many missed tackles for that.
But UCLA did something Saturday that it hasn’t done very
often since Karl Dorrell took over as head coach last year. It won
convincingly. And that itself is encouraging.
The Bruins, who won just one game by more than a touchdown last
season, have made a habit out of eking out victories against
inferior teams under Dorrell. Three-point victories against hapless
Illinois and Pac-10 doormat Arizona last season. The near-collapse
last month in Seattle.
But Saturday, UCLA had already beaten the Montezuma’s
Revenge out of the Aztecs by the time the last few stragglers left
their tailgate parties and shuffled inside to their seats.
How ho-hum was the Bruins’ workmanlike demolition of San
Diego State?
Well, the student section looked more like a freshman
meet-and-greet, and the loudest roar of the game came when the
final score of the Dodgers-Giants game was announced.
Even UCLA quarterback Drew Olson admitted that this victory
wasn’t exactly scintillating at times.
“I don’t know if you’d call it real
exciting,” Olson said. “It seemed like we would drive
the ball and kick the ball, and then get it back to drive and kick
the ball again.”
Yes, sometimes it was that ugly. But a win’s a win, even
when the fans aren’t into it. And what makes the victory even
more promising is that the Bruins showed a startling amount of
character in the way they got it.
Facing San Diego State, a team that, despite its woeful track
record against UCLA, truly believed it was going to spring the
upset, the Bruins withstood every single Aztec onslaught.
When San Diego State took an early 3-0 lead, Maurice Drew
answered with a touchdown run. When UCLA’s offense sputtered,
Spencer Havner picked up the slack, returning an interception for a
touchdown.
When the Aztecs appeared ready to mount a second-half charge,
the Bruin defense came up with a fourth down stop.
“They’re a good team,” San Diego State coach
Tom Craft said. “They’ve got good balance and marvelous
athletes. I think they’re one of the better teams we’ve
played.”
Perhaps the most impressive part of UCLA’s victory was the
performance of the defense.
By no means did the Bruins shut down San Diego State’s
offense ““ the Aztecs did average five yards per carry.
But when it mattered, whenever San Diego State mounted a drive
or inched closer to the red zone, the UCLA defense stiffened.
It was the “bend but don’t break” philosophy
at its best.
“We controlled the game,” safety Jarrad Page said.
“We kept them from scoring. Even when our offense
wasn’t scoring and had to punt, it didn’t matter,
because the score was staying there.”
So what does blowing out the Aztecs, a team that has yet to beat
UCLA in 20 tries, mean to the Bruins?
Probably not that much.
This was a game that UCLA was supposed to win, as is next
week’s contest against Arizona. Sure, the games count. But
they only become important if the Bruins somehow lose either
one.
That means the same standard applies to next Saturday’s
game against the Wildcats. Anything short of domination, and the
doubt will start to creep into UCLA fans’ minds again heading
into the juicy, meaty portion of the Pac-10 schedule.
For now though, the Bruins will revel in having done what they
were supposed to do ““ clobber an overmatched underdog.
So San Diego State isn’t a national title contender or
even a top-25 team. So it wasn’t the most exciting victory.
So what?
“We got out there, and we did our job,” defensive
tackle Eyoseph Efseaff said. “That’s the most important
thing.”
Eisenberg’s column will run every Monday during
football season. Email him at jeisenberg@media.ucla.edu.