Bad News Bruins Get Smacked Around, 49-20

After watching UCLA get dumped, dissed, and flat-out punked by a very motivated and pumped up Texas Longhorns team at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, 49-20, I can sum up this latest fiasco like this:

The Bruins’s extremely sub-par first half, was all Kevin Prince’s fault – three interceptions in the first quarter, directly leading to 21 Longhorn points, should quell any arguments there.

He threw as many picks as completed passes; I could have done better than that, and I’m in my mid-40s!

Can you say pathetic?

The Bruins’ pronouncedly atrocious second half was the defense’s fault, as they were an absolute sieve in giving up a total of 487 yards for the game, 285 of them rushing; they couldn’t stop anything as tackles were missed on an alarmingly regular basis, which led to big gains by Texas on the ground and in the air.

Just like against Houston two weeks before and for much of last year; poor tackling and poor execution in general plagued UCLA once again.

As an example of their ineptitude, during the first quarter the Bruins had to call a timeout because the offense was in the wrong formation and didn’t understand what they were supposed to do. After the timeout, they were flagged for having 12 men on the field.

Talk about your idiotic screw-ups!

Besides Jeff Locke’s two field goals of 51 and 49 yards, one positive thing did come about in this disaster of a game, which is this:

Bruin Nation has seen the last of Kevin Prince at quarterback, as coach Rick Neuheisel, if he has any common sense, should have seen once and for all that Richard Brehaut is the better QB and needs to be the starter going forward.

Despite him completing just 8 of 19 passes for 150 yards, it was painfully obvious to me and everyone else around me in the stands that the offense was so much better at moving the ball down field with Brehaut under center.

If Neuheisel doesn’t name him the permanent starter, I, and many other UCLA fans, will be most upset, angry, and just plain pissed off.

Another issue that I saw, that I don’t think anyone has really noticed or voiced, is that in my view the “pistol” offense, or formation, does not really work in the Pac-12.

Here’s the reason:

When Neuheisel and his staff journeyed to Nevada to watch how their pistol offense racked up yards and points galore, I’m not sure if they realized that Nevada’s competition in the Western Athletic Conference – the WAC – wasn’t and isn’t nearly as strong as UCLA’s in the Pac-12 (save for Boise State, who moved to the Mountain West Conference this season).

In other words, what works against, say, a Hawaii or a UNLV wouldn’t necessarily work against a USC or an Arizona State, because the level of competition and the quality of the defenses is tougher.

I feel that the Bruins would have been better off sticking with a pro-set formation, which would play to Brehaut’s strengths as he’s more of a classic drop-back passing quarterback.

But that’s just me.

And also a moot point as evidently the “pistol” offense is here to stay in Westwood, as least for the foreseeable future.

A perfect illustration of how UCLA’s day went was during the second quarter, when defensive back Andrew Abbott got absolutely laid out by Texas wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, his helmet flying off and him being on the ground for several minutes before he was helped off the field; needless to say, Abbott did not return to the game as he suffered a concussion.

The fact that Goodwin received a 15-yard personal foul for that hit was a small consolation.

I suppose there’s not much more to say, except that normally this was a game that should best be forgotten as soon as possible, but with the ongoing issues that the Bruins have, I’m not sure if that can be done so easily.

NEXT OPPONENT: Oregon State, September 24th, in Corvallis, OR, 12:30 p.m.

Preview: Being that this Beaver team lost to FCS (formerly Division 1-AA) school Sacramento State in Week 1 and got walloped by Wisconsin 35-0 the next week, I’m going to say this:

If UCLA loses this next game, that’s pretty much the end of the season.

It will put the signature on Neuheisel’s death warrant. And it will make him a lame duck.

I would say this about any team and coach who’s about to play an opponent who lost to a school that’s essentially Long Beach State with a football program; losing Jacquizz Rogers has certainly hurt them.

So all I’ve got to say is that Neuheisel and his Bruin team better find a way to beat this reeling Oregon State bunch.

Or it will, for all intents and purposes, be over.