An MRI on Saturday night confirmed the injury that was suffered during practice on Saturday.

So UCLA '64 had a pretty cool idea, and I thought I'd run with it.

How bout coming up with a name for the Wildcat formation that UCLA runs? Kind of like how Oregon State's "Wildcat" is the "Wild Beaver." Please be more creative than Wild Beaver. There's kids around, come on.

Now this is the tricky part:
I have some UCLA basketball and football cards just lying around. I have a couple of Ben Howland and John Wooden. Some Jordan Farmars, Darren Collisons and Jrue Hollidays. A couple MoJos and a few Marcedes Lewis'.

Would anyone be interested in a package of those or should I come up with something else?

Post your idea for the UCLA Wildcat and your idea for a prize, and I'll try to come up with something.

Are you more optimistic about the future, or is 4-5 still not enough to get you excited?
Are you confident is and will remain the best option for UCLA at quarterback?
Are you worried about the running back situation?

I think the team showed promise last night, but while more than 400 yards of offense and three touchdowns is impressive, five turnovers is not. I do believe a good offense takes those chances, though, and that the only real troubling signs were the fumbles.

Defensively, while Sheldon Price was great on that last play, I'm simply shocked that Viney hasn't gotten a chance to work back in. I'm not sure he's better, but there are times when he can't be worse than Price.

I was impressed by both coordinators last night. Chow seemed willing to experiment on the fly and called the game with good rhythm. At one point, he called the Wildcat on consecutive plays, and while that isn't unheard of, it shows that he has confidence that his guys can excute complex calls and plays. Bullough called some nasty blitzes and the defensive line pulled off some sound stunting, which confused the Washington offensive line at times.

My report card will come later, and I'd love to get yours.

Thanks
JG

PASADENA - Something happened to Kevin Craft on Saturday night, something hard to spot and even harder to define.

With almost no reps with the first- or second-string offense throughout UCLA's weeklong preparation for Washington, Craft entered the Bruins' 24-23 win over the Huskies on Saturday at the Rose Bowl a changed man.

He was looser, feistier, more willing to riff and rock and roll.

After redshirt freshman Kevin Prince went down with a concussion midway through the second quarter and freshman Richard Brehaut fumbled on his lone series, Craft came in and completed 10-of-14 passes for 159 yards and a score.

He had his moments - a flailing interception, kneeling for a two-yard loss because he thought the defense was offsides - but he was a different player than the guy who threw a team-record 20 interceptions last year.

He was loose, he was creative, he was confident.

He was fun.
"Shoot, I'm just going to go out there and play, have fun," Craft said. "Whatever happens, happens. There's no reason to get tight in a situation where it's close like that. You can't play not to lose. You have to play to win."

And the Bruins finally are.

Offensive coordinator Norm Chow opened up the playbook, running the Wildcat formation more than 10 times and constantly calling deep passes, and it paid off.

Of course, it helped that the offensive line had its best protection of the season.

"It's easy to play quarterback when you've got some time and space to throw it," Craft said. "A couple of times, the timing was messed up because I don't get some of the reps. A couple of them, I'm just running around and making plays."

Craft prefers to make something out of nothing, to be able to scramble around the pocket and let his receivers make second and third cuts to get open.

He feels more at ease.

With his offensive line.

With his wideouts.

With himself.

"I feel like I can come in and just play," Craft said. "I came in, I know everything that's happening, I know the offense, I know what I'm doing. Then it's just a matter of things not always happening how you draw them up. If something has got to happen, I'll let guys make plays.
"We have to let the guys on the team who can make plays, make them."

An Impassioned Plea
UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel stepped to the microphone as he does after every home game, and for the first time in weeks, he was welcomed with cheers.

His voice cracked, his hair messed, Neuheisel made a plea to all those who have jumped ship as one loss became five.

"For those of you who jumped off the bandwagon, I understand," Neuheisel yelled to UCLA's embattled fans. "I'm just asking you to get back on."

Stat Tracker
Nelson Rosario (seven catches, 111 yards) has back-to-back 100-yard games, the first Bruin to do so since Marcedes Lewis in 2005. His seven receptions were a career-high. ... Senior fullback Chane Moline's one-yard touchdown run was his first score in more than two years. ... Washington hasn't defeated UCLA at the Rose Bowl since 1995.

PASADENA - UCLA giveth: Against Washington on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, the Bruins committed five turnovers, including a fumble in the red zone.

Washington taketh away: With five minutes, seven seconds left in the second quarter, Husky linebacker Donald Butler cracked starting quarterback Kevin Prince helmet-to-helmet on a scramble, knocking the emerging redshirt freshman out of the game with a concussion.

And yet despite all that, despite a five-game losing streak, a winless October and a bandwagon missing both axles and a steering wheel, UCLA snuck out of the Rose Bowl with a 24-23 win over the Huskies in front of 72,924.

Perhaps snuck out is wrong: the jubilant Bruins sprinted through the tunnel, whooping, wailing and hollering after their first win since Sept. 20.

"It makes you hungry," senior linebacker Reggie Carter said. "You play this game to win, never forget that. Regardless of how well you play as an individual, the objective is to win. We get hungry after every loss to get that nasty taste from our mouths and get this 'W.'"

All it took was a game-saving play by UCLA's man-on-the-scene.

After a Jeff Locke punt gave Washington the ball on the 10-yard line with 4:21 left to play, Husky quarterback Jake Locker went to work. Locker had been steady but unspectacular throughout the day, completing 20-of-37 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns. Willing to work the clock in what had become a possession game, Locker was efficient on the final drive, hitting 3-of-3 passes for 28 yards as Washington moved the ball to the UCLA 46-yard line.

Efficiency gave way to disaster, though, as Locker forced a pass into Jermaine Kearse, who was tightly guarded by freshman cornerback Sheldon Price. Price popped the ball up, and Bruin sophomore safety Rahim Moore plucked it from the air for his NCAA-leading eighth interception of the season.

"It's called teamwork, man, and teamwork makes the dream work," Moore said. "That two-minute drill, we do that in practice all the time. That's the camaraderie we have with one another. I mean, Sheldon ran up to me and was like, 'I love you, man. I love you, Rahim.' As a team, we've been through so much, to pull out this win is a blessing."

Before the blessing, there was a curse. Or many.

UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel stormed the UCLA sideline like a frustrated general, watching his troops cough up turnover after turnover.

Prince was sensational but for one throw before being knocked out with a concussion, completing 13-of-17 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown. His lone interception, though, led to three Washington points, as did the team's first turnover, a Terrence Austin fumble on a kickoff return.

Then there were the fumbles by freshman quarterback Richard Brehaut and redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin and an interception by senior quarterback Kevin Craft.

Like Prince, Craft was solid besides his lone gaffe, completing 10-of-14 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown.

"There were some great things today - our throwing game getting the ball down the field and our receivers getting open - but we had far too many turnovers," Neuheisel said. "We finally got one back in the end, a very key play in the game, but we're fortunate to be sitting here with a win."

But a win is a win is a win for a reeling team.

A team now on a one-game winning streak, rather than a five-game skid.

A team now undefeated in November, not winless in October.

It is a new day, a new month, even, and the Bruins are putting the past in the past.

"I told them we were like bums on the street, just thirsty for a meal," Carter said, his smile wide and his eyes gleaming. "We finally got one. We ate today, and it tastes great. But regardless of the taste, I'm full, man. And I'll be hungry again tomorrow."

10) The UCLA defense finally learned to trust each other. In the third quarter, Tony Dye had a pitch-perfect tackle: He let the receiver come to him, and he waited three seconds for help before taking him down. In the fourth quarter, Rahim Moore's interception developed because Sheldon Price did not go for the pick or the knockdown, but batted it in the air for Moore to cradle.

9) Johnathan Franklin is beating himself up right now, but he needs to shake it off quickly. He is the best pure running back on the team, and he just needs to get stronger.

8) Milton Knox: Not to say I told you so, but... He just looked so good in practice this week, that I thought he deserved a shot.

7) A+ for the offensive line. Incredible protection that allowed UCLA wideouts to make secondary cuts and weave their way through traffic.

6) Norm Chow finally threw the kitchen sink at a team, and it worked. Fine play-calling, and it makes me wonder what this offense would have looked like had Prince stayed healthy all year and matured.

5) Is it just me, or did the Bruin defense attack the quarterback on the blitz for the first time in a while? It didn't always work, but that kind of pressure gets in a quarterback's mind.

4) Three personal foul penalties, all by team leaders, is unacceptable. There should be major extra running for that.

3) If UCLA opens with Washington, Washington State and Arizona State, it starts 6-0. Weird scheduling quirk with five of the conference's six best teams in a row to start.

2) I would be shocked if the Bruins don't come out FIRING at Washington State. They're going to go all out.

1) Has it really been 49 days?

Drive Time: 8 plays, 55 yards, 3:07

Drive Time: 3 plays, 39 yards, 50 seconds

Drive Time: 4 plays, 50 yards, 1:47