* I know that that UCLA has one of the best backfields in the conference – and it’s even better than we thought

Rick Neuheisel called Derrick Coleman the team’s most valuable player through four games, and it’s hard to disagree. After Johnathan Franklin went down with a hip injury after a good start – six carries for 36 yards – Coleman took over and gained 100 yards on 20 carries. They were impoortant carries, too, punishing carries that paid off in the end.
Coleman had three critical first downs on UCLA’s last drive to keep the ball away from the Beavers, running five straight times for eight, five, three, three and six yards.
Coleman could’ve had two more touchdowns, if not for Jordon James’ four-yard end-around and Anthony Barr’s two-yard burst up the middle. That kind of variation bodes well going forward for a running game that already ranks second in the Pac-12, and 28th nationally, at 214 yards per game

* I think UCLA’s kicking issues have not been solved yet

Jeff Locke admirably manned up to his issues on Saturday – having two kicks blocked, one a field goal, one a PAT – and he was not blaming a vicious hit on an 85-yard touchdown punt return for his problems. Locke is a very bright football player and should be able to correct the flaw that led to two low kicks, but the delirious fog that set in after 51- and 49-yard field goals against Texas disappeared pretty quickly.

* I know the defense will need to play more aggressively against Andrew Luck

UCLA has let the opposition nickel-and-dime their nickel and dime, and that simply won’t work against THE BEST QUARTERBACK EVAR. Really, though, Luck is a fantastic quarterback not because of his arm strength or his accuracy or his timing. What takes Luck from great to Heisman-worthy is his pinpoint-precise decision-making. Like Case Keenum in Week 1, Luck will find the open man, for five yards or 50, and he’ll be happy to do it.
The Bruin cornerbacks have played surpringly passive for a duo that has the body, speed and mindframe to bully opposing receivers, and that comes from the top down. Through four weeks, there have been countless third-and-short situations when the DBs were seven, eight, nine yards deep, letting the offense dictate the result. Andrew Luck can’t have such an easy go of it.

* I think that UCLA cannot continue to play so conservatively

Rick Neuheisel told the media after the 27-19 win over Oregon State that it was his fault on Jordan Poyer’s 85-yard touchdown return near the end of the first half.
He should’ve apologized for putting the Bruins in that position in the first place.
UCLA continues to play with Tea Party conservatism, never moreso than the “two-minute” drive that wasn’t. With 1:41 left in the first half and the Bruins leading 21-3, UCLA had a chance to essentially end the game. The offense was clicking to that point, scoring touchdowns on three of its five possessions, though one was just a four-yard drive after a Sean Mannion fumble in the OSU red zone. UCLA had gained 173 yards on just 24 plays – an average of 7.2 yards per play – while Oregon State had gained 31 yards total on its previous four drives, showing very little big-play ability.
So what does UCLA do?
With three timeouts left, the Bruins call two runs up the middle, wasting nearly a minute of clock. Then, almost out of nowhere, they decide to hurry it up. First, a nine-yard pass to Nelson Rosario, then an uncharacteristic deep bomb to Randall Carroll which went incomplete, and a four-yard loss on a Richard Brehaut rush. Then the punt and the touchdown, and thisquick, the Beavers are back in the game.
Had UCLA simply run the clock out, that would be one thing. Forgivable, if conservative. But to go from passive to aggressive in the span of two plays was simply baffling and shows a continual lack of confidence in the offense.

* I think UCLA’s season is not over – far from it

The Bruins have not looked very good through four games, but at 2-2 and 1-0 in conference play, September treated UCLA relatively well in terms of bowl hopes.
Home games with Cal, Washington State, Arizona State and Colorado remain, and the Bruins should realistically go 3-1 . Then there are road dates at Stanford, Arizona, Utah and USC. If UCLA can win one of those games – and it can – then the Bruins should be bowl-bound. The Pac-12 has really become a league of 2-7-3 with Oregon and Stanford near-untouchable, Washington State, Oregon State and Colorado in the dregs, and six teams somewhat close together. Obviously Arizona State and USC are a notch ahead of Arizona, Utah, UCLA, Washington and Cal, but they don’t look unbeatable. With eight conference games left, the Bruins just need to play to their talent level, and they’ll be busy in December.

UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel said on Sunday night’s conference call that all three Bruins who were injured in the team’s 27-19 win at Oregon State on Saturday night were expected to play next week.

Cornerback Sheldon Price has a minor knee sprain, safety Dalton Hilliard has a minor AC sprain in his shoulder and Johnathan Franklin has a hip contusion, and none of the injuries are major.

Senior cornerback Jamie Graham (knee) is back and running and should be returning to practice this week. … Senior safety Tony Dye is expected to return to practice this week after being held out of the game after suffering a stinger. … Redshirt freshman kicker Kip Smith is expected to return from a hip injury.

More from the call:
Neuheisel said “Richard Brehaut is our starting quarterback,” but added that he wants the players to continue competing, and wouldn’t guarantee Brehaut the position going forward. Kevin Prince, meanwhile, is 100 percent recovered from sprains to both shoulders, Neuheisel clarified today.

RESULT: UCLA 27, Oregon State 19
RECORD: 2-2
WEEK 4 GPA: B-

QUARTERBACKS
B+
Richard Brehaut executed offense efficiently but needs to be let loose.

RUNNING BACKS
B
Derrick Coleman, Malcolm Jones filled in for Johnathan Franklin admirably, and nice cameos by Jordon James, Anthony Barr

WIDE RECEIVERS
B
Did just about all they could with little action.

OFFENSIVE LINE
B
Solid effort in first game without Sean Sheller, though two sacks allowed.

DEFENSIVE LINE
C-
Bruins might need search-and-rescue to find Datone Jones.

LINEBACKERS
B-
Sean Westgate’s interception set up a score, but gap-control remains an issue.

DEFENSIVE BACKS
B+
Held James Rodgers and Joe Halahuni relatively in check in their returns.

SPECIAL TEAMS
F
Had two kicks blocked and allowed a touchdown return. Not good.

COACHING
D
Game-plan, play-calling still too conservative at all times

CORVALLIS, ORE. – For a guy whose major knock has been his play-execution skills, on Saturday afternoon junior Richard Brehaut was a better game manager than a Nintendo executive.

While throwing just 11 times – completing seven passes for 146 yards and a touchdown – Brehaut helped call an offense that gained 211 rushing yards, improving in his check-downs and audibles in UCLA’s 27-19 win over Oregon State.

He shined especially during an early second-quarter touchdown drive, moving the ball 46 yards on seven plays following a Sean Westgate interception of a Sean Mannion pass. On 2nd-and-4 from the Oregon State 13-yard line, Brehaut saw the Beavers stacked right and checked down to an inside handoff in the left gap to Derrick Coleman, who picked up eight yards.

On the next play, Brehaut read the defensive end closing in and kept it himself, breaking through the interior for a five-yard touchdown run.

“I’ve always thought that the more experience I have, the better I have to get at managing the game and making smart decisions with the ball,” Brehaut said. “We had a play call to the right, they overloaded that side, and I checked inside zone left and we were able to get the first to Derrick. Then it was a zone read on the next play, the end crashed down, I kept it and got in end zone.”

Those were the issues that kept coming up for head coach Rick Neuheisel during Brehaut’s preseason quarterback competition with Kevin Prince, which Prince ultimately won. But the Crespi grad went down early in Week 1 against Houston, missed the following week’s 27-17 win over San Jose State and returned for a horrid start last week against Texas, throwing three first-quarter interceptions.

Brehaut was named the starter on Sunday night, but it was a tenuous hold, Neuheisel saying that it was going to be week-to-week going forward. Neuheisel lauded Brehaut for his play Saturday, though, saying “he prepared excellently and I thought his execution today was spot on.”

Neuheisel said that the team was going to stick with its running identity – “We have games to win, and we have to use a formula that guys us best chance to be successful; that’s who we are” – but the Bruins might need to open it up more next week to keep up with a prolific Stanford offense that has scored 138 points in three weeks behind all-world quarterback Andrew Luck.

For now, Brehaut is satisfied with the win, and his management within it.

“Absolutely, 100 percent,” Brehaut said. “If we’re coming out 1-0 and winning the game, I’d rather throw 11 times and come out with a ‘W’ than throw it – say like Arizona State (last season) 56 times – and come out with a loss.”

CORVALLIS, ORE. – With the defense down after a dreadful performance against Texas and starting senior safety Tony Dye out with a stinger, UCLA needed someone to emerge last week as it prepared for Oregon State.

Yet the Bruins were unenthusiastic, whispering, quieter than a monastery during a prayer service.

Senior linebacker Sean Westgate heard it – or didn’t hear anything, rather – and figured he’d need to fill the white noise.

UCLA responded to Westgate’s rallying cry and held the Beavers to 88 rushing yards in a 27-19 win at Reser Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

“No one was really stepping up into that vocal spot,” Westgate said. “That’s not my strong suit, never has been – I’m a lead by example guy, do my own thing, stay quiet, humble – but with Tony down and the morale down, someone had to step up. I sat there and said, ‘Why can’t I do it?’, because I feel I’ve earned trust of players.”

So Westgate yelled, and his teammates yelled back. He pumped his fist, and his teammates punched theirs, Spaulding Field turning into Rocky’s gym. They whooped and they hollered and more importantly, they ran to the ball, turning a week’s worth of intensity into a key effort.

While the Bruins allowed 287 passing yards and 8-of-16 third-down conversions, they tackled better than they have all year and a defense that has seemingly bent at the will of its opponents did not break.

“I talked about it last week against Texas – in the fourth quarter, we kept fighting,” defensive coordinator Joe Tresey said. “That’s gotta be our attitude from kickoff, and it was. We kept fighting. Got in some bad situations, but we bent – it was the old bend but don’t break deal. We just kept fighting and kept fighting. Gotta fight, gotta have that blue-collar mentality for 60 minutes. I don’t know any way else.”

UCLA rebounded from a dreadful Longhorn lashing – Texas gained 488 yards and converted 9-of-15 on third down – with better gap-consciousness and containment. Beavers starting running back Terron Ward had 13 carries for just 26 yards, unable to move past the second unit, while the Bruins finished with a season-high six tackles for loss and added two takeaways.

“Whenever you put so much time and effort and passion into something and it’s not going the way you want it, you lose maybe not a sense of pride, but it’s devastating,” linebackers coach Clark Lea said. “We all pride ourselves on our work ethic, and that hadn’t waivered from Week 1 until now. But you want to gain back some of the respectability on the field. I think we saw some of that today.”

Perhaps more importantly, though, UCLA improved in the tackling department, which has been a plague the first three weeks.

Oregon State converted just four of its last 11 third downs and did not pick up a single third down on the ground.

“It pisses you off,” Westgate said. “If you’re a front-seven guy, it just pisses you off. That’s your job. That’s your baby, the run game. Giving up run plays, especially on missed tackles, it hurts. We wanted to stop that, and I feel we did today.”

Not Saturday, though. It started mid-week, with Westgate bringing a little vocal adrenaline.
It carried into game-time, though, as his teammates responded, flying to each other after a good play, dragging each other up by the shoulder pads after a mistake.

“What really excited me, what kept me doing it, was the response I got from the guys,” said Westgate, who had the team’s lone interception. “I did it, and I had young guys jumping in, jumping on board ready to go, guys who are tired of losing, everybody tired of losing.

“I just got it started a little bit.”