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TUCSON, Ariz. — The UCLA football team may not be able to move the ball effectively on offense, but it sure can intercept passes.
The Bruins find themselves trailing the Arizona Wildcats 13-3 at halftime, a score that could be much worse if not for the Bruins’ ability to come away with turnovers.

The UCLA offense has amassed just 97 yards of total offense on 28 plays as redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince has had a rough day. Playing in his first road game since Sept. 12 at Tennessee, Prince has completed six-of-12 passes for 58 yards.

Christian Ramirez was a surprise start for Bruins and has 18 yards on five carries. Johnathan Franklin entered the game midway through first quarter and has 26 yards on five carries.

After the Bruins were able to move the ball only 13 yards on their first possession, the Wildcats looked poised to continue their recent tremendous play on offense, driving the ball 56 yards to the UCLA 26-yard line. On 1st and 10, Arizona quarterback Nick Foles threw a pass that deflected off the hands of David Douglas and into the hands of UCLA safety Rahim Moore.

After the Bruins could not take advantage of the turnover and were forced to punt, Arizona scored the first points of the game on a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Juron Criner that put the Wildcats up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

While the Bruins could not make the Wildcats pay for turning the ball over, Arizona proved it could. On the first play of the Bruins’ next possession, Prince did not see the corner blitz and fumbled the football, giving the ball back to the Wildcats. Three plays later, Nic Grigsby ran the ball for a six-yard touchdown. The Bruins blocked the ensuing extra-point attempt to keep the game at 13-0.

Moore came up with his second interception of the game near the start of the second quarter, with the Wildcats driving deep in UCLA territory.

The interception set up the Bruins’ lone score of the half, a 52-yard field goal by Kai Forbath that cut the deficit to 13-3.

The Bruins’ third interception came late in the second quarter when defensive end Korey Bosworth deflected the pass, and defensive tackle Jerzy Siewierski came up with the ball.

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UCLA football players had much to say this week as they prepared for Arizona. Here are a few quotes:
Coach Rick Neuheisel on the possible return of redshirt freshman cornerback Aaron Hester:
“I’m excited to have him back so he can keep reacclimating himself,” Neuheisel said.
Neuheisel on the team's three-game losing streak:
“We don’t ask for any pity,” he said. “We just go.”
Offensive coordinator Norm Chow on the team's youth:
“When Eddie (Williams) went down, we had two freshmen and three sophomores (on the line), a freshman at quarterback and a freshman running back," Chow said. "We’re like a JV team out there.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince on the team's morale:
“There’s no finger-pointing,” Prince said. “I feel personally responsible and that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to look at yourself and see what you can improve. If everybody does that we’ll start being successful.”
Sophomore safety Rahim Moore on UCLA's effort:
“For all the fans out there, we’re going to give them some good football,” Moore said.

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There’s been no shortage of big plays so far at the Rose Bowl, as UCLA trails California 35-20 at the half.
With game time temperatures reaching triple digits, both offenses have been equally hot. Cal has racked up 377 yards of total offense, while UCLA has 286.

For the third straight week, the Bruins have had trouble stopping the run. Tailback Jahvid Best, Cal’s All-America candidate, has burned UCLA for 102 yards on just 11 carries. The bulk of that came on Best’s electrifying 93-yard touchdown scamper midway through the second quarter. The Bruins have not been able to contain sophomore Shane Vereen either. Vareen has 88 yards rushing on eight attempts.

Redshirt freshman Johnathan Franklin leads the Bruins with 96 yards on the ground. Franklin has scored two touchdowns, the second coming on a long 74-yard dash on the near sideline.

The Golden Bears (3-2, 0-2 Pac-10) struck gold on their first series, driving the ball 80 yards on seven plays for the early lead. Vereen, the more than capable compliment to Best, capped the drive with a 42-yard scamper down the far sideline.

Cal extended its lead to 14-0 by capitalizing on redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince’s fumble midway through the first quarter. Cal quarterback Kevin Riley connected with Marvin Jones for a 43-yard touchdown pass.

Franklin responded with his first touchdown, a seven-yard score to cut the deficit to 14-7.

Riley continued the back-and-forth exchange, hooking up with Best, who beat redshirt senior linebacker Kyle Bosworth on the edge, for a 51-yard touchdown pass. Then came Franklin’s second touchdown, this one for 74 yards on the first play of the Bruins' (3-2, 0-2) drive.

Best countered with his 93-yard touchdown run before UCLA place kicker Kai Forbath kicked a 24-yard field goal.

Riley, who is 8-of-13 for 165 yards and three touchdowns, went to Jones again on the Golden Bears’ final drive for yet another score.

Forbath nailed a 39-yard field goal as time expired to make it 35-20.

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UCLA football players had much to say this week as they prepared for a crucial Pac-10 match against rival California. Here are a few quotes:
Senior cornerback Alterraun Verner on Cal:
"Cal is a good team and there’s a lot of tradition between us," he said. "But they’re basically just targets that are in the way right now."
Coach Rick Neuheisel on the availability of running back Christian Ramirez, who was pegged as the team's starter before the season:
"We had high hopes for him," Neuheisel said. "We thought of him as the starter coming into the fall but he’s been nicked. Saw some good things from him last week, so I’m not afraid to put him in there."
Sophomore offensive lineman Jeff Baca on what UCLA needs to do against Cal:
"We’re going to have to be physical with them and establish the run," Baca said. "That’s going to be the key to the game."
Redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin on the offense's struggles:
"We still have a lot learning to do and a lot of growing up to do," Franklin said. "But we can be good, man. We’re young and we love the game of football. We want to win, we want to make plays and definitely want to turn this thing around. We can be real explosive."
Franklin on his role in the offense:
"I want 30 carries," Franklin said. "I’m always hungry for the ball. It’s coming, I’ve just got to wait my time."
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince on his rhythm this week:
"It’s so much better than it was last week," Prince said. "I just felt rushed into things (last week). I felt like I played a decent first half. I was rushing things and forcing things. It was good to see exactly how I reacted to those situations, so I know how to not react in the future."

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Another week, another formidable opposing running back.
After failing to contain Stanford's Toby Gerhart and Oregon's LaMichael James on consecutive weeks, the UCLA defense is sure to have its hands full with California's Jahvid Best this Saturday.

It's not getting any easier, that's for sure.

“We have to find a way to stop Jahvid Best,” senior cornerback Alterraun Verner said.

Best, considered one of the top running backs in the country, has been somewhat mediocre in Cal's last two games - both of which were losses. Best rushed for just 55 yards in the Golden Bears' 42-3 loss at Oregon on Sept. 26. He ran for just 47 in Cal's 30-3 home loss to USC two weeks ago.

While the Golden Bears have been unable to establish the run, the Bruins have had a tough time stopping it.

Stanford's Gerhart ran at will against UCLA two weeks ago in Palo Alto, accumulating 134 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. James, meanwhile, ran for 152 yards in just 20 carries last week at the Rose Bowl.

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Redshirt junior place kicker Kai Forbath easily nailed a 52-yard field goal to hand the UCLA football team a 3-0 lead over No. 13 Oregon at the half.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince is 9-of-15 for 51 yards in his return from a fractured jaw.

Oregon is without starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who suffered a knee injury last week against Washington State. His replacement, Nate Costa, is 6-of-12 for 49 yards.

UCLA has nine first downs while Oregon has moved the chains six times.

UCLA's Jeff Locke and Oregon's Jackson Rice have punted three times each.

The Ducks have averaged less than a yard on third-down plays. They are 1-of-6 on third-down conversions.

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So far this season, the UCLA football team’s biggest obstacle has been a small, yellow flag.

Through four games, the Bruins have seen that flag thrown 28 times, costing them a total of 245 yards. That’s an average of more than 60 yards per game.

UCLA committed six crucial penalties in its 24-16 loss at Stanford last Saturday.

“I don’t know where the penalties came from,” junior defensive tackle Brian Price said afterwards. “We shot ourselves in the foot.”

The most notable penalty came in the second quarter, when sophomore safety Rahim Moore misjudged an Andrew Luck incomplete pass on a third-and-long and was called for the personal foul. Moore suffered a concussion on the play and did not return to action.

“We had to think before we could play,” sophomore safety Tony Dye said following the game.
The Bruins, at least defensively, will have to be more cautious this week. Oregon leads the Pac-10 with 34.2 points per game.

But Oregon’s success has not come easy. Like the Bruins, the Ducks have had their share of issues with penalties. Oregon has been flagged 32 times for 276 yards in five games.

According to sophomore receiver Taylor Embree, the Bruins have to be focused from the start to prevent tough situations.

“As an offense, we just need to pick it up earlier,” he said.

That was evident on the Bruins’ first drive in Palo Alto.

After UCLA recovered a Stanford fumble, redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin got the Bruins to the Cardinal 39-yard line on just three carries. Another Franklin five-yard rush was negated by a holding penalty and the Bruins eventually settled for a field goal.

“We were moving the ball earlier,” coach Rick Neuheisel told reporters after the loss at Stanford. “It wasn’t a case of not moving (the ball).”

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Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince, who had been out since Sept. 12 with a fractured jaw, has been medically cleared to play in Saturday's game against No. 13 Oregon.

Prince earned the majority of the first-team reps during Tuesday's practice and is expected to start under center against the visiting Ducks.

Prince had his jaw wired shut for three weeks after suffering the injury in the final minute of UCLA's 19-15 victory at Tennessee.

Prince has thrown for 277 yards and two touchdowns this season.

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UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel is unhappy about the rule that sets a 64-player limit for road teams in Pac-10 play.

And he voiced that displeasure following Thursday afternoon's practice session.

"That stinks, that absolutely stinks,” Neuheisel told reporters. “It’s the rule, but it’s not a good rule."

According to Neuheisel, the coaching staff has had to make "a bunch" of lineup adjustments in preparation for Saturday's game at Stanford. Though he understands that the restriction has a positive effect, especially with the current economic state, Neuheisel wishes it did not exist.

"When you’re getting kids to come to your school they should be able to go on trips," he added.

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Sanchez went 8-9 in that quarter, and the Trojans gained 148 yards. UCLA gained only 38.

Anothy silly mistake from USC; the Trojans went offside on a third down and one, and the penalty gives the Bruins a first down.

Back-up quarterback Chris Forcier subs in and carries the ball for four yards, but Micah Reed held his defender on the play, and the Bruins are now forced back into first down and 20 to go.

A play designed to get UCLA just a few yards fails. Craft tried a short screen to tight end Ryan Moya, which would have made this third down and 20 much more manageable.

A very bad break for the Bruins. Aaron Perez' punt is blocked, and now the Trojans will start with excellent field position. That is the first blocked punt of the season against UCLA.

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