PLOTZIN’ IN AUTZEN

Verklempt, blue-ish Bruins lay an egg against the #1 Ducks, who easily live up to their billing with a 60-13 slaughter

Some of my best friends are blue-ish.

UCLA finally played the way they were expected to — Horribly.  The Bruins got absolutely destroyed by Oregon in noisy Autzen Stadium, 60-13… and it wasn’t THAT close.

Oregon led 32-3 at Halftime, and 46-6 after three quarters, when they mercifully rested all their starters, allowing UCLA to put a lone Touchdown on the board.  Oregon scored a shipload of points off of Turnovers by UCLA’s “starting” QB Richard Brehaut, who threw a huge, momentum-killing INT on his first drive, and followed that up with a few Sack-fumbles that have actually become his trademark… and Bruin fans better get used to it.  Real starter Kevin Prince had to watch Thrusday night’s nightmare from the sidelines, and will have knee surgery on Saturday. 

Brehaut’s complete inability to “feel” the pass rush is what has kept him a second-stringer for two years, despite Prince’s fragility and subsequent lack of ability to perform.  Apparently, Brehaut can’t tell a blitz from a blintz.  On Thursday night, a National TV audience saw why Coaches Chow and Neuheisel have stuck so stubbornly with Prince — Brehaut STILL can’t read defenses, go through his progressions, look off defenders, avoid Sacks, or protect the ball.  For me personally, my “silver lining” is that all the idiot internet Bruin fans who have been denigrating the Coaches and Prince, in favor of Brehaut, should finally be silenced.  Prince was NOT the problem, and Brehaut is NOT the answer.

The Brehaut supporters will point to his 159 yards passing and higher completion percentage to back up their case, but keep in mind the game was TOTALLY OVER before Brehaut was able to gain substantial yards in the air.  I’m not saying that Brehaut is a lost cause, or that he can’t lead the team to any victories while Prince is recovering — ALL I AM SAYING is the same thing that I’ve been saying all along:  The Coaches had damn good reasons for sticking with Prince, even when he was hobbled.

In the first half, the Bruins WERE able to gain chunks of yards on the ground, with Derrick Coleman and Jonathan Franklin both breaking tackles and finding lanes to run through.  But when 3rd Downs came up, the Offense could not convert.  And when the Ducks got the ball, forgetaboutit.  It wasn’t just the Country’s leading Rusher LaMichael James, it was actually the success of QB Darron Thomas — who threw for over 300 yards in his 3 quarters of play — that was the killer.  Without much of a pass rush, and without much-maligned Cornerback Sheldon Price in the line-up, the Bruin secondary was in total disarray.  Oregon had open Receivers all over the field, and Thomas, with all day to throw, was easily able to connect with them.  The Ducks scored TD’s on several long, QUICK drives, promptly stomping the hopes of the Bruins into the mud.

The only other silver lining I could find (besides getting proof that playing Prince all season was not the team’s downfall) was that the Bruins didn’t soften up the Ducks for their next opponent, which happens to be the trojans at the Coliseum.  I didn’t see any Ducks get injured except for James, who came back into the game after going down, and looked fine.  Hopefully, they will be at full strength next week, and not too complacent, since destroying the Bruins does NOT guarantee a good result the next week in South Central.  Just ask Cal.

[Note to Jewish Bruin fans who might be offended by my use of the word “slaughter” in the Yiddish-themed headlines:  Sorry.  At least I didn’t go with my first thought, “Extermination of the Blues.”  And btw, I am an M.O.T.  If you know what that means, it should make the reference slightly less repugnant, sort of like a Rapper using a certain word.]

Comments

2 responses to “PLOTZIN’ IN AUTZEN”

  1. UCLADal Avatar
    UCLADal

    A slaughter it was. No getting around that one. Any chance you post some Oregon cheer leader pics? What the hell!

    [T-H’s Note: Wow. You just set a record — Your comment came in before I even finished proofreading my article! As for the photos, no, I thought they would be like rubbing salt in the wound. However, if they BeatSC next week, I’ll consider it. Also, I have already posted my best Duck cheer shots, after the last two times Oregon played the Bruins in Pasadena, and those shots are still up in the archives. However, since you are a long-time, personal friend, if you ever wanted to see any of my photos, I would be happy to send you some via e-mail.]

  2. Jake Avatar
    Jake

    Yeah you said it, BAD. Maybe its just me, the oregon Cheerleaders are pretty but … man they need to eat something.