Thomas runs wild on Bruins
MANHATTAN, Kans. - UCLA expected a steady dose of Daniel Thomas, but he didn't go down smooth, and he didn't go down easy, and really, he didn't go down at all.
The Bruins dived and reached and grabbed and clawed, but Thomas was just too difficult to swallow.
He was a jagged not-so-little pill, a 6-foot-2, 228-pound merry-go-round, only he did not just go around the UCLA defense, he went around and over and in between and through.
Thomas torched the Bruins for 234 yards and two touchdowns in the Wildcats' 31-22 win in the teams' season opener on Saturday afternoon at Kansas State's Bill Snyder Family Stadium, even though the Bruins knew it was coming, even though they thought they were in the right spot.
"I know a couple of times I was coming across, and I had cutback gap on him, and the ball was declared, clearly declared, and he ran into everybody, stopped on a dime and cutback the other way for a huge gain," said junior outside linebacker Sean Westgate, who had seven tackles. "I'm just like, 'I know that was my gap, I know I messed that up.' He and (backup running back William Powell), they were both cutting back all over the place. It wasn't just us missing tackles. They were making life difficult for us."
Life wasn't easy for the Bruins in the first half, but it was downright cruel in the second half.
Despite a rocky start, UCLA clung to a 10-7 lead at halftime, courtesy of a Kevin Prince 11-yard touchdown run that directly followed a fumble by Kansas State quarterback Carson Coffman early in the second quarter.
The Bruins made up for an erratic early offensive performance - Prince started just 5-of-17 for 43 yards in the first half, though his wideouts dropped several passes - with a consistent defensive effort.
Then Thomas and Powell came out for the first drive of the second half as if the Bruins spit on their mothers, the two teaming for 72 yards on two rushes, a 44-yard jaunt by Thomas that left him hobbled, and a 28-yard scoring run by the unheralded Powell on the next play.
Thomas was more slippery than a bookie and just as calculating, cutting through UCLA for 180 second-half yards.
"I told him when I saw him, 'Man, you remind me of Steven Jackson," said UCLA junior free safety Rahim Moore, who had seven tackles. "He's that type of guy. Big, physical, strong, has some speed. That's a great player. Every time you tackle him, he's always running forward, leaning forward, getting those extra yards. He's their bread and butter."
It's no wonder Thomas was the bread and butter, but for 48 minutes, Coffman was the spoiled milk.
Coffman was 11-of-16 for just 66 yards, sacked five times, but he put the Wildcats up 24-16 with a five-yard touchdown pass to Brodrick Smith with just more than two minutes left in the game.
"You got Thomas and you got Powell, and so you're thinking it's run, run, run," said junior strong safety Tony Dye, who had a game-high 15 tackles. "That was on my mind today. I was coming downhill, but every once in a while, they'd dink-dunk, try to take us up top, and that's what good teams do with a running offense."
And that's what Kansas State has with Thomas.
The Bruins knew what they were getting.
They almost prepared for him, too.
But head coach Rick Neuheisel limited the physicality in practice after the team's Aug. 21 scrimmage, when starting center Kai Maiava went down with a broken ankle on the third play, and he's regretting it now.
"The technique of the tackling itself today was terrible in the second half, I'm not ashamed to say that," Dye said. "You know what, I take that back - I am ashamed to say that."
CRN is a fraud. No more excuses Ricky!!!! You have been exposed, you are an overpaid recruiter. You are outcoached each and every week!!!!
i'm disappointed but i think the test will be how they respond to this loss. if they win next week, this loss will be forgiven and forgotten.
Yep. Because that's what we Bruin fans do. We forgive and forget and forgive and forget and just hope that things will get better eventually. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Overpaid? Neuheisel and his staff are paid less than a 1/3 of what SC pays their coaches, and he gave 10% back to the school when the budget crisis hit. Kiffin is paid 4 millions per year, along with his dad Monte, Ed Odgeron, and Kennedy Pola, their entire staff are collectively paid over 8 millions per year. Dorrell was paid less than 1 million, UCLA never ever broke out big money for big name mercenary coaches.
Its sad... we're accustomed to losing... but if we show signs of improvement its ok...
UCLA football: we're improving
What's sad is how quickly Bruin fans turn on their team. Bruin fans have as much loyalty to their team as a professional baseball player.