Monday Media Day III: "We’ll have to play our best game to have an opportunity to win it"

"I think other teams know what it feels like when you lose your quarterback and what you have to do to try to make things continue to be productive, and it’s been that kind of year in the Pac-10."

That’s as close as UCLA coach Karl Dorrell is going to get to explaining the actual impact of the Bruins’ carousel at quarterback that has come full circle with seasonal starter Ben Olson at the controls in last Saturday’s 16-0 win over Oregon.

"I know it wasn’t the prettiest of wins, particularly for our offense," he told a larger-than-usual audience in the Morgan Center Press Room on Monday, "but we did what was necessary for us to win the football game. We played with great defense, we played with really good special teams, we didn’t put the game in jeopardy.

"This is another opportunity for us this week. It is an unusual opportunity to be where we’ve had some unfortunate losses during the season and still have an opportunity to be a championship team this year. I know that it takes more than us just winning the game this weekend to do it, but nonetheless, we are in position to possibly achieve those possibilities."

Dorrell noted that to beat USC again, "We’re going to have to play two-thirds of how we played this last game. That means really good special teams, really good defense and improved offense. We’re going to have to play better offensively to put some points on the board. [USC] is a very good defense.

"Defensively, we’ve got to keep playing like we’re playing, but better, because this is a better personnel team. And special teams has been solid all season. So we need those two areas to continue doing what they’ve been doing and offensively, we’ve go to pick it up."

He indicated that the quarterback position is still unsettled, however: "Ben Olson is a little bit sore. He played the second half and played 39 plays and like most knee injuries, when you’re not completely healthy, then you’re going to have some soreness. So he was sore and we’ll see how the week unfolds for him.

"We got clearance to have Pat Cowan back this week, which is a good sign, too. So we may have the opportunity to have our top two quarterbacks that we started the beginning of this year with available for this game, which is a very good sign.

"We have no plan that’s definitely in place right now. We’re going to assess that position; I mentioned about Ben and his soreness, we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. We’ll see how Pat works during the course of the week as well and then Osaar [Rashaan], we’re going to come to bring him along as well. There’s a possibility that we’re going to use more than one quarterback; we’re going to explore anything and everything for us to have some productivity this week." Look for the decision about who plays quarterback as late in the week as possible . . . and then have it change on gameday.

One area which hasn’t been a problem is kicking, especially from redshirt freshman Kai Forbath. "He hit one from 60 in pre-game," Dorrell said. "It looks like he could have hit from 65 the way he hit [his 54-yard make]. I gauge all the wind factors and everything when you’re putting a guy out there. He’s very confident; he’s going to be a tremendous kicker. He’s getting better and better and he’s building his confidence week in and week out."

On injuries, Dorrell said that "Korey Bosworth had a little bit of a hyper-extended elbow in the game, but was able to return. He’s sore, but he should be available this week. Chris Horton had a mild concession and he did not play in the second half. He’s already cleared with most of his symptoms, so he should be practicing tomorrow and we anticipate him being fine for the game. Jess Ward . . . had a little bit of a twinge in his knee in the course of the game and did not finish playing the game. He feels better this week, but he’s not completely healthy, but we’re hoping he’s going to be available to add depth for us on our defensive line."

Asked how his team has persevered this season, Dorrell pointed to their focus and desire to get better, even with so much talk of a coaching change. He said that applied to himself and his coaching staff, too. "I can’t let a lot of distractions affect what I’ve got to do as a coach. And that’s to coach this team to be as good as they can be, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of who is in the game and who is out of the game. We’ve got to play the game. Sometimes it’s not pretty, but you’ve still got to get better in some way, shape or form."

Dorrell also noted what he called the "fun" aspect of the UCLA-USC rivalry, especially since it pits two schools in the same city. But he knows what the real fun in this series is about: winning. "We made it a fun game last year, with playing a very good football game and we need to play a very similar game again. We’ll have to play our best game to have an opportunity to win it and we need all three areas to play very well. And that’s what we’re counting on."

Karl Dorrell photo courtesy of UCLA.

Comments

[MarcoTheBruin]

Every team in the Pac-10 with a record below (.600) over the last 5 years has replaced their head coach except for UCLA. Here is the record of the top teams in the Pac-10 over the last 5 seasons:

USC 57-6 (.904)
Cal 42-20 (.677)
Oregon 38-22 (.633)
Arizona State 37-23 (.616)
Oregon State 37-24 (.606)
UCLA 35-26 (.573)
... (WSU, UW, UA, SU) ...

"It's all about the body of work," Guerrero said.

[A.J.]

The Bruins should go after June Jones at Hawaii...Dorrell is a class guy and a decent coach but UCLA needs a head coach with experience in a big time offense which Jones does. What he has done with Hawaii's program is simply extraordinary - with extremely limited resources. Plus, he's in the last year of his contract and will likely be well sought after if they beat UW on Saturday and make it to a BCS game. Unreal, Hawaii in a BCS game. WOW.

[steve]

no matter what happens this weekend, KD is history.

[Sal]

June Jones seems like the best candidate to go after...(1) he wins and (2) he recruits...something the Dorrell administration neglected...Jones' offense is exciting and good quarterbacks love to play in his system...if we kept Walker on as D-Coordinator I think we are instant contenders in the Pac-10.