In This Corner

They allowed him to make a direct run all of one time -- and he gained 11 yards for a first down.

Not once did they roll him out, giving him a run/pass option. Not once did they put him in the shotgun and run some sort of spread offense option stuff.

And remember, Rasshan took over as the No. 1 Qb back at Arizona, when he came on in the second half for Patrick Cowan and led the Bruins to 10 late points.

He played the whole game against Arizona State, and wasn't awful in a 24-20 loss, considering it was his first start. He had one damaging interception late, but had coach Karl Dorrell allowed ace kicker Kai Forbath to try two different 53-yard field goals ... and had Forbath made one ... the Bruins would have needed only a field goal, late, instead of asking Rasshan to make a TD play.

Anyway, Rasshan was benched at halftime, Ben Olson came in, his knee held up ... and now Rasshan is buried. Again. Just like he was a month ago.

Dorrell talked about Patrick Cowan perhaps being back from his punctured lung/concussion next week for the USc game, so even if Olson's knee gives out, the Bruins' other fragile QB will be available.

No, Rasshan's numbers were not good. But UCLA did nothing to use him in a way in which he might have been able to succeed.

I'm thinking Rasshan will never take another snap as a UCLA quarterback. I assume he goes back to receiver, next year. He is too good an athlete not to have on the field. That is, if he sticks with the program, which he will ... even if the program has done so little for him.

Anyway, I think I may have been the only reporter to talk to Osaar, after the game. (He was dressed and out of the locker room before reporters were allowed in.)

He said he was a bit surprised at halftime when offensive coordinator Jay Norvell told him he was being benched in favor of veteran Ben Olson, who had been out with a knee injury.

"They said they wanted to change up the timing of the offense," Rasshan said.

And how would the sophomore QB-turned-receiver-turned-QB out of Pomona Garey evaluate his performance in his second start? "I felt I played well," Rasshan said.

Said Norvell: "Osaar struggled. We were trying to get him some momentum early and we had some deeper balls. Osaar's gotta be ready for us. I told him when we made the change at half, 'be ready,' because he may have had to go back in in the second half and he's going to have to play for us again this year.

"He's done a good job of playing for us, and leading and competing. We just felt like we needed a little bit of a spark, some punch in the passing game."