UCLA-Utah post-game II: now what?

It was hard to imagine UCLA losing this game to Utah, especially considering the Utes’ anemic line play in its first two games. But after a 44-6 "bludgeoning" as Versus play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati politely called it, here are a few thoughts:

>> Whether the Bruins like it or not, UCLA has a quarterback controversy. The UCLA offensive line failed to open holes for the running game and Ben Olson was sacked five times. As soon as Patrick Cowan is healthy, the drumbeat for him to play will start because of his escapability and ability to run and throw on the run. Olson, unfortunately, can do neither and it appears that both attributes will be needed this season.

>> For a veteran offensive team, ten penalties (all but one on the offense I think), five sacks and two fumbles are inexcusable and were not Ben Olson’s fault. There will be plenty of blame to go around beyond the quarterback meetings.

>> The UCLA defense was exposed by a brilliant Utah gameplan that counterattacked UCLA’s aggressiveness. Unlike last season, UCLA cannot get much pressure on the quarterback without blitzing and Utah’s receivers beat Trey Brown occasionally, either Rodney Van or Alterraun Verner many times and the Bruin linebacker corps continuously. This is not good.

>> Utah came into the game having lost its starting quarterback and top running back and five of its starting 22. UCLA didn’t have Brigham Harwell and Nikola Dragovic for this game and now stars Bruce Davis and Shannon Tevaga were hurt today. How the Bruins respond will be interesting.

>> We’ll learn quite a bit about what Bruin fans think of this team next Saturday night. If UCLA was undefeated, the crowd for 2-1 Washington (which lost today to Ohio State in Seattle, 33-14) would have been well over 70,000. Now?

How bad a loss was this? Well, the 38-point margin of loss was surpassed by the 47-point defeat to USC in 2005 (66-19) and equaled in the 52-14 loss to Arizona that same season. The last loss of this style, by 38 or more to an unranked non-conference opponent, however, came a long time ago: 0-39 at Syracuse in 1964 under coach Bill Barnes, in his last season at the helm of the Bruin football team. He was replaced by Tommy Prothro the following season.

Comments

[tp]

dorrell needs to go.. hes not ready for prime time... uninspired play calling and decisions are not what we need. beating usc was the worst thing that could happen to us.. if he had lose i was praying that he'd get fired.

this sucks.

[tp]

dorrell needs to go.. hes not ready for prime time... uninspired play calling and decisions are not what we need. beating usc was the worst thing that could happen to us.. if he had lose i was praying that he'd get fired.

this sucks.

[DumpDorrell]

Need we say more: DumpDorrell.com!!!

[MarcoTheBruin]

I thought this season was about consistency -- the only thing we do consistently is disappoint.

A few questions people should be asking:
- why are our starters in the game (some apparently injured) when we are losing by 30+
- other than in the 4rth quarter of a bunch of games in '05, when has this offense ever looked good?
- why do we consistently get outscored (and sometimes lose as a result) in the second half of games?
- the biggest question of all, why is Dorrell still the coach- oh I forgot we beat USC, the program "turned the corner" and then laid an egg against FSU and finally "turned the corner" again and became a BCS contender during the preseason before losing to a Mountain West opponent by 38 POINTS!!!

DumpDorrell indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nomoredorell]

no more dorell. he's terrible.

[Eqbruin]

Karl Dorrell's era of head coaching at UCLA can be characterized in one word: mediocre. Not only had the man's team gone through some embarrassing losses in the past, i.e. Arizona, USC, Wyoming, Fresno State, Washington, one more can be added to that list... Utah. Not only was the 2007's version of UCLA's football team ranked #11, it was supposed to be one of America's best college football teams. A fraud has been exposed and it reeks of Karl Dorrell. UCLA had their BCS hopes deflated by a pseudo-Div.I-AA team. I was in disbelief when I heard the results of the UCLA v.Utah football game, 44-6. Not only did Utah have nearly half of it's original offensive starters out of the game, it manhandled what was originally supposed to be a BCS contender. Held without an offensive touchdown, UCLA can thank Karl Dorrell and Jay Norvell for it's lack of offensive output. Resonating in my mind, in several meetings with UCLA's head coach is Karl Dorrell's smug nature. As one of the quotes from the film Remember the Titans goes, "Attitude reflect leadership, Captain." These were the comments made by UCLA's players the entire week leading up to the game... "No disrespect to Utah, but we should win this game," seems to be UCLA's official sentiment in regards to a seemingly weaker Mountain West Conference opponent. Oh, how were they wrong. As evidence of this is the game film from this horrifying loss to Utah. UCLA's leadership needs to go. The UCLA football team made the Utah Utes appear like a #1 ranked team. Their performance would be enough to make former Bruins turn over in their graves. How can UCLA keep it's brand high with a head coach like Karl Dorrell, or even Dan Guerrero if he does not rectify this situation immediately?

[John Buckingham]

UCLA looked like Tarzan coming into the game and played like Jane (however, that may be a disservice to Jane). Go ahead UCLA fans, rip on the Utahs, the BYUs, and the Wyomings. Remember it was not that long ago that the Utes finished the season ranked 4th (when was the last time UCLA finished that high?)... played in a BCS bowl (has UCLA ever played in a BCS bowl?) ... and had a bunch of guys drafted including the number pick. The now head coach at Utah was the defensive coordinator under Urban Meyer. ULCA in the last NFL draft had one player drafted... a kicker! I dare say, that would be poor even by MWC standards. Next time UCLA schedules one of the patsies from the MWC at an air sucking altitude they want to take the game seriously and show us those mind numbing SAT scores that make them Student Athletes.
Advice to UCLA, get rid of the Adonis routine and do not buy into the media mantra that everybody in the PacTen is Anointed. Stanford is a not a Division I football team (breaking news… they haven’t been since Jim Plunkett) and neither is Arizona.

[blaisej]

Rich, your post talks all around the problem, but never mentions it squarely. The ultimate responsibility for having a team "ready" to play belongs to the coaching staff, and starts with the HC. Every year in the going on 5 years of the Dorrell era there are ugly ugly blots. His "best" season (10-2) in '05 was characterized by a series of improbable comebacks, and yet all came crashing down in two humiliating losses. Take that one season out, and his record is as bland as he is. Yesterday's game was inexcusable, and the Times reports that all the week's practice prior was lackadaisical leading up to it? Didn't anyone (e.g. the coach) learn anything from UA in '05? Didn't anyone (e.g. the Coach) learn anything from UW last year? Didn't anyone (e.g. the Coach) learn anything from last WEEK (the BYU near debacle). Dorrell has 20 starters back, most of 'em seniors, and this is the best effort he can extract from them? He should resign this morning, and his entire staff ought to follow suit. I'm sure that won't happen, so when the next time this happens this season - and it will (against the Huskies next week, or at OSU the week after, or heaven-and-Saints-forbid the following week for ND's first win this season) Guerrero should pull the trigger and can him. Either that, or he should commit the program to a new Truth-in-advertising slogan "Bruin Football: Better than Stanford . . .for now."

[ucla2k3]

It's the morning after and I am still pissed. I can't believe what happened yesterday. What bothers me more than anything was how we lost. It's one thing to lose (which is still inexcusable) but 44-6??? Give me a freaking break! What on earth did Karl Dorrell do with his team all week last week? The game clearly showed a lack of physical preparation, mental preparation, execution, attitude, and most important of all, heart. There was no heart in our Bruins yesterday. A season full of expectations, now down the toilet. I seriously thought we had a shot at the Rose Bowl this year. I guess I was dead wrong. Sure, we can run the table and go to the Rose Bowl this season but the odds of that happening after yesterday's debacle is slim to none. We need a new coach. Dorrell has got to go. Enough is enough. If it requires the village to be burned in order to be saved, then so be it. May we lose all of our remaining games, go 2-9, bid Dorrell farewell, and move on.

[Chunkdog32]

Bruins "favored" by 15-17, then get their butts kicked? Although the players play, this one falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff. Pathetic, yet typical of the Bruins. Overrated and unable to step out (not even up) and perform.

The Trojans go to Lincoln and take care of business, overwhelmingly. Need more be said?

[Ednar Suarez]

Dorrell needs to be fired. His tenure in the role clearly shows he is not capable of leading a team. There are so many fundamental things that have happened which indicate he does not know how to prepare a team it is ridiculous. For the past several years it has been tough to be a Bruin fan. It’s NOT good football. Watching games is more torture than exciting.

When is Dan Guerrero going to step up and show some respect for what UCLA football is supposed to be? He needs to do something immediately. We cannot wait another month, week, game, practice. Dorrell is so NOT the answer. We keep employing him like it’s an entitlement. He’s softened the schedule to help build confidence early in the season and every year we have loses which are hugely embarrassing.

At the end of the season, we have made it to bowl games only to be embarrassed. This has to stop now. If Guerrero has any sense of pride in the school and football program, he’ll pull the plug on this farce.

[Walkman32]

As a Utahfan living in Orange County I listened all week how this game was already a "W". It started during the post-game show last week when Wayne Cook stated that this was a win and then started talking about the next game vs. Washington. Traveling to the game this weekend I thought I was going to see a slaughter. Utah pretty much played their JV Team yesterday thanks to injuries yet dominated both sides of the ball. Ben Olsen had to have been scared to death back there in the 4th quarter. He was getting sacked or intercepted nearly every play near the end of the game. Why was he even in the game? This was a prime example of the coaches and everyone else associated with that team looking past an opponent. I don't think Utah has scored 44 points all year. I can only thank the players and coaching staff of the Bruins for helping to breath some life into a team who was previously unwatchable. My last point is give some props to Utah - the coaching staff made them believe they could win and the players one uped that by dominating. Utah looked faster, smarter and tougher. Good luck the rest of the year bruins - if that is how you prepare you'll need it

[UCLA Alum]

While the play calling could have certainly been better (particularly on defense), the problem comes down one factor: The Quarteback Position. Ben Olsen clearly is uncomfortable in the pocket and cannot throw passes on target. He brings no leadership to the team and cannot recover from his bad passes/errors. We should be 1-2, as our performance vs. BYU was equally pathetic - we were just plain lucky there. Olsen's performance in that game was also cold, with an effort that paralled that against Utah.

Let's face it, without a good quarterback, winning is difficult.

[LO]

I don't agree with the Steve Lavin comparisons. I think Dorrell is worse. Saturday was a complete an utter embarrasment, we beat ourselves. The team was thoroughly unprepared and the blame lies squarely on Coach Dorrell. I was willing to give Coach Dorrell and even supported him up to midway thru the 3rd quarter. As an alum, season ticket holder, and donor, I will do my part to implore Dan Guerrero to let Karl Dorrell go. The UCLA Football program is not a job program and we need to start looking for a talented and proven replacement now.

Our players deserve better leadership. While we demand and implore Dan Guerrero to replace Karl Dorrell's, let's not forget that our players need our support. Let's support the team on Saturdays and keep the Dorrell bashing from Sunday to Friday.

[Bob]

I'll second MarcoTheBruin...Why were Davis and Tavega in with 8 minutes left and the team down by 30+? Too bad Bruin supporters don't have a Head Football Coach's Fund where they can donate. We can't lure a high enough quality coach for what the University of California can pay. UCLA raises millions of dollars through the UCLA Fund and one can donate to any of 65 areas but athletics doesn't appear to be one of them. They should set up a football coach endowment. Hard to believe with the huge number of affluent UCLA grads this couldn't be done. How about making it worth Homer Smith's while to come back and run the offense (even though he's like 75)? Of course it would help to have a Ramsey, Neuheisal, Aikman, Maddox, or Bono playing quarterback with athletes like Dorrell and Wrightman receiving. I didn't want to admit it but it seems the current group is in over its head.

[Alex Chen]

Clearly Karl Dorrell must go. Now let's look at other changes that are necessary. First: An end to arrogance. Year after year players and fans drink the Kool-Aid that says, "This is the year." Then the team loses and players sigh, "Whoops, we overlooked that team..." Get the killer attitude that Florida and USC have. Remember, USC spent two+ decades making blunders due to overconfidence, but finally developed the consistently aggressive and determined attitude of recent years. UCLA must do the same. Second: Creativity and initiative. Trick plays, aggressive fourth-down efforts, big throws on first down, playing until the clock runs out (instead of packing it in during the last minute of the first half), etc. are all necessary for a high-scoring offense that is fun to watch. Third: Recruit a mobile quarterback. Cade McNown was the most mobile QB of the last 20 years, and his team put up a lot of points. Find another guy like him. Fourth: Create a high-pressure defense, not a conservative bend-but-don't-break defense. UCLA gives up an obscene number of third-down conversions by playing it safe. Do those four things, plus get a coach who can make the lessons stick, and the Bruins may finally deserve and earn respect.

[Donald Ward]

For pure entertainment (or maybe a cure for insomnia), UCLA-Notre Dame could hardly be beat. Two utterly hapless groups of children, coached by utter imcompetants, trying to pretend they are among the "elite". With great skill and effort on both sides, the final score might end up 0-0.

[Eduardo]

At Donald Ward: "That was a really funny comment. Thanks for making me laugh".

[DC]

It’s simple. If Patrick Cowan is ready…START HIM! Ben Olsen is incredibly slow and telegraphs every pass! Also, why isn’t Kahlil Bell starting??? I don’t know how many more times I can stand seeing Markey run right into his own blockers!

[Carlos M]

It's hard to believe that almost five years after Karl Dorrell became UCLA head coach that the team is just as bad as when he took it over. But with this latest loss, I doubt the team will be able to recover. Their weaknesses, starting with Dorrell, are far too many to salvage this season. Too many guys can't block, can't play pass defense, or adapt to the other team's offensive scheme. It's a mess five years in the making with a few bright spots in between. Sure it's the third game of the season, but too many things went wrong to say it's just a fluke. Maybe Ben Olson will get a clue and play like the other Olson (Drew), but it's doubtful since the words "Roll Out" and "Consistency" mean nothing to him. As it is, I'll be at our ancient, decrepit stadium next Saturday, jammed shoulder-to-shoulder with my fellow fans hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

[themadbruin]

Yaknow, Chris Roberts is IMO pretty erratic and frequently inaccurate in play-calling - he especially flubs the yard lines a bunch - but I lost count yesterday of the number of times that he said "Olson drops back, looks left throws left" or "looks right, throws right." Counting my blessings that I didn't have to watch it on TV. Whatever happened to looking off and then going back? If Roberts can see that up in the booth, what're we supposed to think about 20 year old DBs field of vision? Anybody wanna buy 5/6 of 4 season tickets? Or anyone wanna go into business together producing paper bag masks (light the New Orleans fans made popular in the 1970's?) I expect a big market for these down the stretch.

[yabooo]

I think Mike Price has more than paid for his error in judgement at Alabama. I think it is about time that he returned to the PAC 10 and I think he would make an excellent Head Coach for UCLA. I concur with the dump Dorrell comments.

[DC]

I think there’s only one coach that can compete with that other coach across town…Rick Neuheisel! Dan Guerrero Make the offer!!!

[Marshall68]

Guerrero needs to face up to the fact that an unemotional, unimaginative coach will not win games for us. The west coast offense is a disaster for the college game. The only way we will win is with a mobile quarterback like Pat Cowan running a spread offense, which will also open up the running game. Too many qualified head coaches were lost to us when Dorrell was picked and we need to rectify that error now. We should have hired Butch Davis.

[Chris T Wood]

Without too much further pilling on, I concur with the fans above on three points made:

Dorell is a weak coach:
1. Uninspiring lack of ability to have players rise to situations
2. Offensive scheme is too complicated and wrong QB
3. Defense adjustments are not made, when the scheme isn't working
4. Recruiting - there are many good players, there are no great players

QB Controversy
Ben Olson is surely no Drew Olson. When Drew O. was here, there was always the opportunity of mobile comebacks. I don't see how the team could ever come back from a deficit with Big Ben, the lumbering woodpile. I look foward to Pat Cowan's return

New Coach
Obviously a delicate situation, but I agree with DC, above, bring back another Bruin Alum, who has been successful on the college level. Bring back Neuhisel, who can spot young talent, and can develop it properly.

Neuhisel could develop another era like UCLA had under Terry D.