BUFFALOES GIVE YOU WINGS

No Bull — Bruins soar to tasty 45-6 victory over battered Colorado — If only it were an appetizer for an upcoming meal

Finally — A game that goes the way it was expected to go.  Double-digit Favorite UCLA faced Colorado on Saturday, and jumped all over them, flying out to a 21-0 lead in the first minutes of the game, and rolling to a 45-6 triumph.  UCLA scored on their 2nd play from scrimmage, on a 54-yard Kevin Prince to Shaquelle Evans bomb, then got a Sean Westgate Interception that they turned into 7 points on a Jonathan Franklin 14-yard TD run.  Then Prince hit Joseph Fauria for a TD — the first of TWO for Fauria — and later, Prince found Nelson Rosario for his FOURTH TD pass of the game.

The Bruins racked up 553 yards of Total Offense against the overmatched Buffs, including 162 Rushing yards by Franklin (who also lost another fumble), and 91 Rushing yards for Prince.  And in addition, Prince passed for 225 yards.  Prince completed his first EIGHT passes, and finished 15-of-19.  Sure, he had a good game, but he didn’t become Joe Montana overnight — Colorado’s Defense was horrible, and Prince had wide open targets all night.  He missed Evans later in the game on what would have been yet another long Touchdown pass.

Also, the Colorado Offense was pretty bad as well.  Yes, the Bruin Defense upped its pressure, and had Tony Dye back in the mix, but I wouldn’t get too excited about the “new” Bruin D being improved — They missed an easy tackle on the very first play of the game, and two more easy ones in the next few minutes, including a sad one for Westgate.  They also had a blatant Pass Interference call on a long 3rd Down.  But Andrew Abbott shined again, grabbing TWO Interceptions.  The Defense played well for most of the game, but there is very little reason to think that they will be able to repeat this effort next week.

It’s fine to celebrate this convincing win, but you really have to keep it in perspective.  Colorado sucks, without a doubt, and the Bruins’ next opponent just beat Oregon IN Oregon.  Sure, they needed a botched Field Goal attempt to do it, after nearly choking away a 24-point lead late in the game, but on paper, they figure to obliterate the Bruins on Saturday.  If the spread is anything less than 3 TD’s, I recommend GIVING the points.

None of the above pessimism should stop you from enjoying the Bruins’ 6th win of the year, which makes them Bowl-eligible, and keeps them in the de facto driver’s seat for the South Division Title.  So, go ahead and celebrate.  And to help in that cause, here are FORTY-FIVE photos from the Rose Bowl on Saturday.  Click on the horizontal ones to ENLARGE them.