TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; The UCLA football team’s injury trend just keeps on going and going and going.
The Bruins came to Tucson without their top rusher, Kahlil Bell, and original starting quarterback, Ben Olson. Both have knee injuries.
On Saturday they lost quarterback Pat Cowan and running back Chris Markey. And once again the Bruins lost while playing with less experienced players, many of whom started the year as second-, third- or fourth-stringers.
“We’re losing some continuity (because of the injuries),” coach Karl Dorrell said. “That hurts when you don’t have the same lineup. But this is football. … There are no excuses.”
During the game, Cowan suffered a concussion on a hit by Arizona defensive end Louis Holmes, and the team later discovered that Cowan also had a slight collapse of his right lung. He was held for observation Saturday night at the University of Arizona Hospital emergency room. Because of the lung injury, Cowan was unable to fly back to Los Angeles, and the team has announced that he will be traveling home by ground transportation with members of his family.
Markey had been hobbled by turf toe for three straight games, but it was an ankle injury on his other foot that took him out of the game Saturday.
Cowan was replaced by quarterback Osaar Rasshan, who took the first snaps of his three-year career.
Sophomore Chane Moline stepped in for Markey, rushing the ball 15 times for 63 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Christian Ramirez also suffered a concussion, which led redshirt sophomore Craig Sheppard to get eight carries for 32 yards. Sheppard, like Rasshan, was playing for the first time in his career.
The consensus after the game was that the inexperienced players did a decent job.
“We have some guys that are coming in and playing hard,” Dorrell said. “They may not be the prettiest of guys that are having to play right now, but they’re giving it everything they’ve got.”
It was hard for any of the players to feel too great about their performances, considering that they came in the Bruins’ second consecutive loss. “We obviously could have played better,” Moline said. “We didn’t get the win.”
SLATER SHINES (AGAIN): Return man Matthew Slater returned another kickoff for a touchdown. It was his second of the season, tying a school record held by former Bruin running back Maurice Jones-Drew.
After the Wildcats scored a field goal on their first drive of the game, they kicked the ball right to Slater, who was able to find a lane towards the right side of the field and reach the end zone. Slater said that one of the Arizona players grabbed his neck in the open field, but he was able to break free and sprint the rest of the way.
After the game, the senior gave all the credit to the 10 blockers he had in front of him.
“You can’t get a good return in unless your guys up front are working hard,” Slater said. “We’ve been in a bit of a rhythm lately with the kick returns. Those guys are doing a heck of a job, they’re unselfish, and they work every day. They get all the credit.”
After that first touchdown the Wildcats kicked the ball to Slater just one more time. He returned that one for 24 yards. It appeared that the Arizona coaches had instructed place-kicker Jason Bondzio to angle the ball away from Slater, or to kick it short.
“It is frustrating, but it’s also a compliment to our unit and what we’re able to do,” Slater said. “As long as we’re helping the team get field position we’re doing our job.”
UNFRIENDLY CONFINES: The locker room facilities at Arizona Stadium were hardly luxurious. Players, coaches and reporters bumped into each other in the small, hot room.
Because of the lack of space in the locker room, Dorrell addressed the media on the field just after the Arizona students had filed off.
The loss only added to the discomfort, and many of the Bruins were visibly shaken and seemed completely deflated by the loss.
NOTES: Pat Cowan’s first-quarter touchdown pass to brother Joe was the first time the two had combined for a touchdown while at UCLA. … Linebacker Christian Taylor made an impressive return performance, making 10 tackles after missing the Washington State game because of a concussion. … Punter Aaron Perez had one of the best days in his career, punting eight times with a 47-yard average, and landing four of those punts inside the Arizona 20-yard line. … Bruce Davis had three sacks for 16 yards. … Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama completed almost 60 percent of his passes and finished the day with 341 yards and three touchdowns. … It was homecoming weekend at Arizona, and after the win, the students rushed the field.