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UCLA’s 40-14 win over Oregon State on Saturday moved the Bruins into the USA Today (coaches) top 25 once again at No. 25.
The Bruins also received votes in the Associated Press poll, but had only the 30th-highest total.
The Pac-10 now has five teams in the top 25 in at least one poll with USC and Cal in the top five and Oregon and Arizona State also ranked.
The only form of collegiate track that has any meaning for spectators is the dual or triangular meet with team scoring. After skipping scoring in meets other than the one-on-one dual with USC for four years, UCLA’s men’s team will participate in a scoring meet with Oregon in Eugene on April 19, 2008.
UCLA hasn’t met another school in a dual or triangular scoring competition since 2004, when both the men’s and women’s teams were 4-0 in duals, defeating Cal Poly SLO, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Los Angeles on March 6 and USC on May 1.
The Bruin men lead the all-time series with Oregon at 5-4. UCLA won the first four meets in 1973-75-76-77 and then lost four in a row in 1978-79-83-84 before winning in a rout in 1985, 100-63. The meet will be the first event at the refurbished Hayward Field, which will be the site of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials.
UCLA Coach Art Venegas has a 23-4 dual meet record in his eight seasons as Bruin men’s head coach, with an 18-2 record at Drake Stadium and a 5-2 record in road meets. Both losses were against USC.
The Bruin football team overcame a bad start for a big win in Corvallis, but most of the other UCLA teams had mixed results or a rough week:
Cross Country:
>> Last week: The Bruin men finished a creditable fifth against some of the best teams in the country in the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Ore. All-American Austin Ramos was the top Bruin finisher in fifth and the Bruins had four finishers in the top 40. The Bruin women didn’t do as well, finishing 11th out of 15 teams, led by freshman Shannon Murakami in 44th.
>> This week: The level of competition will be quite a bit lower this week at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational Saturday morning.
Football:
>> Last week: After trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, the Bruin footballers (4-1) clawed back to 14-12 after three quarters and then exploded in the fourth quarter for a 40-14 win at Oregon State (2-3). The Beavers helped with five turnovers, including two fourth-quarter fumbles on consecutive UCLA kickoffs that turned into touchdowns.
>> This week: The Bruins will face winless Notre Dame (0-5), which lost at Purdue, 33-19, on Saturday. The Irish showed some signs of life in the second half, however, outscoring the Boilermakers 19-10 after trailing 23-0 at half.
>> Of note: While the UCLA-Notre Dame game will be shown "nationally" on ABC, it’s likely that only Southern California and some of Indiana will get the game. Almost all of the country will see undefeateds Ohio State and Purdue (both 5-0) play at West Lafayette, Ind.
Men’s Basketball:
>> Last week: Senior center Lorenzo Mata-Real suffered a right foot sprain during a pickup game and is wearing a boot. He’ll be out for a few days, but should be ready for the start of practice on Oct. 12.
>> This week: Add the Sporting News to those who think UCLA will be the No. 1 team in the nation in its college basketball preview due out soon.
>> Of note: Watch for the announcement Wednesday of a "Holiday Pack" ticket offer for four games in November and December when student attendance is low. The tickets are in the upper level along the sidelines and are priced at $92 for the four games.
Men’s Soccer:
>> Last week: Maddeningly inconsistent UCLA, a consensus No. 1 pick to start the season, fell to 3-4-1 with its first-ever loss to Cal State Northridge, 3-0, on Saturday in Northridge. The Bruins managed only four shots, and the Matadors (4-2-1) scored three times in 10 minutes in the second half.
>> This week: UCLA will try to win the championship of San Diego this week with games against the University of San Diego on Tuesday at Drake Stadium (7 p.m.) and at San Diego State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Men’s Tennis:
>> Last week: Former Bruin All-American Kris Kwinta was named as assistant coach to Billy Martin, replacing Jason Sher, who left to become the head coach at Loyola Marymount.
>> This week: The season starts with the seven-day All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
Men’s Water Polo:
>> Last week: The third-ranked Bruins opened their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation season with a loss to No. 4 Stanford, 7-6, after leading 5-4 at halftime. UCLA is now 8-2 on the season; the Cardinal is 5-2.
>> This week: UCLA plays two matches today in Santa Cruz, against Santa Clara and UC Santa Cruz, and will travel to Irvine for a match with a very good Anteater squad Friday night.
Women’s Golf:
>> Last week: The No. 1-ranked Bruins played pretty well but finished third in the All-American Invitational in Albuquerque, behind Duke and USC.
>> The Bruins are off until Oct. 19 and the Stanford/Pepsi Invitational in Palo Alto.
Women’s Soccer:
>> Last week: The Bruins (5-1-2) were ranked eighth in the nation going into Friday night’s match against second-ranked Portland (7-2) at Drake Stadium, but UCLA extended its home unbeaten streak to 31 games with a 2-1 win in overtime. Both goals were scored by returning star Kara Lang, who just finished her stint with the Canadian team at the Women’s World Cup in China.
>> This week: The Bruins will play San Diego State in San Diego on Friday night, then return to campus for a Sunday match with No. 1-ranked Santa Clara at Drake Stadium at 1 p.m.
Women’s Swimming:
>> This week: The season starts with a dual meet against Idaho on Friday afternoon in the Men’s Gym Pool at UCLA.
Women’s Volleyball:
>> Last week: The fifth-ranked Bruin women overcame a two sets-to-none start to No. 10 California on Thursday night to win a five-set thriller, 28-30, 24-30, 30-28, 31-29, 15-9. UCLA wasn’t as lucky on Friday night, getting swept aside by No. 2 Stanford at Maples Pavilion, 30-20, 30-23, 31-29. The Bruins are now 13-2 on the season; the Cardinal is 14-0.
>> This week: A key battle in the Lexus Gauntlet is on tap with the Bruins facing No. 4 USC at Pauley Pavilion on Friday night at 7 p.m.
A win is a win and a 40-14 victory makes UCLA 4-1 overall, 3-0 in the Pac-10 and even 2-1 on the road with a match-up with winless Notre Dame next week at the Rose Bowl. There were some highlights:
>> No. 1 on the hot list is the defense: In the last three quarters of the game, Oregon State had a total of 96 yards on offense and wasn’t really close to scoring in the last 45 minutes. The Beavers didn't get further than their own 46 in the second half.
>> In the fourth quarter, the Bruins out-gained the Beavers, 134-28, outscored them by a ridiculous 28-0 and were the beneficiary of two kickoff return fumbles by Gerard Lawson and a blocked punt for 21 of those points.
>> The Bruins ran 43 plays in the second half to 27 before the game degenerated into garbage time after the score was 40-14. Oregon State came into the game giving up 29.5 yards a contest, but UCLA managed 128, more than OSU had given up in total in its first four games. That’s what happens when a defense is on the field too long.
>> Oregon State collapsed when UCLA took the lead on the middle screen from Ben Olson to Brandon Breazell for a 69-yard touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter. That single play was longer than any UCLA drive in the game.
>> Team statistics: UCLA had 349 total yards (128 rushing, 221 passing) to 243 for Oregon State (97 rushing, 146 passing). The Bruins had three turnovers that led to seven OSU points, but the Beavers suffered five that led to 20 Bruin points. A blocked Alexis Serna punt led to another touchdown.
>> Individual leaders: Rushing — UCLA: Khalil Bell, 24-77 and 2 TDs; Chris Markey, 16-58, 1 TD; Oregon State: Yvenson Bernard, 24-122, 1 TD. Passing — UCLA: Ben Olson, 16-28 for 221, 1 TD and 2 INTs; Oregon State: Sean Canfield, 23-35 for 146, 0 TD and 2 INTs. Receiving — UCLA: Joe Cowan, 4-46; Bell, 4-40 and Brandon Breazell, 2-99 for 2 TDs; Oregon State: Anthony Brown, 7-33; Brandon Powers, 5-24.
It was a win and that’s good. But Bruin Coach Karl Dorrell told Fox Sports Net’s Jim Watson that the Bruins will play better and will have to in the future. When?
In the last five series, UCLA has run 23 plays to Oregon State’s six, but the Bruins have six penalties and an interception that has kept them from taking the lead.
On the fourth series of the fourth quarter, the Bruins got a break using the one offensive play that has worked — the middle screen — for a 69-yard touchdown to Brandon Breazell, and then Oregon State committed its fourth turnover of the day to give the Bruins another touchdown.
How weird is this?
Now the Bruins get enough turnovers to make them stockholders in Jack in the Box restaurants! Two turnovers and a blocked punt turned into 21 Bruin points and the game looks like a rout.
Ben Olson finished the game at 16-28 for 221 yards and two touchdowns, and Khalil Bell and Chris Markey combined for 40 carries for 135 yards at tailback.
Final score: UCLA 40, Oregon State 14
After taking a 19-0 lead in Tempe last week, Oregon State turned the ball over six times (five interceptions, one fumble) and helped Arizona State to a 44-32 win. Today, the Bruins gave away seven points to start the game, but have now scored 12 in a row thanks to OSU turnovers and bad punting.
>> Yards in the quarter: UCLA 86, Oregon State 43.
End of the quarter: Oregon State 14, UCLA 12
FSN’s Petros Papadakis has a keen grasp of the obvious on the UCLA offense: "They’re not playing with the same energy" as with Patrick Cowan last week against Washington.
>> Nice pick by Trey Brown as OSU quarterback Sean Canfield continues to turn the ball over, this time thanks to the tip of the pass by Yvenson Bernard. The Bruin defense is almost heroic in how it has kept UCLA in the game. But you can’t win if you can’t score.
>> Bruin drives in the first half thus far have consumed 1-1-3-3-3-3 plays before the current drive. The Bruins’ initial first down of the game came with 8:35 to play in the second quarter. But a nine-play drive for 40 yards and a Kai Forbath field goal at least gives the defense a much-needed rest.
>> Now the defense is getting its rest as the Bruins run 20 plays in two series to three for the Beavers, and gets six points. Good field position didn’t hurt either: The Bruins started their last two drives at the Bruin 40 and midfield.
>> Yards in the half: 172 for the Beavers and 109 for the Bruins, but that’s 91 to 30 in the second quarter for UCLA, 78 in the last two drives. Olson is 9-14 for 85 yards while Sean Canfield is 17-21 for 105 yards, but with two interceptions. Khalil Bell is 12-33 rushing while Yvenson Bernard is 15-69.
End of the half: Oregon State 14, UCLA 6
A fumble on the first two carries by Khalil Bell, the second fumble returned for a touchdown by Al Afalava and a dropped softball pass by Trevor Theriot on the third series: Can anyone in a white shirt play this game? Fox Sports Net had a good stat: UCLA turnovers cost the Bruins just 34 points all of last year. The total is 52 so far in five games this season.
>> Oregon State entered the game with a 40-3 advantage in the first quarter; it’s now 47-3 and the Bruins are very lucky it isn’t much more. At least OSU’s usually dependable Alexis Serna missed a 45-yard field goal.
>> Now it’s 54-3 in OSU’s first quarters this season after a 61-yard, 11-play drive. The Bruin defense is being overpowered, thanks in part to an offense that has done nothing. Yvenson Bernard has 62 yards by himself.
>> Yards in the quarter: Oregon State 142, UCLA 14 on 26 plays for OSU to nine for the Bruins.
End of the quarter: Oregon State 14, UCLA 0
 UCLA will offer a limited number of "Holiday Pack" programs for November-December nonconference games that traditionally do not have strong student attendance.
The $92 four-game package includes games against:
>> Yale: Friday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. (which will not be televised);
>> Idaho State: Saturday, Dec. 15, at 5 p.m.;
>> Western Illinois: Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 7:30 p.m. (also not televised);
>> UC Davis: Saturday, Dec. 29, at 4:30 p.m.
All of the seats are on the upper level, but are reported to be on the sideline rather than at the end of the court.
Public sale is slated to begin Oct. 3, but subscribers to the "Bruin Locker Room" program will have first shot at this program Oct. 2.
Pauley Pavilion photo courtesy of UCLA
UCLA Assistant Sports Information Director Alex Timiraos noted that several recent Bruin players are having a major effect in the down-to-the-wire playoff races in the National League:
>> Arizona is holding on for dear life in the National League West, in part thanks to Eric Byrnes, who played at UCLA from 1995-98. Byrnes bats lead-off much of the time for the Diamondbacks, but has 21 home runs and 83 runs batted in to go along with a solid .288 average.
>> Colorado third baseman Garrett Atkins, who played at UCLA from 1998-2000, has been a big part of the Rockies’ surge toward the postseason during the team’s current 11-game win streak. For the season, Atkins is hitting .294 with 25 homers and 107 RBIs, but has been on a tear in the last month, batting .379. The Rockies and Diamondbacks play three games in Denver this weekend that will decide the fate of both teams.
>> In Philadelphia, Chase Utley (also 1998-2000) is proving to be one of the most valuable players in the league as the Phillies’ rise to a tie for the lead in the National League East has come with his return from injury. In just 129 games, he’s batting .331 with 22 home runs and 101 RBIs, and a sensational .411 on-base percentage.
In the American League, ex-Bruin Ben Francisco (2000-01) has enjoyed a modest rookie season with the Central Division-winning Indians, hitting .271 with three home runs and 11 RBIs since being called up May 1.
Thanks, Alex.
 It’s probably not right to compare a college football team to a pastry, but the key to Saturday's Oregon State-UCLA tilt is turnovers.
The 2-2 Beavers beat Utah at home, 24-7, to open the season, committing two turnovers to none for the Utes. Then they went to Cincinnati, committed seven turnovers (to two) and were walloped, 34-3. Back at home against Idaho State, OSU had just one turnover and forced four during a 61-10 rout. Then last week in Tempe, a 19-0 lead against Arizona State vaporized thanks to six turnovers (against two) in a 44-32 loss. OSU is a Pac-10 worst -8 in turnover margin and averages four turnovers a game!
UCLA has committed eight turnovers this season and forced seven, but five of its eight giveaways were in one game at Utah. In the Karl Dorrell era, when UCLA wins the turnover battle, the Bruins are 20-2, but just 12-20 when tied or losing on turnovers.
So what can we expect?
>> Neither side will be able to run the ball. Oregon State gives up only 29.5 yards a game and the Bruins only 85.5.
>> Both defenses are porous against the pass: Oregon State gives up 259.5 yards a game and a 59.6 completion percentage while the Bruins give up more yards, 304.2, but a much lower completion rate at 51.1. That’s good for the Bruins, since OSU quarterback Sean Canfield is completing 58.6% of his passes, but for only 223.8 yards a game and has nine interceptions. UCLA’s Ben Olson (pictured) has four interceptions in three games, three of which were against Utah.
>> Look for both defenses to apply lots of pressure: Oregon State leads the conference with 14 sacks and UCLA is tied for second at 13.
>> Oregon State will try to step on UCLA’s throat immediately. The Beavers have outscored their opposition 40-3 in the first quarter! Over the next three quarters in their four games so far, the Beavers have been outscored by 12 points. UCLA has a 23-7 edge in first-quarter scoring against its first four opponents, then loses the last three quarters by a combined three points.
>> One area that might make a difference is punting. UCLA’s Aaron Perez is averaging a league-leading 44.3 yards a kick compared with Alexis Serna’s 34.5 yards. That could help the Bruins in field position.
No one wants to win this game worse than Oregon State’s Mike Riley. He’s 0-8 against UCLA, with four losses as an assistant coach at USC and four more as Oregon State head coach. The Bruins have won four in a row against Oregon State, but haven’t played in Corvallis since 2002, the last year of the Bob Toledo era.
The other things you need to know:
>> Weather could be an issue with a high of 66 degrees projected and a possibility of afternoon showers.
>> The latest line shows the Beavers favored by two with an over-under of 54, so the experts project a final score of 28-26. CollegeFootballNews.com sees the game this way: "In a defensive struggle by Pac-10 standards, Oregon State will pull out a poorly-played nail-biter on a late field goal from Alexis Serna." Their prediction is Oregon State 24, UCLA 23.
>> The game will kick off at 3:41 p.m. and be televised in Los Angeles on FSN West with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Jim Watson on the call. On the radio, the game will be available on KLAC-AM 570 with Chris Roberts, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook at the microphones.
I will be providing in-game commentary on this site on a more-or-less continuous basis as we have for the road games at Stanford and Oregon, plus a quick post-game analysis and statistics.
Ben Olson photo courtesy of UCLA
We hear from an unimpeachable source that Sporting News will join Athlon and Lindy’s in declaring UCLA the nation’s No. 1 college basketball team when its preview issue hits the stands in the coming days. So far, the Bruins are 3-for-3, with basketball practice scheduled to start Oct. 12.
 With the start of classes today, UCLA’s sports teams enter a new phase of the season in which they actually become students and athletes. The women’s volleyball team and both soccer teams have stiff tests this week to see if they are truly national contenders or just good squads.
Cross Country:
>> Both the men’s and women’s teams will be in Eugene, Ore., for the second annual Bill Dellinger Invitational. The men are ranked 22nd nationally, but will face tough sledding against top-ranked Wisconsin and third-ranked Oregon, among others. The women’s squad is still without No. 1 runner Allie Bohannon and will be running against a strong field that includes No. 4 Arkansas.
Football:
>> The 3-1 Bruins are on the road at 2-2 Oregon State in a 3:30 p.m. game that will be shown on Fox Sports West in Los Angeles. Ben Olson will be back to quarterback the Bruins, who are also getting healthier on defense as end Nikola Dragovic and linebacker Aaron Whittington return. The game started as pick-it, but Oregon State is now favored by 1 1/2-2 points.
Men’s Soccer:
>> UCLA is 4-2-1 and ranked between 10th and 18th in the nation depending on the poll. The Bruins have played five of their first seven matches on the road and continue the trend with a match at Cal State Northridge (3-2-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday. A live audiocast of the match can be heard on CSUN’s athletics site, www.gomatadors.com.
>> UCLA will benefit from the return of its leading scorer from last season, David Estrada (pictured), who has been recovering from foot surgery on August 20. He scored 11 goals in 2006 and was named a preseason All-American.
>> The Bruin soccer program is mourning the loss of Jonathan Moore, 60, who played for outstanding UCLA teams in 1968 and 1969 that had a combined record of 26-3-1. A fixture at Bruin soccer matches to the end, he was a teacher in the Santa Monica school system for 35 years and actively involved in community work.
Men’s Water Polo:
>> The 8-1 Bruins are ranked third in the nation and have a serious challenge this week against No. 4 Stanford at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Palo Alto. The Bruins beat Stanford, 13-9, in the third-place match at the NorCal Invitational two week ago, after losing to No. 2 California in the semifinals. UCLA will play a doubleheader Sunday against lesser-regarded Santa Clara and UC Santa Cruz.
Women’s Golf:
>> The No. 1-ranked UCLA golf squad finished third at the Fall Preview event in Albuquerque this week behind Duke and USC with Arizona State fourth. Those four teams have been identified as the best in the nation and probably will trade places in tournaments right through the long season that will end on the same Albuquerque course in late May.
>> The Bruins had two top-10 finishers in Albuquerque: All-American Tiffany Joh tied for sixth (-6) and freshman Maria Jose Uribe tied for eighth (-4), the latter with a four-under 69 on the final round that included seven birdies.
Women’s Soccer:
>> UCLA (4-2-1) was ranked No. 1 in the nation in some polls to start the season, but is currently eighth or ninth and faces No. 2 Portland (7-1) at Drake Stadium on Friday, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students with identification and children. UCLA students with a valid Bruin Card can attend for free. Live audio of the game can be heard on uclabruins.com.
>> The Bruins got more help this week with the return of Kara Lang, who had been in China as a member of the Canadian national team playing in the Women’s World Cup. She redshirted last season, but led the Bruins in scoring with 40 points in the 2005 season, including 17 goals.
>> Sophomore Lauren Cheney, who scored five goals last week in UCLA’s draw with Pepperdine and win over Hawaii, was named Soccer America’s National Player of the Week. She also won weekly honors from the Pac-10 and was named to the Soccer Buzz Team of the Week.
Women’s Volleyball:
>> The 10-1 Bruins are ranked fifth in the nation and are on the road for crucial tests at No. 10 California (10-2) tonight at 7 and tomorrow night at No. 2 Stanford (12-0). UCLA’s only loss was on the road at No. 1 Nebraska, so a test of how ready UCLA is to be a contender for national honors comes with this weekend’s matches. The match with Stanford will be shown on a tape-delayed basis by CSTV at 5 p.m. Sunday.
David Estrada photo courtesy of UCLA
UCLA is celebrating its status as the first school to achieve 100 NCAA team championships with a change of the color on the letter "C" in many of its team uniforms this season.
One example: check out the contrasting-color "C" on All-American setter Nellie Spicer’s jersey below:
MBA candidate Erkki Corpuz, also a talented artist, wasn’t so impressed with the dropped-C version of the logo used in the Rose Bowl end zone, so he suggests the following style for the UCLA men’s basketball uniforms:
The final style of the men’s basketball jerseys has apparently not been set yet, so we welcome your suggestions and are assured that members of the basketball staff check out this blog.
Nellie Spicer photo courtesy of UCLA; UCLA jersey photo courtesy Erkki Corpuz.
 UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell was pleased with Wednesday’s spirited and intense practice, which included almost an hour of work accompanied by very loud crowd noise.
"I thought the offense looked sharp," he said. "I thought Ben [Olson] looked sharp, he operated pretty well with all of our game-planning things. I like what we’re doing right now."
Dorrell noted the return of several players and some movement in the depth chart:
>> On offense, Aleksey Lanis will start instead of Micah Kia at left tackle and fullback Michael Pitre will travel. "Pitre has a chance of playing this week," Dorrell said. "He’s had two or three days with no setbacks. He does have a chance to help as a reserve."
>> On defense, Dorrell was happy to have both defensive end Nikola Dragovic and linebacker Aaron Whittington back from concussions. Freshman defensive tackle Brian Price will make the trip and is improving daily as he soaks up the defensive scheme.
Dorrell also noted that the Bruins will be facing a considerable challenge in the Oregon State defense: "They’re good. They’re good everywhere. They’ve had their health and that’s really a big part of the equation. The linebackers and defensive line have been playing lights out because their health is good and they’re a solid group that has returning starters."
A comic moment during the post-practice interview came when the annual pre-school, all-athlete meeting on Spaulding Field (complete with catering from two Carl’s Jr. mobile units) began with the announcement "I’m sorry that football practice ran late. Thanks for your patience." Dorrell responded to the assembled reporters, laughing, "We’re trying to win a game. I’m sorry I disappointed 700 athletes; we’re trying to win a game!"
Karl Dorrell photo courtesy UCLA
UCLA senior center Lorenzo Mata-Real attended tonight’s all-athletes get-together at Spaulding Field on crutches, with a large black boot on his right foot.
He apparently injured the foot – considered a minor sprain – during a pick-up game last night and it’s not considered serious. The boot will keep the foot immobile and hasten his recovery.
Basketball practice will start on Friday, October 12.
 With the about-to-be-sold-out Notre Dame and Cal games next on the UCLA home schedule, reader Jeff C. noted that "people may also buy vouchers for game tickets at Costco. They come in pairs, and you need to take your vouchers to the UCLA Central Ticket Office to claim tickets. The tickets [are] for seats mostly in the corners of the bowl and in one section behind the goalpost. Another caveat is that the vouchers are for a number of upcoming games, and it is not guaranteed that you will get tickets for the Cal or Notre Dame game.
"That being said, I just claimed tickets for the Cal game, and if people get desperate it's another option."
We asked UCLA’s Director of Marketing Scott Mitchell about the program and here are the details:
>> A total of 25 Southern California Costco stores are participating in the program. Each store has aisle displays promoting UCLA football and the vouchers.
>> "Customers can purchase vouchers that are redeemed for two tickets to any home game, other than Notre Dame," wrote Mitchell in an e-mail message. "As part of the package, customers receive a $5 coupon off of merchandise that can be used for Bearwear purchase at the game or at the campus store (minimum purchase of $25) and a free three-month subscription to Bruin Blue Magazine.
"The package costs $54 and is worth $85 on a stand-alone basis." A nice deal.
>> Mitchell said that to obtain the actual game tickets, the vouchers may be redeemed (1) in advance of game day at the UCLA Ticket Office (open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) or (2) at the Rose Bowl on the day of a game. However, vouchers are redeemed on a first-come, first-serve basis and are subject to availability. Mitchell wrote, "Obviously, when the game becomes a sellout and there are no more tickets to distribute, customers need to choose another game."
Mitchell noted that "without an NFL team in market and USC not involved, it is the only true football [ticket] offer in Southern California."
The California game on Oct. 20 is close to a sellout, but tickets are available for the Arizona State and Oregon games in November. First come, first served.
Rose Bowl photo courtesy of UCLA.
UCLA announced its final (more or less) schedule for the men’s basketball team that will start with an exhibition game against Azusa Pacific on Nov. 2.
Of UCLA’s scheduled 31 games, 24 are slated to be televised over five different networks or stations: 16 games on various parts of Fox Sports Net, at least three and up to five games on various ESPN networks, one game on ABC and three on CBS, plus the Wooden Classic televised locally by KCAL 9.
That’s 24 games, and either or both of UCLA’s games at home against Stanford and California on March 6 and 8 could be added as "wild card" selections for television. In addition, UCLA could qualify for the CBE Classic semifinals and finals in Kansas City on Nov. 19 and 20 and those games will be televised by some form of ESPN.
Of the seven games not currently scheduled for television, two are exhibitions at Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 2 (Azusa Pacific) and 5 (Chico State). The others are the opener against Portland State in Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 9, Yale at Pauley on Nov. 23, Western Illinois at Pauley on Dec. 18, and the afore-mentioned Stanford and Cal games at Pauley on March 6 and 8.
All of UCLA’s games will be broadcast on the radio with KLAC AM 570 anchoring the Bruin Radio Network.
UCLA’s release on the schedule and game times is available here.
A busy week for the Bruins is already underway for the No. 1-ranked women's golf team, but last week's efforts brought some nice honors to Bruin athletes:
Cross Country:
>> The UCLA men’s and women’s teams will face some stiff competition this week in Eugene, Ore. at the second Bill Dellinger Invitational on Saturday. The UCLA men moved up to 21st in the national coaches’ rankings this week, but will be in a field that includes seven other ranked teams, including No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 6 UTEP and No. 11 Portland, among others. UCLA’s unranked women’s team will face three ranked teams among the 15 entered: No. 4 Arkansas, No. 15 Georgia, No. 17 Washington and No. 24 Oregon.
Football:
>> Matthew Slater was named as the U.S. Bank Pacific-10 Conference Special Teams "Player of the Week." Slater had a key 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help salt away a 44-31 win for the Bruins over Washington last week. It’s the third time in four weeks that a UCLA player has won weekly honors from the conference; quarterback Ben Olson did it in week one and punter Aaron Perez was named in week two.
Golf:
>> The men’s team was ranked second in the nation by GolfWeek and fifth in the GolfWorld coaches’ preseason poll. The Bruins return eight letter winners from the 2006 team that finished seventh in the nation. The season begins Oct. 21 with the Big Ten-Pac-10 Challenge hosted by Northwestern.
>> The No. 1-ranked women’s team is playing in the NCAA Fall Preview tournament in Albuquerque, N. M. that features the top 12 teams from last year’s NCAA Championships. The Bruins trailed by four strokes after one round of the three-round tournament.
Soccer:
>> Two members of the men’s team -– senior defenders Mike Zaher and Greg Folk -– were among 20 senior athletes nominated for the Lowe’s 2007 Senior CLASS Award. They’re co-captains this season, and were both Pac-10 All-Academic Honorable Mention selections in 2005 and 2006. The award is given in eight sports and recognizes a senior athlete who has excelled both on and off the field of play. Zaher was a preseason All-American pick while Folk captained the U.S. Pan American Games team this past summer.
>> The UCLA men’s team dropped in the national rankings this week to No. 10, 15, 17 or 18, depending on which poll you prefer. However, the Bruins get their leading scorer from 2006, sophomore David Estrada, back this week. He has been healing after foot surgery on Aug. 20.
Men’s Water Polo:
>> Scott Davidson’s five goals against sixth-ranked UC Irvine in a 12-11 Bruin win earned him Mikasa Mountain Pacific Sports Federation "Play of the Week" honors. The Bruins are now 8-1 and will face No. 4-ranked Stanford on Saturday along with a Sunday doubleheader at Santa Cruz. Davidson leads UCLA in scoring with 15 goals on the season.
Women’s Volleyball:
>> UCLA (12-1) remained fifth in the national rankings this week after beating Arizona and Arizona State at home last week, but travel to face No. 10 Cal on Thursday and No. 2 Stanford on Friday.
UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell talked about coaching "harder" last week, the definition of which was provided by defensive end Bruce Davis in a post-game interview with Kevin Pearson of the Riverside Press-Enterprise:
"He stayed in our face all week and he didn’t let up. That’s what a head coach is supposed to do and he did a great job of it.
"I didn’t like it so much when it was happening, but I appreciate it now. He did a great job of motivating us and keeping our heads on straight and keeping us focused."
The rest of Pearson’s Sunday story is here.
Here's the official word on injured Bruin quarterback Patrick Cowan (redshirt junior) and receiver Gavin Ketchum (true junior) from UCLA Sports Information:
"Patrick Cowan has a PARTIAL tear of the MCL in his right knee. He will be out approximately three weeks.
"X-rays on Gavin Ketchum's sprained right ankle were negative."
If the diagnosis is correct, Cowan would be available for the game against California on October 20.
 UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was quite pleased with his team’s 44-31 win over Washington and you could see it in his relaxed demeanor at Monday’s news conference.
"I am pleased with how the efforts of this team are starting to come together," he said. Terming the Washington game a "very positive response to how things have been in the past," he also noted that the Bruins face a considerable challenge on the road at Oregon State this week and from injuries:
>> "Week after week in the Pac-10 is always a huge challenge," Dorrell noted. "Going up to Corvallis; we haven’t been there in quite a while and it’s going to be a great challenge for our team."
Dorrell pointed out the Beavers’ obvious strengths on offense, including running back Yvenson Bernard and receiver Sammie Stroughter. And, "Defensively, wow. They’re pretty impressive. Right now, playing as good a defense as there is in this conference. It’s really tough to run the football against them; they have an experienced secondary and linebackers that are back. Their defense line is very, very good.
"It’s a dangerous football team. We need to play a clean football game, particularly on the road. You’re not going to get any calls. You’re going to have to play and execute and do the things that you need to do to have success."
>> On injuries, there’s mixed news as expected. On the positive side, quarterback Ben Olson, defensive end Nikola Dragovic and linebacker Aaron Whittington have all been cleared to practice once again.
Quarterback Patrick Cowan is definitely out for this week and perhaps longer, as is receiver Gavin Ketchum. Recovering Bruins who were termed "doubtful" for Oregon State include offensive guard Shannon Tevaga, fullback Michael Pitre, receiver Marcus Everett and defensive tackle Brigham Harwell. All were said to be "progressing" toward a return.
Receiver Brandon Breazell is undergoing more dental surgery today.
>> On the offense, Dorrell addressed the running back situation by saying "Khalil [Bell] is our starter. Chris [Markey] did well, too. We’re going to keep fighting back and forth over who is going to be the starter; both are going to have opportunities to help our offense. I was really impressed with how Chris responded, given what happened a week ago. I think he took the burden off his shoulders and decided to just run with his instincts and that just let everything go for him. So he had a tremendous game; he was our player of the game for our team."
On Olson, Dorrell said his junior quarterback was excited to be back playing again and has a good attitude about improving his game. "I know he’s disgusted with himself [for] how he played in the Utah game," Dorrell added. "He knows what he needs to do."
Dorrell also added praise for the improved play of the offensive line in the second half: "We had a lot of penalties in the game, with the offense having five or six in the first half and didn’t have many in the second half, which is good. Those things were addressed at halftime and we cleaned ‘em up."
One player that Dorrell is looking to do more is receiver Osaar Rashaan, who will play more against Oregon State with Everett and Ketchum both out.
>> On defense, Dorrell said he was "very impressed with how Kyle Bosworth has been playing, how Korey Bosworth has been playing at defensive end" and added praise for Josh Edwards at linebacker. "Those guys have come in and done a really nice job."
Saturday’s game will be the first for the Bruins in Corvallis since 2002, when a Bob Toledo-coached team won a 43-35 shootout. Dorrell said the last time he was in Corvallis was in 1999 when he was the offensive coordinator for Washington. "We won the game so that’s all I can say about that."
 "A few thousand" tickets for the UCLA-Notre Dame game on Oct. 6 at the Rose Bowl -– the first appearance of the Irish in the stadium since the 1925 Rose Bowl Game -– are now available. There’s a limit of two per customer (available through uclabruins.com) and the tickets are $75 each. The game will kick off at 5 p.m. and will be televised by ABC.
The game against California on Oct. 20 is close to a sellout; if you want to see the Bruins and Bears, you’d be advised to buy now. The start time for the game has not been announced and a decision on that and the television outlet must be revealed no later than Oct. 8.
 The fall quarter starts Monday and classes begin Thursday, so the campus will be as busy as the UCLA athletic teams during back-to-school week:
Football:
>> Last week: UCLA (3-1, 2-0 conference) used a strong running attack to defeat Washington, 44-31, at the Rose Bowl. Chris Markey and Khalil Bell each rushed for more than 100 yards and defensive end Bruce Davis was in on two sacks on elusive Husky quarterback Jake Locker. Quarterback Patrick Cowan played well, but suffered a right knee sprain and his status — as well as that of injured starter Ben Olson — is unknown.
>> This week: The Bruins are on the road this week to take on Oregon State (2-2, 0-1) in Corvallis. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.
>> Of note: UCLA has now sold more than 48,000 season tickets, the most in its history, surpassing last season’s total of 44,777.
Men’s cross country:
>> Last week: UCLA, ranked 22nd in the country, ran an all-freshman squad at the Pepperdine Invitational, but it was good enough to win, scoring just 39 points to 56 for second-place Cal State Fullerton. Evan Watchempino was UCLA’s top finisher, in second place.
>> This week: The real running starts now with a trip to Eugene, Ore., for the Bill Dellinger Invitational.
Men’s soccer:
>> Last week: The Bruins were ranked as high as fifth in the nation in one poll, but had a mixed week, beating No. 12 San Francisco on the road, 1-0, on Thursday, but then losing to No. 8 Santa Clara, 2-1, in overtime Saturday. In Santa Clara, UCLA (3-3-1) led 1-0 in the second half, but had to play a man down for the last 23 minutes of regulation time because of a red card against forward Richard Flores. The Broncos scored in the 86th minute to tie the game and then in the first minute of overtime to win.
>> This week: UCLA has just one match this week, on the road at Cal State Northridge at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Men’s water polo:
>> Last week: The No. 3-ranked Bruins (8-1) won a thrilling 12-11 three-overtime game Saturday with No. 6 UC Irvine at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center. Sophomore Scott Davidson was the scoring star, tallying five goals, and senior Justin Johnson scored the game-winner with 1:29 to play in the third overtime session.
>> This week: Things don’t get any easier, with a trip to the Bay Area on tap and a showdown with No. 2 Stanford set for Saturday. On Sunday, UCLA will have a doubleheader with Santa Clara and UC Santa Cruz at Santa Cruz.
Women’s cross country:
>> Last week: The Bruins ran a second-line squad at the Pepperdine Invitational on Saturday and finished eighth. The top UCLA finisher was freshman Shannon Murakami, who placed 11th.
>> This week: UCLA will participate against stiff competition in the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Ore.
Women’s soccer:
>> Last week: The Bruins are 4-1-2 and ranked sixth in the nation, but drew 1-1 in the rain at Pepperdine on Friday and crushed Hawaii, 6-0, today at Drake Stadium. Sophomore forward Lauren Cheney (pictured) scored UCLA’s lone goal against Pepperdine and then added four goals today, tying the school record for goals in a single game.
>> This week: UCLA has a showdown with third-ranked Portland at 7 p.m. Friday at Drake Stadium.
Women’s volleyball:
>> Last week: UCLA’s win streak has reached 11 matches in a row as the Bruins swept aside Arizona and Arizona State in Pauley Pavilion in their opening matches of the Pac-10 season. The Bruins (12-1) had to come back from a first-set loss to Arizona on Thursday to win the match, 3-1, and then pitchforked the Sun Devils in straight sets Friday night.
>> This week: If UCLA has legitimate national championship aspirations, it will know this week. The Bruins will play 11th-ranked California in Berkeley on Thursday and face second-ranked Stanford in Palo Alto on Friday in a match that will be nationally televised on CSTV.
Reader Chris I. writes:
"I've got a question that has been bothering my seatmates and I this football season. Why is the C in UCLA in the north end zone blue, while the other 3 letters are yellow? At the first game we assumed the grounds' crew just messed up and thought it looked pretty bush league. But now that it's been like that for 2 games, I assume there must be some reasoning behind it. Could you look into it and help quench our curiosity? Thanks and Go Bruins!"
Good question. The contrasting-color "C" is part of UCLA’s celebration of being the first school to register 100 NCAA team championships. The letter C is also the Roman numeral for 100 and the football team wears a circular sticker on the back of its helmets with a "First to 100" logo.
You’ll see the contrasting-color "C" on many Bruin uniforms (such as basketball) all during this coming academic season. Now you know.
After watching the game replay and getting a few hours sleep, UCLA's 44-31 win over Washington feels a little better, especially looking at how the game finished:
>> UCLA finally played like a team that was supposed to have two primo running backs and an experienced offensive line. The Bruins averaged 6.5 per rush and both Chris Markey (14-193) and Khalil Bell (27-109) went over 100 yards, the first time UCLA had two rushers over 100 since the 2006 Rice game (also Markey and Bell).
>> The offensive line had only two penalties in the second half, neither for a false start. And when Patrick Cowan went out with an injury and McLeod Bethel-Thompson came in for the final 13 minutes of the game, the Bruins rushed on 18 of their last 19 plays from scrimmage, gaining 160 yards and scoring 13 points.
>> Offensive coordinator Jay Norvell opened up the playbook a bit with more reverses and then a throw off a reverse by Brandon Breazell to Terrence Austin for 57 yards in the second quarter and another pass play from Khalil Bell that was incomplete in the fourth quarter at the Husky 13. Those weren't spur-of-the-moment or desperation moves. The Bruins practiced that play repeatedly during the week.
>> Patrick Cowan and Ben Olson are two halves of a complete quarterback. Cowan's maneuverability in the pocket gave him opportunities to make plays that Olson — slower afoot — just can't. And Cowan's precision on short throws made the "West Coast Offense" come alive at times. But Olson throws a much better deep ball than Cowan, a fact that was on display on some deep out routes throughout the game.
>> At a meeting of the Westwood Bruin Touchdown Club on Friday morning, defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker spoke at some length about defending the spread offense and trying to contain Jake Locker. In summary, he said that because the spread moves defensive players all over the field, the offense will eventually score if it has the playmakers because the defenders will get tired. In order to stop it:
(1) The defense has to get off the field on third down. UCLA did that pretty well, holding Washington to 4 of 16 on third downs.
(2) The UCLA offense has to stay on the field and give the defense time to rest. Too much time on the field will kill a defense playing against the spread. Point well taken:
In the first half, Washington scored its only touchdown after recovering a fumble caused by a punt hitting Michael Norris in the leg. The defense was on for 14 consecutive plays.
In the wild fourth quarter, the Huskies scored after the defense had been on the field for 15 of 16 scrimmage plays, including Dennis Keyes' 60-yard interception return and a Washington punt, followed by a Cowan interception returned to the UCLA 20. The Bruin offense then scored in just four plays, putting the defense back on the field. The defense then yielded the 63-yard TD pass from Locker to Anthony Russo. Too much running around. That's worth remembering when the Bruins play Oregon, also a proponent of the spread and with a running quarterback in Dennis Dixon.
>> The kicking game was very good. Aaron Perez averaged 52.7 yards on just three punts, Kai Forbath hit three of four field goals, Matthew Slater's kickoff return for a touchdown tore the game open and the coverage teams did a creditable, if not spectacular, job.
UCLA is now 22-5 in the Rose Bowl under Dorrell, which means the Bruins are also 9-14 on the road during his tenure. Next Saturday's game at Oregon State (3:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Net) is certainly winnable, but it will be a challenge, especially in view of the injuries to Bruin quarterbacks.
The Beavers (2-2) piled up 514 yards and had a 19-0 first-quarter lead, but collapsed in Tempe and lost to 4-0 Arizona State, 44-32. Six turnovers, including five interceptions of Sean Canfield, led to OSU's demise.
Oh, in case you missed it, Utah went on the road Saturday and lost, 27-0, at UNLV.
Three hours and 33 minutes after kickoff, UCLA finished pounding Washington into the Rose Bowl turf for a 44-31 win Saturday night.
The Bruins (3-1, 2-0 in conference) rushed for 333 yards, threw for 204 more (537 total) and held Washington (2-2, 0-1) to just 340 total yards, 308 of which came from quarterback Jake Locker. But:
>> The Bruins made mistake after error after mistake in the game: two turnovers, 10 penalties and a sack — 13 in all. The penalties were maddening, with three false starts on the offensive line (two on P.J. Irvin, one on Micah Kia) in the first quarter and then three holding penalties in the ensuing three quarters (one each on Chris Joseph, Noah Sutherland and Kia). The turnovers cost the Bruins 14 points and kept Washington in the game.
>> Quarterback Patrick Cowan hardly looked rusty, coming back from a hamstring pull during fall camp to complete 17 of 30 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. He found a dependable new receiver in 6-3 sophomore Dominque Johnson, who caught five balls for 32 yards and a touchdown. But then Cowan was hurt trying to make a tackle on an interception he threw at the start of fourth quarter. He got buried by 295-pound Husky defensive tackle Jordan Reffert, suffered a right knee sprain and was on crutches by the end of the game.
>> Receiver Gavin Ketchum caught two passes for 32 yards, but suffered a right ankle sprain in the third quarter.
On the positive side, there was a lot to like as UCLA pushed the ball up and down the field on Washington for 84 plays and 537 yards and the defense held up under pressure:
>> When Cowan went out injured with 13:52 to play in the game with a 24-10 lead, Washington scored on the turnover to trim the lead to 24-17. But Bruin quarterbacks didn’t pass again and with everyone in the Rose Bowl knowing that UCLA was going to run, McLeod Bethel-Thompson handed off to Chris Markey and Khalil Bell 18 times for 160 yards to run out the game.
>> The kickoff return unit finally broke through with Matthew Slater’s 85-yard return in the fourth quarter that settled the game for UCLA, extending a 31-24 lead to 38-24 with under 10 minutes to play.
>> The defense bent a bit, but was very good for three quarters. In the first half, Washington had seven drives and scored just three points on drives which started in Washington territory; the only Husky touchdown came after a turnover that started them on the UCLA 26.
In the second half, Washington had nine drives and scored three times, all in the fourth quarter: twice when it started in its own territory and a short, 20-yard drive after an interception. But the Bruins held Locker to four of 16 on third-down conversions; Washington had 10 plays (3 runs, 7 passes) of 10 or more yards and just five of 20 yards or more out of 69 snaps.
Despite threatening skies and a little rain in the first half, the crowd was remarkable at 72,124. It was a good win for the Bruins and one that the team needed badly to restore its confidence.
 Lock up the Locker.
It may sound trite, but that’s UCLA’s task Saturday against the Huskies at the Rose Bowl: lock down Washington’s sensational sophomore quarterback Jake Locker.
He’s Washington’s leading rusher as well as passer, and last week he accounted for 255 yards — 74% of Washington’s offense — in the 33-14 loss to Ohio State in Seattle. The Seattle Times reported that it was the first game that Locker had played in that his team had lost in 1,015 days. Of note:
>> Locker rushed for 102 yards, but the Huskies could only manage 40 yards in 20 carries otherwise. Their best running back is Louis Rankin, who had 42 yards in 14 carries last week.
>> In the passing game, Locker threw for just 153 yards last week on 16-of-33 with one touchdown and three interceptions, one of which was on a shovel pass!
On defense, the Huskies give up about 125 yards rushing a game (3.5 per carry) and 234 yards a game passing. In its first two games, the Washington defense has picked up five turnovers: three interceptions and two fumble recoveries, but none against Ohio State. Note this: Karl Dorrell’s UCLA teams are 20-2 when winning the turnover battle.
The Bruins are scrambling to (1) recover from last week’s debacle against Utah; (2) play with quarterback Patrick Cowan, just back from a hamstring pull, in place of sidelined Ben Olson thanks to headaches he suffered after last week’s game; and (3) get some consistency from patchwork lines: P.J. Irvin will play in place of injured guard Shannon Tevaga, and with defensive linemen Brigham Harwell and Nikola Dragovic out, much is expected from ends Tom Blake and Korey Bosworth and tackles Jess Ward, Chase Moline, Jerzy Siewierski and true freshman Brian Price, playing his first game as a Bruin.
There are a lot of angles to this game, including:
>> Bruin quarterback Cowan is deep in a family affair in this game: he’ll have an opportunity to throw to his brother Joe Cowan for the first time, since the latter was out all last year when Patrick started eight games. And his father Tim Cowan was a quarterback at Washington from 1978-82, scoring a touchdown in the 1982 Rose Bowl win over Iowa. But Tim will be wearing blue and gold Saturday, cheering for his sons.
>> With veteran receiver Marcus Everett out, look for former quarterback Osaar Rashaan to get some playing time, especially as a slot receiver. Big and strong at 6-4 and 216 pounds, he moved from quarterback to get some playing time and the coaches like his game-breaking skills shown at fall camp.
>> Former Long Beach Poly and UCLA teammates Rodney Van and Byron Velaga will greet each other again. Van is a starting corner for UCLA and Velaga — who is now known as Byron Davenport — played for the Bruins in 2005, but left to attend El Camino College in 2006 and transferred to UW this past summer. He’ll start at corner for the Huskies.
>> The other Bruin corner, Trey Brown, has the loudest mouth on the defense — teammates say it’s a close competition with end Bruce Davis, though — but has been able to back it up. He leads the nation in passes broken up with 3.67 a game and brought an interception back for a score against BYU.
>> The Huskies have had a bad time with UCLA at the Rose Bowl and haven’t beaten the Bruins there since November 1995. Since then, Washington has lost all five games against UCLA in Pasadena by an average score of 35-19. Dorrell’s Bruins are 21-5 at home in his four-plus seasons.
The weather forecast by weather.com is for showers in the morning, but clearing around noon; game-time conditions are predicted as sunny (!) with a temperature of 66 degrees, 61% humidity, very light winds and only a 10% chance of rain.
The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net (FSN) Prime Ticket with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Jim Watson on the call, as well on radio on KLAC-AM 570 and the Bruin Radio Network with Chris Roberts, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook.
As I’ll have my official statistician duties during the game, there won’t be any during-the-game entries, but a full report will come afterward.
In today’s Seattle Times, veteran college football reporter Bud Withers noted the fire building under two Pac-10 coaches:
"Seems as though it was only yesterday that college teams were sweating through two-a-days, targeting big bowl games and getting antsy for openers. But by the Ides of September, here were two Pac-10 coaches getting fried by their faithful, some of whom are ready to mail in their beer money to buy them out.
"These aren't the best of times for either Karl Dorrell of UCLA or Mike Stoops of Arizona. Dorrell's teams have a nagging tendency to forget they have a game — as they did in losing 44-6 to injury-ravaged Utah — and Stoops' rebuild seemingly can't get out of neutral.
"Their futures might not be what you think.
"First, Dorrell. His team hosts Washington on Saturday. Rick Neuheisel's first offensive coordinator at the UW in 1999, he is an even-keeled, well-spoken gentleman.
"But as a guy to rally the troops? It's become apparent he might have trouble leading the neighborhood kids to Baskin-Robbins.
"Dorrell's five seasons at UCLA (he's 31-22) have been pocked with all sorts of epic plunges like the one last week. One of those came in 2005, when the Bruins, 8-0 and seventh-ranked on the first Saturday in November, lost 52-14 to an Arizona team that won three games.
"But UCLA is a funny place. The school that has won more national titles in all sports has a way of thinking small in many respects. It has held the line on salaries, not necessarily a bad thing if you make the right choices.
"Dorrell's pay isn't in the top half of Pac-10 coaches. Ben Howland's salary is about $1.3 million, or about a million less than the top-end basketball coaches. For years, UCLA struggled to find even a remote facsimile of John Wooden. It failed miserably, partly because it couldn't, or wouldn't, pay.
"It doesn't have a fan or donor base that is particularly powerful or influential — witness its limp support of UCLA football on the road.
"So the internal expectations for Dorrell aren't outlandish. The Bruins' schedule is relatively favorable, and if he's moderately successful, he's expected to survive — although following the loss to Utah with one to the Huskies would surely raise the temperature."
Withers goes on to note that Stoops is in quite a bit more danger of losing his job at the end of the season.
But the sports desk didn’t do Withers any favors on the UCLA photo that accompanied the story. Over a caption of "Karl Dorrell is 31-22 with UCLA, but a loss to Washington this week could put a lot of pressure on the mild-mannered leader," the paper ran a nice picture of defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker.
An obviously dejected Ben Olson, dressed in sweats, walked slowly off Spaulding Field on Thursday afternoon, not having taken a single snap in practice all week.
"He will not be available at all," said UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell. Although Olson "passed" his exertion test today, the team medical staff wants him to be symptom-free for at least another 24 hours after that and without any practices at all this week, he will not dress for Saturday’s game against Washington.
Dorrell professed confidence in new starter Patrick Cowan, who just returned from injury himself. "He knows that he can play well," Dorrell said. "He feels good. The trainers gave him clearance. He still does his [hamstring] treatment and things like that. He’s had a good week of practice and we’re hoping that’s going to transfer to the game."
MacLeod Bethel-Thompson — called "Mac" by the team — will be the backup quarterback Saturday.
Asked about the mass of false-start penalties that hurt the Bruins in the loss to Utah, Dorrell said the coaches had been working closely with the linemen on that issue this week. But he also noted that Micah Kia had "a couple today and I talked to Micah. He’s got to focus and be a little bit better about that.
"So you’ve just got to really emphasize it more and more, so you’re really hard on that so it’s something they think about, along with all the assignments and all those things that they do. We got better at it this week, for sure."
Dorrell said that practices were more intense this week: "We had more focus, obviously, with what happened last week, so we’re trying to get ourselves back onto the track that we were on before that. We had a good week of practice; very pleased with everyone’s efforts and their focus."
 Bruin teams are busy this week, notably the women’s volleyball team, which opens Pac-10 play at Pauley Pavilion against Arizona and Arizona State. But all eyes will be on the football team, trying to rebound from last week’s loss at Utah:
Football:
>> UCLA (2-1) will resume Pac-10 play this weekend, facing the Washington Huskies at the Rose Bowl at 7:15 p.m. Saturday. The Bruins are a 6 1/2-point favorite and a crowd of about 65,000 is expected. The game will be nationally broadcast on Fox Sports Net with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Jim Watson behind the microphones, and on radio on KLAC-AM 570 and the Bruin Radio Network with Chris Roberts, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook. Live statistics will be available via GameTracker at uclabruins.com.
Men’s Cross Country:
>> UCLA is ranked 22nd in the nation in the preseason poll and the Bruins won the Nevada Twilight meet a couple of weeks ago. They will be back in action Saturday in Malibu at the Pepperdine Invitational in an 8,000-meter race at 7:30 a.m.
Men’s Soccer:
>> The Bruins are ranked fifth in one poll and 13th in another and will find out a lot more about their standing this week with a trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. UCLA (2-2-1) will face 12th-ranked San Francisco (4-1-0) today and then play at No. 8 or 14-ranked Santa Clara (3-1-2) in 7 p.m. games. You can follow both games via GameTracker on uclabruins.com; free streaming audio and video of the San Francisco game is available at usfdons.com; pay-per-view audio and video coverage of the Santa Clara game will be at santaclarabroncos.com.
Men’s Water Polo:
>> The No. 3-ranked Bruins (7-1) are home to face No. 6 UC Irvine in a match at 1 p.m. Saturday at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center. Sophomore Scott Davidson leads the Bruins with 10 goals this season, but junior Krsto Sbutega from Montenegro scored nine goals last weekend during the NorCal Tournament, including four in one game.
Women’s Cross Country:
>> The Bruins are in action in Malibu at the Pepperdine Invitational in a 6,000-meter race at 8:30 a.m.
Women’s Golf:
>> The Bruins are ranked No. 1 in the country after winning the Mason Rudolph Invitational last week in Tennessee. Next week, the Bruins will be in Albuquerque for another early-season tournament, the Fall Preview, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Women’s Soccer:
>> Sixth-ranked UCLA (3-1-1) has a match at 1-4-1 Pepperdine in Malibu at 3 p.m. Friday, with the Bruins leading the all-time series, 10-2. A stiffer test is expected from 5-0-1 Hawaii, which will meet UCLA in Drake Stadium at 1 p.m. Sunday. Live audio coverage of the game will be available at uclabruins.com.
Women’s Volleyball:
>> UCLA, led by All-American setter Nellie Spicer, is ranked fifth in the nation and takes a nine-match winning streak into Pac-10 play this week against 10-2 Arizona tonight and 8-5 Arizona State on Friday. Both games will be in Pauley Pavilion, starting at 7 p.m. Live stats on GameTracker will be available for both games on uclabruins.com, as well as live audio of both games with Darren Preston at the microphone.
Receiver Brandon Breazell’s dental ordeal was pretty rough after the BYU game at the Rose Bowl on Sept. 8. With the game ending at 7:04 p.m., Breazell left the field, got dressed and with the team’s usual dentist, Dr. Ray Padilla, out of town, ended up in the office of longtime Bruin supporter (and dentist) Dr. Les Latner about 10 Saturday night. Latner finished the procedures by about 1:30 a.m.; Breazell underwent further work with Padilla during the week and didn’t miss a practice.
More football notes:
>> After practice ended Wednesday, many players attended a special dinner in the Morgan Center Press Room with UCLA donors who have endowed a football grant-in-aid. Thus far, 80 of the 85 football scholarships are endowed with a gift of $150,000 or more and each endowed scholarship is assigned to a specific player.
On Wednesday evening, about 35 donors met with the player who is receiving support from the scholarship that donor endowed.
>> Friday’s Westwood Bruin Touchdown Club breakfast will feature defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker and four players: defensive tackle Kevin Brown, corner Trey Brown, offensive guard Noah Sutherland and receiver Breazell. The event will be held at 7 a.m. at the Olympic Collection; for information and tickets, contact Claudia Hart at (310) 348-UCLA or by electronic mail at Claudia4UCLA@yahoo.com.
>> From one longtime -– meaning 50-year -– observer of UCLA football: "The Utah game was as big a surprise to me as the USC game was last year. Remember, this is essentially the same team as last year and that team was 7-6."
"Headache" is a word UCLA coach Karl Dorrell is familiar with, especially this week. But his focus is on the head of quarterback Ben Olson, who has been experiencing headaches and has not practiced this week.
So, just-returned backup Patrick Cowan will take over as the starter for the Bruins’ Pac-10 home opener against Washington this Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
"We’ve had two guys that have had concussions in [Nikola] Dragovic and [Aaron] Whittington," said Dorrell. "So we’re being very cautious because Nikola has not quite responded and that’s a little bit of a concern. So when someone is having head symptoms with headaches and nausea, then we want to be really, I guess, conservative as to why those symptoms are coming around. He’s been pretty coherent; like with Whittington and Nikola, both of them had – I don’t want to say lost consciousness – but didn’t know where they were at a particular time. Ben has had consciousness, he’s been coherent, sometimes when you get hit, you have the headache and it goes away in a day or two, but for some reason it has not.
"He hasn’t had the full-blown symptoms like the other two I mentioned."
Dorrell’s general rule is that if you don’t practice on Thursday, you don’t play. That appears to be the case again with Olson:
"He would have to do something tomorrow. Pat is probably going to be the starter and if we can get Ben able to be a back-up, ready for that portion of the game, that might be it. But he might not even be up for the game, just because he has to be "exerted," which means that if his headache is still there or comes back, that sets him out even further.
"They [UCLA medical staff] want him symptom-free for 24 hours."
On Cowan, Dorrell said "I’ve been impressed with how he’s been able to practice and really looks pretty sharp. He’s made some nice throws. That shows you how he’s been staying in everything while he’s been out. We’ll try to just make sure we manage him well and that we have a good enough plan that he’s really comfortable with playing the game."
Dorrell has been pleased overall with the intensity of the practices this week and with the reaction of the players.
>> He said that Kenneth Lombard "went back to defense and that was something on his own volition. He wanted to go back; he tried out running back and the grass is greener on the other side type of thing, so he went back to defense today. And that’s good because he’ll be able to help us at some point." Now at about 230 pounds, he’s not longer able to play defensive tackle and defensive end is more likely. "I know he’ll put some [weight] on as we get going," said Dorrell. "He’s happy to be back."
>> On freshman defensive tackle Brian Price, Dorrell was upbeat. "Brian should be up for the game. He’s practicing; I don’t know how much he knows. He missed a lot of meetings, I mean he missed the whole camp, so we’re trying to bring that along as quickly as we can, but we won’t put too much on his plate."
>> Dorrell also expressed confidence in fifth-year senior offensive guard P.J. Irvin, who will start in place of injured Shannon Tevaga. He also noted that junior Nathaniel Skaggs will also play some at that position.
The Bruins saluted a special guest at the end of the practice: Erwin Letona, 14, from the Mar Vista area in Lo Angeles, who is being treated for leukemia at Mattel Children’s Hospital. He’s a few months into what will be a three-to-five-year treatment program and dreams of one day being a part of the Bruin football team. He received a signed football from the players and will attend the Notre Dame game as a guest of UCLA.
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