ROYALLY DUCKED

Smashmouth Football.

The Battle for Cheer Supremacy never materialized…Oregon brought only 3 girls this year.

Or-e-Gone in 260 Seconds:  4-minute meltdown by Crespi Prince and Bruins turns Crispy Duck (without Masoli) into Duck Chow Pain, 24-10

Will Bruins fans even Give a Flying Duck any more?  Will anybody even care?  Will everyone give up?

UCLA hosted Oregon on Saturday, and after grinding out a 3-0 lead at halftime, they came out for the 3rd Quarter and completely fell apart.  What did Neuheisel say in the locker room duing intermission — That he was taking another job?

In the first four minutes of the 3rd, the Ducks scored 21 points:  They returned the kickoff 102 yards for a TD, they got a Pick 6 on one of the day’s many poor Kevin Prince passes, and then after the Special Teams and Defense had each gotten a TD, the Oregon Offense added another one, right after Prince fumbled while carrying the ball carelessly on a scramble.

While Prince did have a good streak of completions, and kept the Bruin Offense on the field in the very fast-moving 1st half, he was still very rusty-looking, missing several easy targets,.  The Interception was bad, too, and there were another two that should have been picked, that were each thrown right at an apparently invisible defender.

Prince’s offense was so bad — the running Game didn’t give him any help — that Neuheisel actually went to his #2 QB –The new #2 — Richard Brehaut.  Brehaut looked like he has some talent, but he wasn’t able to get the Bruins into the end zone.  UCLA’s only points came from a 52-yard Field Goal from clinch All-American Kai Forbath, and an Interception in the End Zone by Akeem Ayers.

The Offense looked weak regardless of QB.  Kevin Craft would nor have fared any better than the Freshmen, considering that Oregon stopped the Run, and forced the Bruins into passing situations.  The Freshmen stretched the D with attempted deep passes — something Craft did not do — but these bombs were never completed.

Brehaut threw an INT, but it wasn’t completely his fault — It was off the mark high and behind Taylor Embree, but Embree got his hands on it, and deflected it to the defender.  And that wasn’t the only disappointing play made by a  Bruin Receiver.  The Bruins suffered repeated dropped balls all afternoon, too many to be explained by being out of rhythm with Prince having been gone so long.

Damien Thigpen showed some nice moves and speed, which is becoming more and more important, with Milton Knox having been unavailable, and Jonathan Franklin spaining his ankle.  But Thigpen is still looking for his first big, game-changing play.  The other supposedly game-breaking Freshman speedster Randall Carroll caught a pass and was targeted on another, on a bomb, but he dropped it (a defender might have tipped it or blocked his vision).

The UCLA Offensive Line allowed too much penetration, and did not open up enough holes for the Running Backs.  Considering this fact, and the poor performance by the Receivers, I STILL prefer Kevin Prince to Kevin Craft.  He made two huge mistakes on Saturday, and missed a lot of easy targets, but he — and Brehaut — showed more arm strength and more rhythm-building than Craft.  It may not be fair, but when Prince screws up, it’s a Freshman mistake (which will happen less frequently with playing time), but when Craft does it, it’s just the best Craft can do.  I believe that after Saturday’s effort, Brehaut deserves to remain at #2 on the depth chart.

Knowing that Cal got killed by Oregon and sc, it is possible to think that UCLA may actually be able to compete with them this coming Saturday in the Rose Bowl, although Cal’s Running Back might just set a record.  And after the Bruin Offense looked so impotent against Oregon, it’s hard to see them putting up a lot of points any time soon… no matter who is running it at QB, and no matter who is defending it.

Fans are really starting to wonder about the Genius title that Norm Chow has been carrying for years.  Is it like a Driver’s Test?  Does he need to renew his Genius License?  Is calling back-to-back QB Sneaks at the Goal Line on the test?  It’s hard to believe that the Bruins keep getting outcoached, considering the pedigrees on their own staff.  The natives are definitely getting restless.

And speaking of getting restless, YES, we have photos of the THREE Oregon Cheerleaders that the Ducks could spare from Eugene, and of the Bruin Spirit Squad, preceded by some actual game photos of some scary moments, just a little early for Halloween. 

The Ducks really seem to have grown accustomed to their facemasks.

WTF?  Here’s the Pick Six that killed the Bruins.  I admit it:  Kevin Craft would not have done much worse.

Here’s another one that shows Prince’s field vision to be questionable.

A little more time, a little more protection, a little more of a running game, and Prince will ultimately succeed as a passer, and Thigpen may emerge as his favorite target.

Here is the blocked Field Goal… One of the sole highlights of the game for UCLA (sadly).  The announcers all said Sheldon Price got it, but it looked more like someone on the interior line did.

Brehaut came in and passed and passed and passed, and looked pretty good  (but didn’t score).  It’s hard to fathom why he didn’t play earlier this year.

Brehaut’s main problem was avoiding a heavy rush, by audiiblizing, scrambling, or getting rid of the ball.

“Do it to me, Sheldon!”

Price Rollback.

Kyle Bosworth may have been the most ACTIVE (and producitve) defender.  And by the way, shutting out Oregon for a half, even without Masoli, and really just giving up 1 TD all game, isn’t bad.

Here’s Kyle again, just a second too late, with his twin brother Korey, who must have come out second.

It almost became a laugher for the Ducks (but the Bruins didn’t quit).

Usually, “Going Green” is a good thing.

Chow vs. Alliotti = 3 points?  It’s a Pair o’ Ducks (paradox).

You would think more than 3 of them would want to make this trip.  Last time, they had a whole flock.

But even for 3, it was worth a trip into Duck Land for a few minutes.

 

They aren’t falling; It’s all part of the routine.

…Proof — Here they are seconds later.

The sun broke through just in time to light the Dance Team’s pregame performance — I THOUGHT it was good omen for the game, but no.

When was the last time UCLA had a three-way QB Controversy?  I think the depth chart should stay the same for one more week, but then might switch one and two if Cal wins.

The Season is not a total loss yet… it just FEELS like it right now.

With hair this silky, she could be a Pantene model (and if you’re a long-time reader, you know I mean that as a grand compliment).

Leaving you with a final thought for today:  At least sc didn’t win on Saturday (they had a bye… but still committed 12 penalties for 68 yards).

Comments

2 responses to “ROYALLY DUCKED”

  1. Robert Avatar
    Robert

    Obviously, our girls are stunningly beautiful and the most talented, but daaaaaaaaaaamn!! those Oregon cheerleaders aren’t lacking either beauty or talent…Whoa, Nellie!!

  2. Rick Avatar
    Rick

    Speaking of underachievement…
    The Bruins looked like the better team in the first half, leading despite playing with a quarterback who was clearly rushed back into action a bit too soon (even an experienced upperclassman who missed two games with a broken jaw would be expected to be rusty/out of sync a matter of weeks later, but a freshman with only 2 games experience–what else could we possibly have expected?). And take away the braindead first minute of the second half, and our Bruins had the talent and toughness to play the #13 ranked team in the country dead even.
    The talent is there, the grit is there, but the discipline, the execution–the COACHING–I’m not so sure anymore (not even about the play calling–the most blatant example you’ve pointed out: one sneak by a freshman with a fractured jaw is questionable, but having failed, another one??).

    If Prince is still not ready next week–and he was not ready yesterday–then I believe Brehaut should get the start. He looked very promising to me, despite an unusual lack of protection compared to the other QBs
    (perhaps due to an inablity to audibilize at this stage, or maybe the defense’s expectation of the pass?), and had a nice drive going until a key completion was called back due to a ridiculous interference call on Rosario (who, btw, absolutely needs to be utilized more).

    The frustrating part is that while we still may be “a year away,” we could nevertheless be beating these teams NOW, especially at home. Failure to do so has to be put on the coaching staff, inexcusable missed tackles and missed assignments notwithstanding.