For five weeks, the Bruins’ passing game seemed to be very
conservative, settling for short routes and dump-offs, not
utilizing the full abilities of the team’s deep group of wide
receivers. On Saturday, against the best team the Bruins had faced
all year, the receivers had something of a coming-out party. During
UCLA’s close loss to No. 10 Notre Dame, the offense seemed to
go deeper into the playbook as redshirt sophomore Pat Cowan took to
the air more frequently than either Bruin quarterback has all
season, much to the delight of the team’s wide receivers.
“That was just a taste of what we can do,” said
redshirt senior wide out Junior Taylor, who finished the game with
just three grabs for 39 yards. “We were able to make those
plays when we got the opportunities.” The Bruins were able to
move the ball fairly consistently in the first half, mostly through
the air, as Cowan looked particularly sharp, connecting for two
touchdowns while keeping the Fighting Irish defensive backs on edge
for the entire half. With featured running back junior Chris Markey
being bottled up for just 39 yards, the receivers were crucial in
providing a majority of the team’s offense. “We knew
that, in order to contend with Notre Dame, we would need to execute
with our passing game,” receiver Marcus Everett said.
“I feel we were really effective early on, making some big
plays and taking some shots down field.” Everett finished
with a game-high six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Before
the game against Notre Dame, UCLA quarterbacks had only completed
two passes longer than 25 yards ““ evidence of how timid the
offense has been in terms of the vertical attack. But on Saturday,
Cowan took more than a few shots downfield, completing four passes
for over 20 yards and connecting to eight different receivers. Even
though the passing game finally opened up on Saturday, many of the
receivers are of the opinion that the best is yet to come, as they
believe the play-calling will become even more aggressive. With
senior Joe Cowan also scheduled to return in the coming weeks, the
wide receiver corps has nowhere to go but up. “We are still
not there yet; we can still do a lot more,” Taylor said.
“You should see this kind of aggressiveness for now
on.”
KAHLIL BELL OUT: Running back Kahlil Bell will
not suit up this weekend against Washington State, as he has not
yet fully recovered from an injury he sustained to his ankle. Bell,
the back-up for Markey, has not practiced all week and will be
replaced by freshman Chane Moline, who now finds himself in a more
prominent role on offense.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS HONORED: Defensive ends Bruce
Davis and Justin Hickman were named to the watch list of the 2006
Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year award. The award honors the
top defensive end from all around the country. The nomination seems
fitting for the two as Hickman ranks second in the nation,
averaging 1.5 sacks per game and 10.5 total while also piling up
14.5 tackles for loss. Davis is close on his heels, with 6.5 sacks
and 11 tackles for loss. UCLA and Florida are the only schools to
have two nominees.
INJURY UPDATE: Fullback Michael Pitre, who
sustained a slight knee injury against Notre Dame, will be starting
versus the Cougars. Offensive lineman Aleksey Lanis re-injured his
ankle during the last part of practice on Wednesday, and his status
for Saturday is questionable. Quarterback Ben Olson started
throwing on Wednesday with wide receiver Terrence Austin.