Revenge is a dish best served cold, and if memory serves me correctly, it was almost exactly a year ago when last year’s downward spin started with a shocking loss at the hands of Stanford. This year’s downward slide has started a little earlier, perhaps because it is a leap year or something else that’s lunar. Hey, if the Red Sox can do it, so can the Bruins. I mean, UCLA’s curse is about five or six years old, compared to the Red Sox’s near-century-long drought.
But much has changed since last All Hallow’s Eve. Stanford is no longer a so-called “plankton” – a bottom-feeder in the Pac-10 – and for this matchup against UCLA, Stanford might even be considered the big fish, and the Bruins little guppies.
Although the Cardinal does not have the offensive firepower that Arizona State possessed, the Bruins will still put up and allow a handful of touchdowns.
In an ideal world, you would be able to get a heavy dosage of Maurice Drew going again. But if that doesn’t work, the Bruins now seem to have a reliable triumvirate of backs, with freshman Chris Markey and senior Manuel White.
Still, if you remember the Stanford game from a year ago, the defense focused on the run and dared Drew Olson to pass. And why not?
Last week, Olson threw four awful interceptions. But here’s an idea.
The other team wears red, and UCLA’s remaining regular-season opponents will either wear red or green the rest of the way. To help the Bruins out, coach Karl Dorrell should try some Christmas-aversion therapy.
Red stocking? A slap across the face. A green Christmas tree? A minor electric shock.
But, remember your team doesn’t wear red or green. It wears blue.
Then again, maybe getting into the Christmas spirit isn’t a good idea for Olson. After four picks last week, he doesn’t need to be in the spirit of giving any more.
But Olson did play valiantly. Many remember that pass that Olson missed to a wide-open Marcedes Lewis late in the fourth quarter. But the reason that Lewis was open was because the Sun Devils chose to blitz, and the UCLA front just couldn’t hold off the rush a split second longer for Olson to put some air under it.
The result was a blown opportunity. After that, Arizona State learned its lesson and didn’t blitz again.
I would say that the key to stopping the Cardinal is to put Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards on the ground often. He’s banged up, but it seems as if every time UCLA blitzes, no one can even get close enough to touch the quarterback. And after all, isn’t that the point of a blitz – to apply pressure?
Just ask John Madden.
“It’s the laws of logic! They brought seven guys, and there’s only six blockers, so of course one is going to get free!”
Obviously, Madden hasn’t seen the UCLA defensive attack lately.
So what will it take for UCLA to rise up the Pac-10 food chain? The short answer is, evolution. It’s going to take time to mature, develop, and grow. Of course, Bruin fans aren’t exactly known for their patience, so we’ll just have to see how long it takes for Dorrell’s plan to get carried out.
The big sharks like USC and Cal will rule the Pac-10 ocean this year, but the move up the ladder starts when that little guppy stands up to the bigger fish – and that chance comes this week.
Bruce watched “A Shark’s Tale” last night. Maybe a few too many times. E-mail him at btran@media.ucla.edu.