UCLA falls to K-State, 31-22
Quick game write-up for the blog, more to follow...
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.
Thomas had 234 yards rushing and two touchdowns and broke tackle after tackle, exploiting cutback lanes and finding ways to make something out of nothing, as Kansas State defeated the Bruins 31-22 in front of a packed house at Snyder Family Stadium.
Thomas had 54 yards at the half as UCLA led 10-7, the Bruins able to limit Thomas between the tackles.
But Thomas' backup, William Powell, was a tough pill to swallow, too, gaining 72 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown after Thomas limped off the field following a crunching hit early in the third quarter, giving the Wildcats a lead they would not surrender.
UCLA got close, though.
After Kansas State scored on a five-yard touchdown pass from Carson Coffman to Brodrick Smith with 2:03 left to make it 24-16, the Bruins struck back with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Prince to Ricky Marvray.
The two-point conversion dropped to the ground, though, and Thomas' 35-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds left ended the game.
Why is UCLA running an option offense with a quarterback who isn't suited to running the football? And when will UCLA finally have a tean that plays SOME defense. K-State is not a good offensive team and they made UCLA look bad.
It's just the first game. We shall see. K-State is not a bad team.
Give more carries to M.Jones.
Get Marvray and Smith the ball.
Let Brehaut run the O. He can't be any worse than Prince.
And, frickin TACKLE!
Keep talking, pusc. Your coach and D don't look like world-beaters, either.
disappointed is an understatement. I hate to be a doomsayer, but Brehaut needs a chance, a real chance to see what he can do. Prince has not improved at all, and please I don't want to hear excuses about not practicing. He hasn't improved, period. The defense with all that talent looks worse than two years ago. I like Tony Dye, but we need playmakers to play, period. The D-Coordinator needs to be replaced. His schemes are puzzling at best. Bottom line, the team has not improved at all, not one bit. Watching other teams in the Pac-10, you see improvement. It is shocking to not see any improvement! ANOTHER, long, long season...
EMBARRASSING AGAIN! WILL UCLA EVER GET A QUARTERBACK OR MORE THAN THAT, A COMPETITIVE FOOTBALL TEAM. WHAT A CRYING SHAME!
Naysayers come out right away. Maybe Prince is not a topflight qb but maybe he is. His timing was poor with several throws behind the receiver including on the TD pass. But maybe the lack of practice did hurt him. And the drops by Pressley and others killed a lot of momentum. To me it was the collapse of the defense on the last TD drive that was more of a concern. We looked exhausted. If so the coaches needto do a better job with subs. Don't judge this team until we play Stanford
Dear Bruins,
Kansas State will surely be a powerhouse football team this year, and you played them tough. The 22 points that you scored against them represents an improvement over the 21.8 (93rd in the nation) you averaged last year. Goooo Pistol! Good luck in your quest to return to the Eagle Bank Bowl. Looking forward to Dec. 4th more than ever.
Love,
The Trojans
Geez Louise, ucla almost pulled the game out at the end, which would have changed the mood of all the blog posters.
I hope these 'jumpin' off the bandwagon "fans"' are not parents. i.e. "Way to go, son, you lost the game for your team; we are so proud of you!"
LAWYER JOHN
I think Vinnie's comments on the JV show were spot on: He said that he has been to Both USC and UCLA practices and the talent level just doesn't compare.
This is a game the Bruins should have won. I see a 5 and 7 season ahead. I am VERY disappointed.
As for the PISTOL???? More like the squirt gun!!
Every Pac-10 team that didn't play a cupcake lost today. Oregon State to TCU, Washington to BYU, Washington State to Oklahoma State, and UCLA to Kansas State. So just chill, UCLA have never ever breaks out the big bucks for a big name mercenary coach. Donahue, Toledo, and Dorrell were all assistants.
In 2007, Boise State HC Chris Peterson refered to UCLA and said he had no interest in "that place." Unless we could attract Bronco Mendelhall of BYU, Gary Patterson of TCU and maybe Kevin Sumlin of Houston, or unless you really want the infamous former Texas Tech HC Mike Leach, there are not that many options right now.