(Featured on Between the 20s, Bruins Nation, Coaches Hot Seat, and Defamer on September 17)
Pathetic. Pitiful. Putrid.There are not enough adjectives that start with the letter ‘P’, or any other letter for that matter, that can adequately describe how bad UCLA’s 44-6 abomination of a performance was on Saturday against Utah.
In the forgettable tenure of Karl Dorrell’s coaching career at UCLA, the Bruins have had numerous embarrassing efforts. But I think this one was the worst of all. Because this one really can’t be reasonably explained nor justified. Because this one completely submarines all hopes that fans had on this year being the year. Because after this one, there’s really no reason to believe that it’s not going to happen again and again.
It’s understood that all teams will have off days sometimes. After all, these are 18- to 22-year old kids (well, except for 24-year old “star” QB Ben Olson). But good teams do not have off days in which they lose by 38 points to a winless team that was missing its starting quarterback, starting running back, and starting #1 wideout. Good teams do not allow themselves to be physically dominated on both sides of the ball without a competitive response. Good teams do not fail to show up for 60 minutes. And the Bruins, no matter what the ranking or win-loss record said over the last five seasons, have never been a good team under Dorrell.
This wasn’t the case of being beaten by a more talented and physically gifted team like USC. This was the case of being underprepared, outcoached, and outexecuted in comparison to a Utah squad that did not match up on paper, but was ready to play 60 minutes of ball. Apparently, the Bruins weren’t ready to put forth anything resembling a best effort. Or any kind of effort for that matter.
The number of mistakes committed by the Bruins was staggering. Five turnovers, including some unbelievably bad interceptions by Olson that Pop Warner QBs wouldn’t even throw, led directly to 24 Utah points. Marcus Everett making the biggest offensive play of the game on a fly pattern down the sideline, then fumbling the ball through the end zone for a touchback when trying to stretch for the pylon, costing the Bruins their only scoring opportunity all afternoon. Four first quarter procedure or delay of game penalties that stymied the offense. Repeated breakdowns in the secondary allowing Utah receivers to literally walk into the end zone.
I would give a more thorough game recap, but it’s pretty simple. The Bruins sucked in every facet of the game. Except the kicking game – Kai Forbath, game ball! A 45-yard field goal and a 51-yard field goal means that hey, maybe we won’t miss Justin Medlock, recently cut by the Kansas City Chiefs. From the opening series in which Alterraun Verner got torched for a 55 yard touchdown, UCLA looked completely befuddled on both sides of the ball. The offensive line didn’t block, leading to a non-existent running game. The receivers didn’t get open, and when they did, Olson fired balls at their feet or over their heads. The defensive line not only didn’t pressure the quarterback but didn’t even stuff the run this week. The linebackers were totally ineffective, overpursuing and missing tackles. The secondary, in particular everyone not named Trey Brown, kept missing their coverage assignments. Even punter Aaron Perez refused to kick anything with more than about two seconds of hang time or longer than 30 yards. The coaching “adjustments” that were going to be made at halftime to overturn a 14-6 deficit? Try getting outscored 30-0 in the second half. And to add insult to injury (or is it injury to insult), the team’s top two linemen, Bruce Davis and Shannon Tevaga, both got hurt in the fourth quarter. Start to finish, atrocious in every conceivable way.Saying the Bruins sucked isn’t even a harsh enough description. On a scale of 1 to 10 of suckiness, it was something like a 5,000. I’m not even sure UCLA could have even beaten Notre Dame on Saturday, and if you’ve been following the walking disaster known as the Fighting Irish, you’ll know how pathetic that is.
Ordinarily, I think it’s foolish to pull a Chicken Little and react so strongly to just one game. Unfortunately, this demoralizing scene from Salt Lake City has become too commonplace to just dismiss it as a fluke. Instead, it confirms the fear that this coaching staff simply doesn’t have what it takes to get the UCLA football program back to elite status. I said last year that Dorrell was running out of chances. He’s out of chances now. It’s certainly within the realm of possibility for the Bruins to rebound from this debacle and have a really good season. But I seriously doubt that anyone who watches the team closely realistically holds on to that belief. More likely it will be just another five-loss season, and hopefully the last with this head coach. Nothing personal Karl, I would really like for you to succeed, but unfortunately we can’t wait forever for you to figure it out. Not that you ever would anyway.
Before the season started, I had been joking about the state of the football program with one of my friends over IM. We were taking our shots at Dorrell while quietly holding out optimism for a good season. My friend made the ultimate insult of comparing Dorrell to loathed Bruin basketball coaching flameout Steve Lavin. While I don’t think that’s an entirely fair comparison, given how greasy and undedicated to the job Lavin was, the results have been eerily similar. Both guys had numerous embarrassing, unprecedented losses, led their teams to generally perform below expectations every year, yet somehow to did just enough to keep their jobs by surprisingly winning a couple of high profile games and having some cosmetic success (in Lavin’s case, his run of Sweet 16 appearances; in Dorrell’s case, the 2005 season and the USC win last year). But while they were allowed to keep their jobs, the programs that they ran were slowly getting run into the ground. And without a drastic move, the football program will continue to flounder.If I sound pissed, it’s because I am indeed FURIOUS. Sure, football is just a game. And these are just kids. There are many greater injustices in the world happening every day where this ire should be directed. I agree. But it is a personal affront to me and every other person who has invested time, money, and energy into the wonderful institution known as UCLA to have to be associated with such crap. It is insulting to watch people wear the Bruin name and not be prepared and focused, week in and week out. We don’t expect to win every game. We do expect that our players will be put in the best possible position to succeed in football and in life, and carry forth the appropriate amount of effort to make that success a reality.
Last week, I went to an alumni event honoring incoming undergrad scholarship recipients in which legendary softball coach Sue Enquist, part of eleven national champion teams as a player and coach, was the keynote speaker. She exhorted the new students to work to become champions in whatever field they were going into because that’s what it means to be a Bruin. At UCLA, we build champions.
If there’s one thing to be taken away from Utah 44 UCLA 6, it’s that as long as Karl Dorrell is running the show, there will be no champions built on the gridiron. Not just in terms of wins and losses, but in the way the game is approached, the way the game is played. No, Karl wasn’t the one that made all of those mistakes on Saturday. But the disgraceful performance was a direct reflection of the leadership from the top. Or lack thereof.
Anyone know if Ben Howland has a younger brother that coaches football?
AP photos by Douglas C. Pizac and Steve C. Wilson
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