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| September 2007 »
 Sacks.
Sacks and the things that go with them will be the key to UCLA’s opener against the Cardinal in Palo Alto on Saturday.
Jim Harbaugh will debut as the coach of the Cardinal in Stanford Stadium in the first of eight home games for Stanford this season. While he is considered to be an astute offensive mind, if quarterback T.C. Ostrander spends most of his afternoon running away from Bruin defensive ends Bruce Davis and Nikola Dragovic, Stanford isn’t going to get very far.
The Cardinal has three starters back from an offensive line that gave up 50 sacks last season and averaged 2.1 yards per rushing attempt. Ostrander started the last five games of the season and completed less than 48% of his passes.
At the same time, UCLA needs to keep quarterback Ben Olson upright. With Patrick Cowan lost for most of the season with a torn hamstring, Olson needs good protection from the Bruin offensive line. That shouldn’t be a problem as Stanford returns six of its front seven from last year, a unit that had only 14 sacks for the entire season.
Worth watching for:
>> Player rotation: Weather.com is forecasting a hot day in Palo Alto, with temperatures reaching 85 degrees when the game starts at 90 degrees near game’s end.
>> Osaar a star: While UCLA has a very capable receiving corps, former quarterback (and emergency quarterback for this game) Osaar Rashaan has the makings of a game breaker. At 6-4 and 216 pounds, he’ll be a load for any linebacker or safety who would have to cover him as a slot receiver.
>> Too close for comfort: UCLA always seems to play Stanford close, no matter how good or bad the Cardinal is. Last year’s 31-0 final score is deceiving; it was a 7-0 game at halftime and only 14-0 at the end of three quarters. In 2005, the Bruins needed a miracle comeback led by Drew Olson to eke out a 30-27 win in overtime. In the last 15 UCLA-Stanford games played in Palo Alto, seven have been decided by a touchdown or less and the Cardinal has won three of the last four games against UCLA at home.
Worth watching after:
Following the game broadcast on FSN Prime Ticket, "Bruins Live" will air at about 4 p.m., followed by a Fox Sports "In My Own Words" documentary with Bruin head coach Karl Dorrell at about 4:30 p.m. Dorrell was interviewed by FSN’s Michael Eaves for the program.
 The seemingly endless "watch lists" of potential award winners in a dizzying variety of categories shows a total of ten different Bruins who are being "watched" for 19 different awards:
>> Bednarik Award (defensive player of the year): Bruce Davis, Chris Horton.
>> Butkus Award (linebacker): Reggie Carter, Christian Taylor.
>> Hendricks Award (defensive end): Bruce Davis.
>> Lombardi Award (lineman): Bruce Davis, Brigham Harwell, Shannon Tevaga, Christian Taylor.
>> Lott Trophy (defensive "IMPACT" player of the year): Bruce Davis, Chris Horton.
>> Mackey Award (tight ends): Logan Paulsen.
>> Maxwell Award (player of the year): Chris Markey, Chris Horton.
>> Nagurski Trophy (defensive player of the year): Bruce Davis.
>> Rimington Award (center): Chris Joseph.
>> Thorpe Award (defensive back): Chris Horton, Dennis Keyes.
>> Walker Award (running back): Chris Markey.
Bruce Davis had the most individual nominations with five, followed by safety Chris Horton with four.
 The UCLA football team’s third opponent, Utah, lost both its starting quarterback and tailback during last night’s 24-7 road loss at Oregon State and both will probably be out for the September 15 game against the Bruins.
Quarterback Brian Johnson will apparently be out three weeks after suffered a separated right shoulder during the first half of the game. He completed 8-13 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. Senior Tommy Grady replaced Johnson and was only 9-24 for 59 yards in the second half.
Tailback Matt Asiata left the game on a cart after four carries and 16 yards gained and will be out for the season with a broken right leg. The Associated Press reported that Asiata was scheduled for surgery today.
In addition, tight end Colt Sampson will be out for at least four weeks with a sprained left knee.
Utah’s next game is against Air Force at home on September 8, with the Bruins coming to Salt Lake City the following week.
UCLA men's soccer team went into its season opener against no. 9 Notre Dame as the consensus no. 1-ranked team in America. That’s probably over.
Trailing 1-0 for most of the game thanks to a Joseph Lapira goal in the first half for the Irish, Chance Myers scored a tying goal with 38 seconds to play in regulation, but the Bruins lost, 2-1, on a goal by Alex Yoshinaga just three minutes into the overtime period.
The game was played in Bloomington, Indiana as part of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.
UCLA will face no. 7 Indiana in the concluding game of the tournament on Sunday.
The UCLA Sports Information Office sent a note about the first of many college basketball preview magazines that will rank UCLA no. 1 going into the 2007-08 season:
"Lindy's College Basketball magazine hit the newsstands today and has selected the UCLA Bruins as its preseason number one team.
"The Bruins' frontcourt was also chosen as the best in the nation. Returning starters junior Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (8.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and senior Lorenzo Mata-Real (6.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg) welcome in the nation's High School Player of the Year, Kevin Love (6-10, 260, Lake Oswego, OR). UCLA also retains the services of junior Alfred Aboya (4.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and sophomores James Keefe (1.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg) and Nikola Dragovic (1.8 ppg, 1.2 rpg).
"UCLA's backcourt was rated the sixth-best in the country. The Bruins return two junior starters the in the backcourt in Darren Collison (12.7 ppg, 5.7 apg) and Josh Shipp (13.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg). UCLA will also have junior Michael Roll (4.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg) and sophomore Russell Westbrook (3.4 ppg, 0.7 apg) available, both of whom have considerable experience in big games.
"While the Bruins were picked to repeat as Pacific-10 Conference champions, Collison was also selected as the Pac-10 Player of the Year while Love was named the Newcomer of the Year.
"In ranking the positions, Collison was rated the number two point guard behind Michigan State's Drew Neitzel while Love was rated the number seven power forward (and the number two incoming freshman behind Kansas State's Michael Beasley). Mbah a Moute was rated the eighth-best small forward while Shipp was selected as the 14th-ranked shooting guard."
At the risk of running another list of meaningless pre-season awards, Kirk Herbstreit’s "Herbie" list is a preview of what the lead ESPN analyst is going to be saying during the season. Three Bruins made his lists:
>> UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis no. 7 on his list of "The Sack Masters";
>> Linebacker Reggie Carter was no. 3 on the list of "All Over the Field" outline linebackers and is on the list of "Players Who Don’t Get Enough Respect."
>> Offensive guard Shannon Tevaga was listed on the "All-Uni Team" described as "What a College Football Team Should Look Like."
Carter, especially, is gaining some notice among analysts as a player who’s looked to for a breakout season in 2007.
The betting lines are showing UCLA as an increasing favorite over Stanford on Saturday. The lines started at 15 1/2 points for the Bruins, but are now up to 17, depending on where you shop. With an over-under line of 47, UCLA projects to a 32-15 winner.
That doesn’t impress CBS Sportsline.com senior writer Dennis Dodd, who picked the Bruins in his national top ten during the spring season, but picked Stanford to beat UCLA this week.
Ouch.
 ESPN.com has come out with its list of the top 150 basketball recruits in the nation and the Bruins’ class of 2007 has four spots . . . in the top 35!
>> No. 4: Guard Jrue Holiday (North Hollywood Campbell Hall)
>> No. 21: Guard Malcolm Lee (Riverside J.W. North)
>> No. 33: Forward Drew Gordon (San Jose Archbishop Mitty)
>> No. 35: Guard Jerime Anderson (Anaheim Canyon)
And in an interesting development for 2008, prep ace Eric Sondheimer of The Times has reported that 6-10 Renardo Sidney (pictured) is leaving Artesia High School for City power Fairfax. "He's going to change the landscape in the City," Woodland Hills Taft Coach Derrick Taylor told Sondheimer. "No one matches up with him."
Fairfax and coach Harvey Kitani are no strangers to UCLA basketball. The school sent two current Bruins – junior Josh Shipp and freshman Chace Stanback – to Westwood. Will Sidney be the third?
At the 2007 Wooden Classic, the opening game will feature (?) San Diego State and St. Mary’s with the Bruins and Davidson in the second game on December 8.
[Photo credit: Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times]
If a lot of the players on the pre-season All-Southland football team in The Times looked familiar, it’s no mistake. The selections have a blue and gold tinge to them.
An astonishing eight of the 23 players on the list (35%) are committed to UCLA, the most on any such team in memory:
>> Milton Knox, RB (Birmingham)
>> Kermonte Bateman, WR (Crenshaw)
>> Damien Holmes, DE (Colton)
>> Datone Jones, DE (Compton)
>> Uona Kaveinga, LB (Leuzinger)
>> Rahim Moore, DB (Dorsey)
>> E.J. Woods, DB (Crespi)
>> Aaron Hester, DB (Dominguez)
USC also didn’t do badly, with eight of the 23 on the list.
Defensive end Tom Blake, linebacker Josh Edwards and offensive guard Micah Reed got cheers from their teammates on Spaulding Field on Wednesday as head coach Karl Dorrell announced that each has been selected to receive a one-year scholarship.
"Those are the three that we announced today, that the team is excited about," said Dorrell. "It’s unfortunate; I don’t have enough to go around for everybody. I will keep in mind the other walk-ons in our program that have done a great job: [defensive back] Chris Meadows, [quarterback] McLeod Bethel-Thompson, those guys have done a great job [and] Trevor Theriot, our fullback. Those three guys are worth mentioning, but I just don’t have enough at this point in time; but they’ll be the next that we’re looking to."
Dorrell noted that the possibility of a scholarship award is " something we recruit with with our walk-ons."
On the field, quarterback Ben Olson looked sharp and Patrick Cowan's hamstring has improved enough that he was able to walk along the sideline without crutches. The Bruin first-team offense and defense practiced with amplified crowd noise for about 17 minutes, probably a lot louder that they will hear at Stanford this weekend.
The Bruins will leave on Friday around noon, but will concentrate on meetings upon arrival in Palo Alto on Friday and will not have a walk-through at Stanford Stadium prior to gameday.
Former Bruin Michelle Perry continued her dominance in the women’s 100-meter Hurdles with a gold medal in the World Track & Field Championships in Osaka, Japan.
Perry got out of the blocks first and then stormed to a mark of 12.46 to edge Canada’s former World Champion, Perdita Felicien, by 0.03 seconds.
"It was an extremely difficult race," she told reporters after the event. "I rate it in the top three most difficult ones in my career. I kept talking to myself that I can win this race and defend my title and stayed calm.
"First five hurdles were great, in the middle it was little shaky and I did my best after the 10th hurdle. My coach always believes in strong finishes. It was a close call. We waited for couple of minutes, I did not know who won. I was thinking am I second or third? Now I want to enjoy it."
Perry earned $60,000 for winning the world title. She is still in the running for the "Golden League Jackpot" of $1 million, having won the hurdle races in the first three Golden League meets of the year. If she can win – and she will be favored – in the Weltklasse meet in Zurich on September 7, the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels on September 14 and the ISTAF in Berlin on September 16, she will have some substantial tax issues to deal with.
What about Beijing in 2008? "For the future maybe I can return to the heptathlon and do both."
Bruin Hall of Famer Bill Walton, commenting for ESPN on the FIBA Americas Championship Tournament in the USA-Puerto Rico quarterfinal round-robin game, praised USC’s Tim Floyd for the job he is doing with the Trojans.
He also noted the addition of O.J. Mayo and then play-by-play announcer John Saunders asked why Mayo didn’t go to Walton’s alma mater.
Walton: "Maybe issues of playing time . . . maybe issues of shot selection," and both laughed.
Walton added that Paul Westphal was the only recruit to turn John Wooden down during the glory years, and noted that Westphal recognized that if he went to USC, he could shoot at will. If he went to UCLA, "He’s have to throw the ball inside all the time." True, true.
For those who want to get a little closer to the Bruins as they ready for Stanford, here are two events on tap for Los Angeles on Friday and Palo Alto on Saturday:
>> Friday, 7:00 a.m.: Westwood Bruin Touchdown Club
Founded in 1977, the club has met at what is now known as The Westwood on Wilshire Hotel (formerly a Holiday Inn and a Doubletree Hotel, among other owners) at Wilshire Blvd. and Selby Avenue since 1978.
However, the hotel is being renovated and meetings will now be held at The Olympic Collection at Olympic and Sawtelle Boulevards with the first event to be held on Friday morning just before the Bruins get on the plane for the game. Parking is available on site and is free.
Head coach Karl Dorrell will speak, along with tailback Chris Markey, offensive guard Shannon Tevaga, defensive end Bruce Davis and linebacker Reggie Carter. Members of the UCLA spirit team will be present.
The club meets on all Fridays prior to home games, except for the Oregon game on the Saturday of Thanksgiving Weekend, so that event will be held on October 16. The price for all eight breakfast events is $145.
For more information or tickets, please contact Claudia Hart at (310) 348-UCLA or claudia4ucla@yahoo.com.
>> Saturday, 9:00 a.m.: Bruin Bash in Palo Alto
Those attending the Stanford game in person can join in the Bruin Bash, an official, on-site party that will be held for Bruin fans prior to each road game. Saturday’s party will be held at the Frost Amphitheater on the Stanford campus.
There will be food and drink, performances by the Bruin Spirit Squad and the live KLAC AM 570 radio pre-game broadcast with former Bruin quarterbacks Wayne Cook and Matt Stevens.
The cost is $30 at the door on a space-available basis, although advance arrangements can be made with the UCLA Fan Travel Office at (310) 206-2873.
Former Bruin Michelle Perry is the favorite to continue UCLA’s worldwide ownership of the women’s 100-meter Hurdles in the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Osaka, Japan.
Perry had the fastest time in the semifinals at 12.55 and joins two other Americans in the final, former LSU star Lolo Jones and ex-Trojan Ginnie Powell.
After competing in the heptathlon in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Perry set her sights on the 100-meter Hurdles and another ex-Bruin, Olympic champion Joanna Hayes. Perry stormed to a World Championship gold medal in Helsinki in 2005 and is a runaway favorite to win tonight.
Hayes has been plagued by injuries, but if healthy next year, she and Perry could put two Bruins on the podium in Beijing.
Current Bruin Nicole Leach and ex-Bruin Sheena Johnson made it into the semi-finals of the women’s 400-meter Hurdles event, but did not qualify for the final. Johnson was fifth in semifinal one in 54.55, just 0.40 from a qualifying spot. Leach finished sixth in semi two in 56.10, ending a long season that started back in February. She’ll be a junior next spring and both have an excellent chance to make the U.S. Olympic track & field team next year.
Both ex-Bruin throwers didn’t make it to the final. American record holder Suzy Powell, also a former Bruin, didn’t throw very well in the women’s discus (195-5) and didn’t qualify for the final, a major disappointment. Jessica Cosby threw a respectable 222-9, but ended up short of the last qualifying mark (224-11).
One other former Bruin is still waiting to compete: high jumper Amy Acuff, who will have a qualifying round on August 31.
 UCLA has packaged tickets to the October 6 home game against Notre Dame into mini-plans and full-season ticket programs, until now.
Between Monday, August 27 and Saturday, September 8, two tickets to the Notre Dame game will be available at $75 each with a $350 donation ($500 total cost) to the Wooden Athletic Fund.
Alternatively, you could also buy two season tickets at $250 each ($500 total) on the "Bruin" plan and see all six UCLA home games from seats in one of the corners of the field: northwest, southwest or southeast corners between about the 20 yard line and the end line of the end zone.
About 6,000 tickets in total remain for the Notre Dame game, scattered in corner and end zone locations. All remaining tickets have a face value of $75.00 each.
For more information about tickets, call (310) UCLA-WIN; calls about the Wooden Athletic Fund should be directed to (310) 206-3302. Or you can go to www.uclabruins.com.
 "The season is finally here" is the way UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell started his first weekly news conference of the season in front of a half-dozen television cameras and about two dozen writers and reporters.
He noted that the Bruins will play in the new Stanford Stadium for the first time, as well as seeing a new Stanford coach in Jim Harbaugh and a new Stanford offensive and defensive system. He also knows that this is one of the most-anticipated teams in recent UCLA history.
"A lot of expectations both outside the program and inside the program,: he said, "and it’s an exciting place to be since UCLA hasn’t been in this position in some time.
"I think the [biggest] challenge for us is the bigger expectations on our program. Our players in this program, they expect to play well; we all expect to do great things this year and this is the debut of showing what our capabilities are. That’s what we think about.
"You keep talking about the experience from having returning starters, but that only takes you so far. Now it’s about being productive; about scoring points and stopping ‘em and all those things. It’s not on paper anymore. The season’s starting, it’s time to put up. "
Dorrell noted that the focus will also be on him this season: "It’s the recognition factor that our program has gained from last year to this year and it’s a point in the program that it’s all my kids, they’re all guys that I’ve recruited, and it should be a difference in what you’ve seen in the past and that’s what the expectations [are] inside."
He didn’t think injuries were "too significant" except for the loss of freshman running back Raymond Carter to a knee injury. On offense, running back Chane Moline’s fractured left wrist and fullback Michael Pitre’s knee will keep them out of the game against Stanford. Receiver Osaar Rashaan has had concussion problems over the last week and a decision on whether he will travel will be made later in the week.
Dorrell addressed the issue of being more productive on offense, especially inside the opponent’s 20: "We spent a lot of time in this training camp in red zone offense; we spent probably 30-40% more time in our practice scheduling practice of more red zone offense.
"We scored points in the red zone last year . . . it just wasn’t the time of points you wanted in the red zone: you wanted touchdowns instead of field goals. And that’s what we’ve put a lot of emphasis in."
Dorrell pointed to the return of receiver Joe Cowan and more experience on the part of tight ends Logan Paulsen and William Snead as big pluses for operating in the red zone.
On Stanford, coming off an injury-riddled 1-11 season, Dorrell noted "They have always been tough to play in Palo Alto. I know UCLA has always had some tough games to play up there and this is one of the games we have to be very productive and very consistent to play to our capabilities."
 UCLA running back Chris Markey is one of seven seniors slated to start on offense this week at Stanford and he was clear about how 2007 is different from the past.
"We have sense of urgency this year. We know that it’s now or never really. Our defense has come along and we feel that we have to catch up.
"We have a strong offense as far as talent and it’s going to be disappointing if we don’t do anything with it. We have the players to make a run for this conference championship and for the BCS title."
Wow! Markey noted that the team’s focus is squarely on the conference championship and that the offense has to produce. He’s especially excited about this year’s offensive line, led by guards Shannon Tevaga and Noah Sutherland and center Chris Joseph.
"Those guys really worked hard this off-season. I know how hard they are working and how dedicated they are to doing their job, so this season, I expect big things from ‘em. If we put everything together, it’s going to hard to stop us in the run game."
Markey expects big things personally as well. "I want to rush for 1,500 yards plus," he said.
"I want to produce more in scoring; last year, I had two touchdowns and as a running back, I want to score more." He amassed 1,107 yards last season for a 4.9 yards-per-carry average.
The senior running back also noted that it’s the little things that will make a difference this season for the Bruins, especially with new offensive coordinator Jay Norvell. "Coach Norvell is a great coach; he emphasizes focusing in on the details and I think that’s what going to be a difference this year with the offense."
And he understands exactly what the situation is. "We’ve been having mediocre seasons for the last 4-5 years. I really feel that it’s time for us to step up.
"We have to win the title, I feel, to get respect in this conference and by having another mediocre season that won’t do it for us."
Even though the Fall Quarter doesn’t start for a month, UCLA’s fall teams finally got into action this past week and everyone will be engaged this coming week:
Football:
>> Last week: The Bruins are ranked no. 14 by the Associated Press and no. 17 in the coaches poll, they’re fairly healthy except at fullback. Quarterback Ben Olson has looked sharp in practice and the defense appears to be ready to pick up where it ended the USC game.
>> This week: UCLA opens its season on the road vs. Stanford on Saturday. The Cardinal was 1-11 last year, hired a new coach in Jim Harbaugh and is expected to be last in the conference again. The Bruins are a 16-point choice on the early line.
>> Of note: UCLA has sold more than 45,0000 season tickets, the most in its history, surpassing last season’s total of 44,777.
Men’s Basketball:
>> Last week: Junior forward Luc Richard Mbah A Moute helped Cameroon to its highest finish ever – second place – in the African Nations Championship in Angola. Although his team lost to host (and defending African champion Angola), Mbah A Moute averaged 13.2 points a game and started four of the team’s five games.
>> This week: things are quiet until practice starts in October.
>> Of note: Former Bruin Reggie Miller confirmed his retirement and said he would not return to the NBA. He told the Indianapolis Star, "Physically, I know I could have done it. But mentally, when you do something like this, you’ve either got to be all in or all out. And I’ve decided I’m all out." He added, "Please write, I will never, ever, ever try something like this again. Any of the 30 teams in the NBA, if you’re interested, please don’t call."
Men’s Soccer:
>> Last week: The No. 1-ranked Bruin men’s soccer team played to a 2-2 draw in an exhibition match with North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C.
>> This week: The Bruins get going for real at the adidas/IU Cred Union Classic in Bloomington, Indiana with matches against no. 9 Notre Dame on Friday and against Indiana on Sunday.
Women’s Soccer:
>> Last week: The Bruins have been ranked no. 1, 2 or 3 in the country depending on which poll you believe. Forward Lauren Cheney and midfielders Christina DiMartino and Danesha Adams were named as pre-season All-America choices by Soccer Buzz.
>> This week: The Bruins open on the road in Houston, Texas, facing the host Cougars on Friday night and then Texas on Sunday. Forward Kara Lang was named to Canada’s Women’s World Cup team and will be lost to the Bruins until the end of the tournament which runs from September 10-30 in China.
Women’s Volleyball:
>> Last week: No. 5-ranked UCLA (1-1) opened its season well, finishing second to no. 1-ranked Nebraska in the AVCA College Volleyball Showcase in Omaha. The Bruins swept past Utah in the semifinals in straight sets but then lost to the Huskers in four.
>> This week: The Bruins are on the road in Hawaii for the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic, facing Louisville on Friday, Kansas State on Sunday and host no. 10 Hawaii on Monday.
Also of note:
The men’s no. 3-ranked water polo team will play an exhibition against Stanford in Palo Alto on Saturday morning, September 1. The men’s and women’s cross country teams will be at the Nevada Twilight Cross Country Classic on Friday in their opening competition of the season.
No. 1-ranked Nebraska, playing close to home in Omaha, defeated no. 5-ranked UCLA, 30-23, 22-30, 30-18, 30-21 in the final of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Collegiate Volleyball Showcase Saturday night.
The Bruins got 19 kills each from Rachell Johnson and Ali Daley and 55 assists from All-American setter Nellie Spicer, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the defending NCAA champions.
Nebraska All-American Sarah Pavan had 25 kills and Tracy Stalls had 16 while setter Rachel Holloway had 61 assists. The Huskers hit .314 against the Bruin defense while UCLA could manage only .209.
UCLA evened the match at 1-1 by winning the second set and took a 7-4 lead in the third set. But Nebraska came back to win the set, 30-18 and won in four, just as they did against the Bruins in last year’s national semifinals.
The loss leaves the Bruins at 1-1 on the season; UCLA travels to Hawaii next week for the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic for matches against Louisville (Aug. 31), Kansas State (Sep. 2) and host Hawaii (Sep. 3).
Defending champion Angola blew open a close game with Cameroon in the third quarter to win the 24th African Nations Basketball Championship, 86-72, in the championship final held before a home crowd at the Cidadela in Luanda, Angola.
UCLA forward Luc Richard Mbah A Moute started for Cameroon and played 30 of 40 minutes, but made only two of seven shots from the field. He also made 3-5 free throws for a total of seven points and added five rebounds and three assists.
Brice Vounang led Cameroon with 18 points and reserves Patrick Bouli had 16 and Gaston Essengue had 14. The silver medal was the best finish in Cameroon history in only the fourth time they had qualified for the tournament in its 45-year history.
Angola led at halftime 33-31 in a tense game, but scored 34 points in the third quarter alone against 20 for Cameroon to take a 67-51 lead into the fourth quarter. Cameroon won the final stanza, 23-21, leaving the final at 86-72 for the hosts, playing in the presence of Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Eduardo Mingas led Angola with 18 points with four other teammates in double figures.
For the tournament, Mbah A Moute – known in Afrobasket fans as "Luc Mbah" in the box scores – averaged 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.0 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. He shot 48.6 percent (18-of-37) from the field and 63.6 percent (21-of-33) from the free-throw line.
By winning the tournament, Angola qualifies for the basketball competition at the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing, China.
UCLA worked out in shoulder pads and shorts today before taking a day off tomorrow and then settling in for the first "game week" of the season prior to the opener at Stanford on September 1.
"I really liked the tempo of practice today," said head coach Karl Dorrell. Asked about the progress of the team in understanding what it is supposed to do, he noted, "We were able to accomplish so much more in camp. We’re already at a pretty good phase in our game planning and we still have a week to go. We’re just ahead of where we’ve been in the past at this point, going into the opening game. A lot of that is because of the work the players did in the off-season and what we were able to accomplish during camp.
"So we’re just sharpening ourselves to be as good as we can be, to play fast and have a high level of execution."
On the offensive line, a key element in the success of quarterback Ben Olson, Dorrell said "We’re trying to give [center] Chris Joseph some rest; he’s had a little bit of a hip flexor most of camp and we’re trying to get him some rest so he’ll be ready to go next week. Our depth is better than it’s been and our health is pretty good." Dorrell noted that guard Shannon Tevaga is fully returned to the lineup.
What about the fullbacks? Possible starter Trevor Theriot said he felt "about 95 percent today" and said "I’ll be 100 percent by Monday."
Olson looked fairly sharp against the no. 2 defense most of the day and completed one dazzling play to tight end William Snead, lofting a 20-year strike over a defender and into Snead’s hands with enough room to get both feet down before going out of bounds.
Good news from the UCLA Sports Information Office:
Junior Ali Daley recorded a double-double with a team-high 11 kills and 13 digs and also served the final six points of the match, as fifth-ranked UCLA swept no. 21 Utah 30-23, 30-21, 30-27 at the AVCA College Volleyball Showcase in Omaha, Neb. on Friday.
The Bruins advance to the tournament’s title match on Saturday, where they will face the winner of the Nebraska/Tennessee contest. Saturday’s final will begin at 6:30 p.m. PT and be aired live on CSTV.
UCLA’s Director of Marketing Scott Mitchell confirmed that season-ticket sales have surpassed the 45,000 mark, making the 2007 season the biggest ever for Bruin season tickets.
The old mark was set last year at 44,777 and with a little more than two weeks to go before the home opener with BYU on September 8, this season’s record total will climb higher.
FSN Prime Ticket will broadcast the UCLA-Stanford game on September 1 from Palo Alto beginning at 12:30 p.m. with Matt Devlin handling the play-by-play and Warren Moon (a Hamilton High alumnus) doing analysis.
"Bruins Live" will follow the game broadcast, hosted by Christine Nubla, helped by game sideline reporter Michael Eaves and former Bruin safety James Washington.
The game is only part of a block of UCLA programming on FSN which includes a terrific hour on Monday evenings from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. beginning on September 3:
>> 10:30 p.m.: Bruin Rewind, a half-hour compilation of game footage which incorporates Chris Roberts’s radio calls on AM 570 and some pre-game, in-game and post-game footage that is otherwise unseen anywhere (thanks to producer Kyle Reischling and director Marc Wolfson), and
>> 11:00 p.m.: Head coach Karl Dorrell’s weekly news conference, embellished with player interviews plus commentary from host Bill Macdonald and Washington.
 So it’s only a season-opening tournament in Nebraska, but the no. 5-ranked UCLA women’s volleyball team will learn quite a bit about themselves this weekend in Omaha during the American Volleyball Coaches Association "College Volleyball Showcase" today and Saturday.
UCLA, led by All-American junior setter Nellie Spicer (pictured) will face no. 21 Utah in a rematch of an NCAA second-round face-off from last season that was won by the Bruins in straight sets. If UCLA can get by the Utes, it will face the winner of no. 1-ranked Nebraska and unranked Tennessee. Nebraska is the defending national champion and defeated UCLA in four games in the national semifinals last season.
The UCLA-Utah match will be shown live on CSTV at 4 p.m. Pacific time today and the tournament’s championship match will also be shown live on Saturday, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Pacific time. There’s no radio coverage, but there is a real-time stats link accessible from uclabruins.com.
 In looking at UCLA’s Fall Quarter calendar, it’s worthwhile to note that classes won’t begin until Thursday, September 27. So the student section at the Rose Bowl will most certainly not be filled for the BYU and Washington games on September 8 and 22, respectively.
UCLA faces another scheduling issue for the Washington game as it falls on Yom Kippur, the most important holiday on the Jewish calendar. While no starting time has been announced, many Jewish fans are unlikely to attend the game if it is another other than a night (7 p.m. or later) start.
Last week, the Boston Herald reported a similar problem for Harvard this season:
"Under pressure from their Crimson-crazy season-ticket holders and other fired-up football fans, Harvard’s pigskin poohbahs are thisclose to switching their first-ever night game on Sept. 21 to the following night.
"Word out of Haaaaaavid Yaaaahd is that the team’s boosters, many of whom are Jewish, expressed their disapproval of the historic game being scheduled on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest of holidays."
Harvard will now host Brown on Saturday, September 22, starting at 7:30 p.m.
The starting time for the UCLA-Washington game is slated to be announced 12 days prior to the game date and will depend on the broadcast choices of the Pac-10's television partners.
In the classroom, nine UCLA seniors on this year’s team are scheduled to graduate following Fall Quarter – Kevin Brown, Trey Brown, Brigham Harwell, Chris Horton, Michael Pitre, Brian Rubenstein, Matthew Slater, William Snead and Noah Sutherland.
Moreover, 73 of the 80 freshmen in Dorrell’s first four classes (91.3%; not including the 2007 class) are still in school and progressing towards a degree; 69 are still active players and four others are injured or retired, but still in school.
 UCLA Associate Sports Information Director Ryan Finney sent along this note to answer the "What did I do on my summer vacation" question to Bruin junior forward Luc Richard Mbah A Moute:
"UCLA junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute tallied game-highs of 20 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead Cameroon to a 58-52 win over Egypt in the semifinals of the FIBA Africa Championship (Afrobasket 2007) in Angola today.
"Mbah a Moute has now played four games on the Cameroon National Team, which is 5-0 in the tournament and has reached the finals of Afrobasket for the first time in its history. Cameroon had only reached the semifinals one other time in 1974, which culminated in a loss to Tunisia in the bronze medal game.
"Cameroon will face the host country Angola in the finals, which beat Cape Verde 93-60 in the other semifinal today. The two teams will square off in the finals on August 25, for the chance to win the tournament's automatic bid to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
"Cameroon went unbeaten (3-0) in group play, posting wins over Mozambique (66-54), South Africa (89-59), and top-seeded Tunisia (75-70). After not appearing in the win over Mozambique, Mbah a Moute tallied 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 20 minutes against South Africa. He then scored a game-high 17 points and added nine rebounds, five steals, three assists and a block in 32 minutes against Tunisia. In the quarterfinal win over the Ivory Coast, he registered 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals and a game-high seven assists.
"In his four games, Mbah a Moute is averaging 14.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.8 steals, 3.3 assists and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field, 64.3 percent (18-of-28) from the free-throw line and 30.0 percent (3-of-10) from three-point range.
"The 24th FIBA Africa Championship, known since 1999 as the African Nations Championship, or Afrobasket, is being played in five Angolan cities simultaneously: Benguela, Cabinda, Luanda, Huambo, and Lubango. There are a total of 16 teams in the competition: Group A - Angola, Rwanda, Morocco and Cape Verde; Group B - Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast and Egypt; Group C - Nigeria, Liberia, Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo; Group D - Mozambique, Tunisia, South Africa and Cameroon."
Cameroon’s showing is all the more remarkable since they hadn’t even made the tournament since 1991 and had participated in this continental championship only three times in the 45-year history of the African Championship.
Mbah A Moute is referred in the official box scores as "Luc Mbah" and is wearing no. 13 instead of his familiar no. 23 with the Bruins. Alfred Aboya, also from Cameroon, was slated to play in the tournament, but is not listed on the Cameroon roster and is, in fact, continuing to work out at UCLA this summer.
 Former Bruins Drew Olson and Matt Willis will have a lot on the line in Saturday’s exhibition game against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
Both are trying to make the Ravens: Olson (pictured) was signed to the development squad last season while Willis is a rookie.
Olson currently stands as the no. 3 quarterback in Baltimore behind projected starter Steve McNair and backup Kyle Boller, but is fighting off a challenge from rookie (and last year’s Heisman Trophy winner) Troy Smith. Thus far in two pre-season games, Olson has completed 8-13 for 90 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Smith hasn’t fared as well: 7-19 for 94 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Willis has caught four passes at wide receiver for 43 yards in two games, tied for the team lead, but he’s not yet listed on the Ravens three-deep depth chart at either wide receiver position.
 New head coach Jim Harbaugh (pictured) welcomed back 17 starters from Stanford’s 2006 team. Unfortunately, that Cardinal squad was 1-11 and didn’t win a game at newly renovated Stanford Stadium last season.
They’ll probably do better this season, if for no other reason that the Cardinal has eight home games in 2007. But returning quarterback T.C. Ostrander started five games and completed only 45.6% of his passes and had five interceptions against three touchdowns.
Moreover, Stanford’s best pass receiver, Mark Bradford, returning from an injury-plagued 2006, may have tendinitis in his left knee according to a story by Michelle Smith of the San Francisco Chronicle. Safeties Bo McNally (hand) and Carlos McFall (shoulder) are both hurt, although McNally is expected to play against the Bruins.
And our spy in the Bay Area, admittedly no fan of Harbaugh, reports "disorganized practices, a few jousts with the Admissions department [already] and a coaching staff not up to Pac-10 norm."
Time will tell. For now, the oddsmakers agree with our spy: the Bruins are a 16-point choice on the road with an over-under of 48. So those who accept wagers are saying the Bruins are supposed to trim the Tree by a 32-16 final.
While Pete Carroll turned USC into a national power, UCLA’s football program has stuggled. Going into the 2007 season, however, the national college football media has more than noticed the Bruins.
Matt Hayes’s suggestion in the Sporting News that UCLA could be the darkhorse choice for the national championship on August 16 was one indicator.
Then came Adam Kilgore’s long article in the Sunday edition of the Washington Post – the Washington Post! – that focused on former Washington Redskins secondary coach and now Bruin defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, who is given substantial credit for last season’s win over USC.
"With the victory, UCLA stakes its claim in the once one-sided rivalry and, with a national-best 20 starters returning for this season, became a chic preseason selection. The Bruins have had an eye on this season since Karl Dorrell arrived as head coach. The senior class comprises the first group of players Dorrell recruited.
"The expectations are high for a team that went 7-6 a year and was shellacked, 44-27, by Florida State in the Emerald Bowl. But they definitely are there, outside UCLA’s locker room and in it. Some preseason publications picked the Bruins to receive an at-large bid to a BCS bowl. UCLA players expect the same."
And most recently, Pat Forde’s column on the Bruins on Monday on ESPN.com: "Now comes a season in which progress is expected to be measured in miles, not inches. With 20 returning starters and a bunch of winnable road games, the time is now for UCLA to win back a share of Los Angeles and make a push into the national elite."
Whatever the result this season, no one is overlooking the Bruins now. Hayes, in his pre-season Pac-10 Conference projection out Wednesday picked the Bruins second behind USC. That could mean playing in the Rose Bowl . . . in January.
 The 2007 UCLA football team finished its Fall Camp sessions with an evening practice in the second half of the last two-a-day session of the season. "We had a really good camp," said head coach Karl Dorrell, "and now it’s time to get focused on getting ready to play a great game next week."
Asked how this camp compared to his previous four, Dorrell said: "A lot more focus; we got a lot more done. That has to do with our experience.
"We’ve been able to do a lot more early; we’re further ahead that we’ve ever been as a team; that’s a good sign. I think we can be a lot better; we’ll sharpen up and get ourselves freshened up starting now and practicing on Friday and Saturday and all next week and we’ll see what we look like next Saturday."
As for the practice itself, Dorrell explained, "We went through all our substitutions and special teams, all of special plays that happen not very often in games, but you have to rehearse." The Bruins also had their first scout periods, where the offense and defense practiced against what Stanford may look like in the season opener.
Asked about non-scholarship players who could be awarded scholarships, Dorrell noted, "We’re talking about that right now." He believes there are 3-4 scholarships available to give and "We have some walk-ons that are in our depth [chart] and have done a great job and they should be rewarded." He estimated that there are six players who could be eligible for a scholarship award and that decision will likely be made sometime next week.
The players will move out of the UCLA dorms where they have been staying since early August and into the regular housing for the season. There will be no practice at all tomorrow.
During tonight’s practice, the usual cadre of player were sidelined: receiver Osaar Rashaan and fullbacks Michael Pitre and Trevor Theriot. Running backs Chane Moline and Craig Sheppard also did not participate in the practice. Linemen Shannon Tevaga and Brigham Harwell practiced with the first team on offense and defense, respectively.
Backup quarterback Patrick Cowan has a "partial tear" in his left hamstring and will be sidelined for several weeks. He was on crutches on the sidelines tonight.
 Now this is interesting; here’s a news release from Tuesday, August 21:
"The UCLA Athletic Department has announced the hiring of Christina Rivera to the post of Assistant Athletic Director for Academic and Student Services, effective Sept. 24.
"Rivera joins the Bruins after spending the last four years as the Associate Director and Eligibility Coordinator for Student-Athlete Academic Services at USC. She was responsible for managing the full-time academic counselors and was the administrative oversight of the school's Life Skills Program as well as the supervisor of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).
"Prior to her stint at USC, Rivera was the Athletic Academic Counselor for Student-Athlete Services at Ohio State University from August 2002 to 2003. With the Buckeyes, she monitored the academic progress of student-athletes for numerous teams, including football, men's volleyball and softball. During her time in Columbus, she was also a lecturer for the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, as well as for the Athletic Department. Two years prior to her appointment in the OSU Athletic Department, she was an Academic Mentor for the university.
"Rivera earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration at Ohio State in August 2004 and her Master of Science in Education at the University of Pennsylvania in August 1998."
If you are asking yourself why the @#$% UCLA is hiring USC’s eligibility coordinator, the answer was provided in the final two sentences of the release:
"Rivera earned her undergrad at UC Irvine, during the time that UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero was leading the UCI Athletic Department, graduating in March 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Ecology. Rivera was also a four-year letterwinner on the Anteaters' women's soccer team.
"‘We are very excited to add Christina to our staff,’ Senior Associate Athletic Director/SWA Petrina Long said. "This hire makes our student-athlete academic area that much stronger. Since she earned her undergraduate degree at UC Irvine, she is familiar with the academic goals of the UC system.’"
The UC Irvine pipeline into the UCLA Athletic Department now includes Guerrero, Long and baseball coach John Savage, with Rivera to join in a month.
Here’s the good news: UCLA’s men’s water polo team has been recognized as the no. 3 team in the nation in a pre-season poll of the Collegiate Water Polo Association. The bad news is that both of the teams ahead of them – USC and defending NCAA champion California – are from the same conference.
In fact, the entire top ten is made up of California teams and UCLA will never leave the state of California this season. The Bruins begin with an exhibition match at Stanford on September 1 and end with the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament in Berkeley during the last week of November and the NCAA Tournament in Palo Alto during the first week in December.
The men’s water polo squad, which won its eighth NCAA championship in 2004, is the fourth Bruin team to be ranked in the national top five going in the fall. The men’s soccer team is ranked first in the nation, followed by the women’s soccer team (third), men’s water polo (third) and women’s volleyball (fifth).
 UCLA announced that one of the football program’s greatest players has joined his teammates at a higher level yesterday:
"Burr Baldwin, one of just eight UCLA football players to have his jersey number (38) retired, passed away on Monday night in Bakersfield. He was 85.
"Baldwin passed away from cancer, which was diagnosed at Easter. He spent the last 50 years working as an insurance broker, finally retiring in early July.
"He was UCLA’s first consensus All-American, earning honors in 1946, the same year in which he placed seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting. A three-year (1941, 1942 and 1946) letterman, he played in UCLA first two Rose Bowls, following the 1942 and 1946 seasons. As a senior in 1946, he led the Bruins with 18 receptions for 374 yards and three touchdowns.
"He is survived by his two sons, Burr Baldwin Jr. and Michael Baldwin. Funeral services are scheduled for next Tuesday, August 28 at 9:30 am at St. Phillip the Apostle Church in Bakersfield (7100 Stockdale)."
Times beat reporter Chris Foster noted that today’s practice was dotted with players in motion: some back in action, some out of action and some just getting some rest.
Backup quarterback Patrick Cowan will have an MRI today to see how badly his hamstring was injured yesterday, so redshirt freshman McLeod Bethel-Thompson took the snaps today with the second unit.
Fullbacks Michael Pitre and Trevor Theriot were back in pads, however, doing individual drills and offensive guard Shannon Tevaga was practicing with the second unit. Receivers Osaar Rashaan and Joe Cowan did not practice, with Cowan reported to be sore. To shore up the practice need at fullback, senior linebacker Fred Holmes and sophomore safety Christian Ramirez were converted to running back duty.
Defensive end Chinonso Anyanwu is still out with a sprained left ankle and defensive tackle Brigham Harwell wore a red "no-contact" jersey. Defensive end Bruce Davis had the practice off due to soreness.
With a week and a half remaining before the September 1 match-up with Stanford, coach Karl Dorrell is taking no chances on having his first and second teams as healthy as they can be.
With a couple of weeks remaining before the Bruins (or anyone else) takes the field to play an actual game, the analysis keeps coming.
The newest ranking is from College Football News.com, part of the Scout.com network, which is ranking teams based on a three-year resume. The Bruins came in at no. 28, showing a marked improvement from their placing in this review which started in 2003 (42nd). UCLA ranked 42nd again in 2004, slipped to 44th for 2005 and rose to 35th for 2006.
The ranking incorporates elements including average home attendance, Academic Performance Rate as scored by the NCAA, "quality" wins over Division I teams that had a winning record, "total wins" against Division I teams, players drafted by the NFL, the conference winning percentage, "elite" wins against Division I teams with two losses or fewer and "bad losses" against teams that had four wins or less.
CFN’s comment: "UCLA might still play second-fiddle to USC, but the program has done well under Karl Dorrell and appears ready to make a huge leap. The [Academic Performance Rate], for a school as good as UCLA, should probably be better, and there should be more Quality Wins. Basically, the numbers across the board are solid, and they all ad up. The Elite Win came over the Trojans last year, and the Bad Loss came to Arizona in 2005."
UCLA ranked ahead of Arizona State at no. 33 and Oregon State at no. 38, but will likely trail USC, California and Oregon in the top 25. That list comes out on Friday.
The expected minor injuries from Saturday’s scrimmage showed up during Monday’s two-a-day practice sessions at Spaulding Field on the UCLA campus. Not expected was backup quarterback Patrick Cowan’s injured left hamstring, which was hurt near the end of the afternoon practice while running the two-minute drill.
Bruin head coach Karl Dorrell said, "I pulled him out immediately so he doesn’t try to do it again. He wanted to go back in, but we’ll see what he’s like."
On now-no. 2 McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Dorrell said "He’s pretty familiar [with the offense]; has he had many reps, no.
"It’s just like any position; sometimes, you’re a play away from being a player. He’s got to be ready to be the second guy. He’s a good player; smart, very bright, he’s come a long way in a year and you have to be ready for an opportunity when it comes." He also praised his accuracy in passing.
Thompson, working with the third unit, was 5-11 for 46 yards in Saturday’s scrimmage.
On other aspects of Monday’s workouts:
>> Dorrell indicated that Terrence Austin and Alterraun Verner would be UCLA’s primary punt returners, while Matthew Slater, Michael Norris and Khalil Bell would be returning kickoffs.
>> After a review of the tapes of Saturday’s scrimmage, Dorrell was pleased. "When we had a chance to look at the tape and view everything, it was as good as we thought [it was]," he said. "I thought there were good things on both sides. The offense did some good things; there are still a lot of things we have to correct and improve on.
"The defense played well for the most part, so it was a good mid-term grade. That was the whole thing, to see if we got a good mid-term grade and then finish up with a great finish to camp and get ready for Stanford. I was pleased."
>> As far as injuries besides Cowan, Times beat reporter Chris Foster noted that fullback Trevor Theriot did not dress, leaving Dylan Rush as the lone fullback for today. Defensive linemen Chinonso Anyanwu and Brigham Harwell watched the afternoon session from the sidelines; Anyanwu had a walking boot on his left foot and Harwell rested after catching a helmet in his quad this morning.
There was good news on defensive lineman Jerzy Siewierski’s grandfather, Jack Turrentine, who was taken by ambulance from Drake Stadium after Saturday’s scrimmage to the UCLA Medical Center. He is reported to be in stable, but still critical condition, but was talking today and feeling better.
UCLA’s backup quarterback, Patrick Cowan, injured his left hamstring near the end of today’s afternoon practice. He was noticeably limping and Bruin head coach Karl Dorrell expected McLeod Bethel-Thompson to begin taking snaps as the backup.
More to come from today’s two-a-day practices . . .
With the Bruins opening their season at Stanford on September 1, fans wishing to get on the road bandwagon have several options:
>> If you want to go with the official "Fan Travel" group organized by the UCLA Athletic Department, click here.
Packages are available to all five games outside of Los Angeles, including two nights accommodations, game ticket, ground transportation and the requisite parties and souvenirs. Prices range from $359 double occupancy for the Stanford game to $749 for single occupancy for the Arizona contest. Check the Web site and the downloadable brochure for the details.
>> To buy individual game tickets on your own, your best bet is to check the ticket sales sites of each school; most have stadium maps which show where visiting-team fans are seated as a group.
>> UCLA is organizing a pre-game party at each away game called the "Bruin Bash." The UCLA band, spirit squad and the live KLAC AM 570 pre-game radio show with Wayne Cook and Matt Stevens will be part of the program, plus food and drink and the normal mugging for the Fox Sports television cameras. Admission varies depending on age and whether you are an Alumni Association member, from $5 for children up to $30. The Bruin Fan Travel office has more information at (310) 206-2873.
UCLA’s special teams did well on Saturday and should play a positive role for the team:
>> Kicker Kai Forbath made three of six field goals, but one was blocked by Rodney Van. Forbath showed plenty of leg on all five that made it to the uprights and made a 48-yarder.
>> Punting was fine with Aaron Perez and Danny Rees both averaging over 44 yards a kick.
>> Kickoffs were handled by Jimmy Rotstein who reached the goal line twice and had two others land at the 11-yard line.
>> Returns are a double-edged sword: does a good return mean that the coverage teams are weak or are the return teams really good? The return teams won the day on Saturday. The two kickoffs which were taken on the 11 came back 47 and 21 yards courtesy of Matthew Slater and Michael Norris. Slater looked terrific on kick returns in practice and showed an exciting burst of speed through the wedge on the way to his long return.
>> On punts, the coverage teams did well, giving up returns of just one yard to Terrence Austin and four and seven yards to Ryan Graves.
Statistics - kickoffs: Rotstein, 4-64.5 average.
Statistics - punts: Perez, 3-44.0 average; Rees, 1-45.0 average.
Statistics - field goals: Forbath: made from 43, 48 and 32 yards; missed from 29 and 42 yards; one other kick blocked (45-yard try).
Statistics: kickoff returns: Slater, 1-47; Norris, 1-21; Carew, 1-12.
Statistics: punt returns: Austin, 1-1; Graves, 2-11.
The first series of the scrimmage reaffirmed everything you need to know about the Bruin defense.
Against the no. 1 Bruin offense, the defense gave up a five-yard completion on first down, a three-yard run on second down and on third down, sacked Ben Olson for a loss of three. Series over.
In fact, the Bruin defenses held the Bruin offenses to a third-down conversion percentage of 24 with just six conversions in 25 attempts!
More highlights:
>> The defensive line scored seven sacks for a total of 38 yards: three each against Ben Olson and Patrick Cowan and once against Chris Forcier, and the defense as a whole had nine tackles for loss.
>> The Bosworth brothers – Kyle and Korey – came alive during the scrimmage. Korey had four tackles, a sack for a loss of five yards and caught a Craig Sheppard fumble and ran 50 yards for a touchdown. Kyle had three unassisted tackles.
>> The Bruin offense had five fumbles: two by Forcier, one by Cowan, one by Sheppard that was returned for a touchdown and one by receiver Ben Bruneau. The defense recovered four of the five.
Starters: Davis and Dragovic, DE; Brown, Chase Moline and Harwell, DT; R. Carter and Taylor, LB; Verner and T. Brown, CB; Keyes and Horton, S.
Statistics - leading tacklers: Taylor, 7; T. Brown and Hale, 6; Van, 5; Verner, Schmitt and Korey Bosworth, 4; Kyle Bosworth, Ayers, Edwards, Blake, Whittington, Ware and Lockett, 3.
Statistics - sacks: Davis, Hale, Taylor, Ayers, Edwards, Blake and Korey Bosworth all had one sack.
Verner blocked a field goal. Among the defenders, only reserve linebacker Luc Barbosa did not scrimmage.
There’s no denying that UCLA will have one of the nation’s best defenses this coming season, so if the offense could show any signs of life, that would pass as progress. There were enough signs to be optimistic:
>> Ben Olson finished seven of 10 for 61 yards, two-thirds of it coming from a 25-yard completion to Marcus Everett on the second series and a 15-yarder to Gavin Ketchum during a red-zone series.
Olson looked poised and in command, but his lack of mobility and the Bruins’ fierce pass rush resulted in three sacks against for a -12 yards. After sacks during each of the first two series, Olson was tagged only once more in five additional series.
>> Backup Patrick Cowan showed the excellent scrambling ability that marked his 2006 campaign, but was also sacked three times for a loss of 21 yards. He was 5-10 passing for 51 yards, but had a neat 25-yard completion to Dominique Johnson at the sideline that was one of the better plays of the day.
>> Running backs Chris Markey and Khalil Bell ran well, but youngsters Ryen Carew and Craig Sheppard were also impressive with hard running and some nice cuts. Carew scored three times from short yardage (1, 2 and 2 yards) during red-zone series.
>> The receiving corps is of high quality, but watch for Johnson and Osaar Rashaan as potential game-breakers this coming season. Johnson at 6-3 and Rashaan at 6-4 and both at about 210 pounds provide big targets and both are exciting to watch. Opposing defenses will have to think twice about how to cover them if one or both are lined up on the slot.
>> The kicking game appears to be fine, with Kai Forbath kicking well and good punting from both Aaron Perez (3 punts for a 44.0 average) and Danny Rees (kicked once for 45 yards).
Starters: Olson, QB; Markey and Theriot, RB; Joseph, C; Irvin and Sutherland, OG; Abraham and Kia, OT; Paulsen, TE; J. Cowan and Ketchum, WR.
Statistics - rushing: 60 attempts for 118 yards net: Sheppard, 12-46; Bell, 7-40; Carew 17-38, 3 TDs; Markey10-27, 1 TD; Bruneau, 3-1; Forcier, 3-(-5), 1 sack; Olson, 3-(-12), 3 sacks; Cowan, 5-(-17), 3 sacks.
Statistics - passing: 17-34 for 158 yards, no TDs: Olson, 7-10 for 61 yards; Cowan, 5-10 for 51 yards; Bethel-Thompson, 5-11 for 46 yards; Forcier, 0-3 for 0 yards.
Statistics - receiving: 17 catches for 158 yards, no TDs: Rashaan, 3-37; Everett, 2-30; Ketchum, 2-27; Graves, 2-9; D. Johnson, 1-25; Turner, 1-7; Theriot, 1-6; Bruneau, 1-5; Markey, 1-4; Austin, 1-3; J. Cowan, 1-3.
Among those who did not scrimmage were FB Michael Pitre, RB Chane Moline, FB Chad Moline and OG Shannon Tevaga.
A handful of lessons from today’s UCLA scrimmage, attended by about 6,700 at UCLA’s Drake Stadium:
>> (1) Over an hour and a half in 100-plus degree temperatures in Drake Stadium, UCLA’s first, second and third-team offenses ran 94 plays against the first, second and third-team defenses. Between the three of them, a paltry 276 yards was gained.
>> (2) In the seven series that Ben Olson and the first-team offense was on the field, primarily against the first-team defense, the offense ran 33 plays and gained 111 yards (3.36 average), moving the ball a maximum of 27 yards. The defense gave up two field goals and a touchdown on a red-zone series that started at the 20. The Olson-led offense was 2-8 on third-down conversions.
>> (3) Both Chris Markey and Khalil Bell ran hard, but not for many yards. Markey had 10 carries and 27 yards and Bell had seven carries for 40 yards.
>> (4) It make take a while, but Osaar Rashaan is going to be special at wide receiver. UCLA quarterbacks threw to him eight times and he caught three for 37 yards, but missed a touchdown catch on a wide-open play over the middle near the end of the scrimmage.
>> (5) Kai Forbath looks to be OK as a placekicker, making field goals from 43,48 and 32 yards before missing from 29 (wide left) and 42 yards (also wide) and then having a 45-yard try blocked.
More to come on Saturday’s scrimmage . . .
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