Bruin Recap – Time to Dust Off That Resumé Karl (I Hope)

(Originally posted on LAist on October 8)
(Featured on Bruins Nation on October 9)

It was my mom’s birthday this weekend and we got to spend a nice dinner together just talking and enjoying each other’s company. Moms are great in that they’ll always be your biggest fan no matter how much you screw up or disappoint them (and I’ve certainly had my fair share of screw-ups and disappointments).

What do moms have to do with UCLA football? Pretty simple. After the Bruins’ latest embarrassing loss, 20-6 to previously winless Notre Dame, about the only person who still supports Karl Dorrell’s tenure as coach is probably his mother. Only a mom could stay blindly loyal to someone who has managed to turn the name ‘UCLA’ into a national punchline by losing handily to a team who has been the laughingstock of football the entire season.

For many Bruin football followers, this loss is the culmination of nearly five years of angst which began the moment Dorrell was hired, owing to the highly suspect coaching search which landed him, and the coach’s lack of credentials for taking over a program of this caliber. The optimists have been trying to hold out hope that the positives from Dorrell’s regime, such as the clean up of the mess left by Bob Toledo, the improvement of the locker room culture, and rebuilding of the local recruiting pipeline, could outweigh the obvious deficiencies in strategic vision, game-planning, and in-game adjustments. And just about everyone wanted Dorrell to be successful because of his Bruin heritage, his likable personality (despite the lack of charisma), and his work ethic. However, this game simply confirmed the mounting evidence that the program has gone as far as it is going to go with this coach. And I’d have to say that Bruin Nation is not terribly enthused about another fifth-place conference finish and loss in the Waste Management Mediocrity Bowl (OK I made that one up), which is about what this year’s “breakthrough” team seems destined for.

Certainly, the excuse can be made that injuries cost the Bruins the game (or as Karl alluded to in his post-game interview, the team is “snakebit”). Starting QB Ben Olson injured his knee on a sack in the first quarter, and with backup Patrick Cowan also sidelined with a knee injury, the burden fell on walk-on freshman McLeod Bethel-Thompson to lead the team. Let’s just say he brought new meaning to the term ‘deer in headlights’, as evidenced by the five turnovers and four sacks he gave up (the lack of blocking definitely didn’t help). I love the story of the movie Rudy, but dude never had to be in position to win a game on national TV with the ball in his hands for three-plus quarters. Poor McLeod did as much as a kid with his level of experience and talent could do, but he clearly wasn’t ready.

Nevertheless, there is no justification for the number of mistakes made by veteran players. A season-high 11 penalties, including a holding penalty on Logan Paulsen that negated a long touchdown pass. Kahlil Bell had another fumble, plus a drop of a wide-open touchdown pass during a possession that ultimately ended up in an interception. Yes, players are responsible for making the plays on the field, but when the team is making the same mistakes every week, somehow whatever the coaching staff is telling them isn’t sinking in. Every week in his press conference, Dorrell points out that the team needs to execute better. Newsflash, they haven’t executed well all season, maybe there’s something wrong with the gameplan and the overall philosophy that needs adjusting.

And that last point is the glaring takeaway from this game: the coaching staff is either not flexible enough or not smart enough to make changes, either to the entire offensive system, or to specific gameplans during the game. For five seasons, Dorrell has attempted to implement his West Coast offense philosophy with mixed success (national ranking in scoring: ’03-100, ’04-29, ’05-5, ’06-64, ’07-57), rigidly sticking to it despite having very different personnel during those years. Over the last couple of seasons when the offense has been mediocre at best, it’s been obvious that Olson is far more comfortable taking deep drops and throwing downfield, while Cowan is better suited to quick reads and short and intermediate routes. But the gameplans haven’t been adjusted to play to those specifc strengths.

On Saturday, the Bruins were facing the second-worst rushing defense in the country. Given that UCLA’s offensive strength is the running game (despite Chris Markey’s absence), and with a THIRD-STRING FRESHMAN WALK-ON under center, you would think that they would pound the ball, even if Notre Dame loaded up the box and blitzed all night (which they did). After all, two weeks ago against Washington, when Bethel-Thompson came in early in the fourth quarter (albeit with a lead) after Cowan got hurt, they ran it 19 times; the only pass play was a botched halfback pass. So why did they all of a sudden get pass-happy against the Irish? Your starting quarterback is no longer in the game, maybe you should try to put the game in the hands of your senior running back and senior offensive line rather than an inexperienced freshman quarterback.

Three plays in particular exemplified the idiocy of the playcalling. Play #1, second quarter, third-and-two in Notre Dame territory, the Bruins have moved the ball 40 yards with five runs and one pass. Jay Norvell calls a rollout pass to the tight end. Incomplete pass. Punt. Play #2, third quarter, fourth-and-one in field goal range with a 6-3 lead. Bruins burn a timeout, then call a five-wide set with no running backs. Not even trying to disguise a pass! McLeod gets sacked. Irish have the ball and momentum. Play #3, third quarter, third-and-six on their own five-yard-line. Rollout pass in the end zone for a corner route to the tight end, not exactly a safe pass play. Ball intercepted and returned inside the five, leading to the go-ahead touchdown. WTF? There were only two negative rushing plays (excluding sacks and fumbled snaps) the whole game. Why are you relying on the weakest part of your team, letting your overmatched QB try to make risky plays, instead of relying on the strongest part of your team: defense, special teams, and running game?

I’m sure McLeod feels terrible because his poor play led to the Bruins losing the game. But in reality, the coaching staff did not put him in position to be successful, it put him in a position to make mistakes. That is what is most disheartening about the loss. Unlike the Utah game, which was far more embarrassing in terms of lack of effort on the field, this loss wasn’t about players not showing up to play as much as it was an inability for Dorrell and staff to give them the best opportunity to win. And that’s a shame for these kids that generally work hard and represent the types of student-athletes we can be proud of. On a night where the defense played strong, neutralizing the punchless Notre Dame offense (140 total yards and only three points allowed that weren’t the direct result of turnovers), there should be no reason why they look up at the scoreboard and see a 14-point defeat and watch the humiliating scene of opposing players celebrating on the Rose Bowl grass.

Perhaps the most telling sign of the current state of affairs was the fan response in the early stages of the game when everyone still thought that the Bruins would win. There were a number of Irish fans sitting in my section (and in every other section) and despite their team’s 0-5 debacle of a season to that point and poor execution on the field, they still conveyed optimism and enthusiasm because they’re excited about the direction that Charlie Weis has the program headed in the right direction. Contrast that to the Bruin fans, who were groaning after every bad play, expecting something bad to happen because that’s what seems to happen to this team under Dorrell, despite a seemingly lofty 4-1 record. There is no confidence in the direction of the program, only the expectation that things are going to get worse. How can this be allowed to continue?

Now the big question is whether the athletic department, which supposedly loves Karl, has the stones to pull the trigger (and if you want to encourage them, AD Dan Guerrero’s email is dguerrero@athletics.ucla.edu). It may cost them this stellar recruiting class that Dorrell is bringing in, and it will cost a lot of money to buyout some contracts. But you know what, if someone doesn’t know how to drive a car, it’s not going to matter whether he has a Ferrari or he has a Kia. The car is still not going to go anywhere. It’s time to find someone that’s got his drivers license, even if his car his only a Camry.

The only good news from Saturday? Stanford 24 USC 23. Sad to say, that was about the only thing that elicited much of a cheer from Bruin fans at the Rose Bowl. Yay, we can take comfort in the fact that we weren’t the only team to embarrass ourselves this weekend. Yes, this is UCLA football.

AP Photos by Kevork Djansezian