The Bruins showed against Utah and Rice that their offense can
do it all. It can move the ball through the air and on the ground.
The only thing the Bruins have left to do is show they can do both
in the same game.
Ben Olson came out gunning against Utah, and with great pass
protection put up huge numbers in his first start as a Bruin. After
the game, all the talk was about whether the running game would
pick up the pace. As coach Karl Dorrell put it, the running game
didn’t show up against Utah.
The offensive line had talked about how it needed to focus on
setting up the run, and did just that in the game against Rice.
When running back Chris Markey broke his first big run of the
season ““ 43 yards in the first quarter ““ a lot of
questions about the running game were answered. Markey reached the
century mark before halftime, totaling 116 yards on 13 carries
before the break.
The Bruins ended the game with two rushers over 100 yards.
Markey finished with 208 yards on 23 carries, and Kahlil Bell
totaled 102 yards on 18 carries.
“The O-line set up huge holes,” Bell said. “A
lot of times, me and Chris weren’t getting touched until the
second level. That’s a running back’s dream. If you can
get past the first level untouched, then there’s not much
else you can ask for.”
Saturday’s passing game, however, left a lot to be
desired.
In the first half, the offensive line let the Rice defense put
pressure on Olson, sacking him once, and hurried on multiple
occasions. Olson was held to just 45 yards, going 7/11 with one
touchdown pass to Junior Taylor.
Olson’s first pass of the second half was an interception
that led to Rice’s first points of the contest.
The Bruins’ incomplete play resulted in a game that was
much closer than it should have been. They were playing against a
weaker opponent. At one point ““ after a Rice touchdown in
third ““ the Bruins led by only six points in a contest where
they were 27 1/2-point favorites.
On the very next UCLA drive, Rice recovered an Olson fumble that
came loose when he was trying to get a pass off before being
sacked.
Bruin fans were forced to hold their breaths for a minute in a
game where they never should have.
The honeymoon period is over for Olson, who will need to rebound
from the more frustrating second start if the Bruins are going to
be competitive in Pac-10 play. Simply put, he can’t afford to
look like he did Saturday against a good team.
Its not a good day for UCLA’s passing game when the
leading receiver has 43 yards on four catches, and is fullback
Michael Pitre
Because the opponent was Rice, the Bruins’ incomplete play
did not affect their record, but against more competitive opponents
they won’t be able get away with that kind of
performance.
E-mail Gordon at [email protected].