TJ Berka: October 2009 Archives

For not busting on me too much today. Wasn't a good day for the Bruins and there are definitely a lot of questions going forward, but there will be better days. Thanks for the banter and not taking it out on me too much and hopefully I see you guys down the road. Now to do what many of you either are doing or probably are contemplating doing - to get a drink.

Caught up to Richard Brehaut as well - only guy I missed was Kevin Prince, as I was talking to Carroll when everyone else got him. I covered him at Los Osos and quite frankly, I think he's the future of this team and the rate things are going, the future may be coming quicker that UCLA wants.

"We just aren't executing right now. It's not one of those things where we are like 'Oh, crap' out there. We aren't overwhelmed, its just things aren't very easy right now. We have to get things done."

On being inserted into the game down 14 in the fourth
"It doesn't matter when you go into the game - up 14, down 14, first quarter or fourth, you have to produce. It's not an excuse - I have to go in there and move the team down the field."

On the QB camraderie
"We are all for each other right now and we are all looking to try to help someone out so we can get this thing going. KP was pumped for Craft being out there and they both were giving me support when it was my turn."

Caught a visibly annoyed Kevin Craft outside of the locker room. Here's what he said:

"The defense did a great job and as an offense, we need to win the game when our defense gives us five turnovers. They did their job and gave us a chance to win against a very good offense and we didn't do it."

"We keep on making simple, stupid mistakes. We make penalties, we miss assignments, we make wrong reads. The plays are there, but we need to focus more, especially when we are in the red zone. When we are in the red zone, it seems like we make more mistakes."

On the fourth-down incomplete swing pass to a wide-open Johnathan Franklin in the fourth quarter
"The play was there and he would have had some big yards. I saw the linebacker coming at me and I tried to put some touch on it and loft the ball over him to (Franklin). I put too much on it."

Sorry guys, I was writing three stories and going generally nutso. Anyway, I talked to Neuheisel and Carroll about the Twitter incident and while there's going to be a story in tomorrow's paper and online, this is basically what went down.

Talked to Neuheisel immediately after the game and he dismissed it initially, thinking that it was a question of Carroll questioning play-calling. Wasn't happy about it, but figured it was worth a talking to and no more, lesson learned.

Talked to Carroll in the locker room and he was apologetic. Said that he loved Norm Chow, that he was one of the main people to recruit him to UCLA and that he didn't mean any disrespect, that he was just frustrated about losing. Reiterated that he wasn't sure if Chow trusted the freshman, but said that he shouldn't have said it on Twitter.

Neuheisel called all the UCLA reporters right before the Bruins got on the plane and said that Carroll would be dealt with for "derogatory, offensive and deplorable comments." Said that he didn't know about the racial part of the post and said that the type of conduct wouldn't be allowed in the program. Said he hoped to use it as a lesson for the other players.

After all this I did some googling and found the actual slur that was used - published reports by the L.A. Times didn't mention it. It was a slur, but it was not a slur that referenced Chow's Chinese ancestry. In fact, it didn't reference any Asian ancestry at all. I'm not going to say it in here for obvious reasons, but it is commonly said in hip-hop and rap music. I'm sure you can figure it out from there.

Does this condone what Carroll did? Of course not, it was a stupid thing to say, especially on a public forum such as Twitter. But I felt that the context of the slur should be mentioned, because it changes the baseline perception of the remark. I don't think Carroll should be suspended for more than one game, if that, but I think he should be running some steps this entire week.

Also, Riley went on record with another reporter of ours - Miguel Melendez of the Pasadena Star-News - and said that he never saw the message in question. He vouched for Carroll, though expressed confusion at why Carroll would say things like that in a public forum.

I hope that sheds a bit of light on this whole brouhaha.

With Kevin Prince and Kevin Craft combining to go 13-of-32 thus far, UCLA is putting freshman Richard Brehaut in with 5:41 left down 27-13. Quite frankly, they should have done this earlier - win or lose.

Heading down to the field now.

After converting two fourth-downs on the drive, the Bruins finally crapped out on a 4th-and-6 from the Arizona 31 as Kevin Craft overthrew a wide-open Johnathan Franklin on a swing pass out of the backfield. Franklin might have scored if the pass was accurate. However, accurate has not been something that Craft - who is 6-of-17 for 75 yards - has been tonight.

Arizona kicker Alex Zendejas followed Kai Forbath's missed field goal with one of his own, his being from 39 yards out. UCLA has the ball at its own 34 after Kevin Craft hit Terrence Austin with a 12-yard pass - only the third thrown to a wide receiver all game.

Kai Forbath missed low and short on a 52-yard field goal attempt, keeping UCLA behind 14 points at 27-13. At fourth-and-7, I personally would have gone for it, but that's fine.

And as I type, Delashaun Dean ran 26 yards for Arizona on, you guessed it, an end-round. Wildcats are at the UCLA 23, looking for the kill shot.

The Wildcats answered Tony Dye's touchdown with a 10-play, 63-yard march that was finished off by a 6-yard touchdown run by Greg Nwoko. Key play of the drive was a 16-yard pass from Nick Foles to Terrell Turner on 3rd-and-11 from the Arizona 36 on the third play of the drive. Arizona is now 9-for-12 on 3rd-down conversions.

27-13 Arizona, 34 seconds left in the third.

Akeem Ayers dropped a lateral by Foles, kicked it forward and fell in disgust at dropping the ball. But safety Tony Dye was Johnny on the Spot, picking up the live ball and returning it 28 yards for a touchdown. It passed the review, putting UCLA within 20-13 with 5:20 left in third.

Major props to Dye for keeping his head in the game when everyone else on both teams had given up on the play. That makes five turnovers for Arizona as well.

Arizona cashed in on Christian Ramirez's fumble, with Nick Foles and Juron Criner hooking up again on a 25-yard touchdown pass. William Wright had the big block on the play, taking out Sheldon Price to allow Criner to tiptoe up the left sideline.

8:34 left in third, 20-6 Arizona.

Christian Ramirez just fumbled, with Devin Ross recovering for Arizona at the Wildcat 49. Arizona safety Cam Nelson, who forced Prince's fumble in the first half, was there again, getting his hat on the ball as Ramirez was going down.

Kevin Craft has entered the game with 11:53 left in the third and the Bruins starting at their own 17. Not sure why you wouldn't give Richard Brehaut a shot if you are going to switch QBs, but we'll see what happens.

Arizona continues to play the role of Santa Claus, with Foles and Greg Nwoko messing up the handoff of the first play of the second half, with DE Datone Jones recovering for UCLA.

Then the officials did their part, blowing UCLA's first-down play dead as an incomplete pass even though Prince seemed to throw the ball backwards incomplete to Ryan Moya. Either way, Kai Forbath kicks a 33-yard FG to put UCLA within 13-6 with 13:59 left in the 3rd.

Like I said, Arizona is doing whatever it can to keep UCLA in this game with the three interceptions, including two in the red zone.

A couple things stand out besides that - a) Arizona has 74 yards rushing from its wide receivers and b) a 3-yard pass to Taylor Embree is the only pass the Bruins have completed to its wideouts. Helps explain why the Bruins are 1 for 7 on third downs.

As far as brass tact stats, here we go:

First downs: Arizona 14, UCLA 5

Passing yards: Arizona 157 (Nick Foles 14-of-20, 157 yards, 1 TD, 3 Ints), UCLA 58 (Kevin Prince 6-of-12, 58 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int)

Rushing yards: Arizona 103 (Juron Criner 3 rushes, 39 yards; Nic Grigsby 9 rushes, 26 yards, 1 TD), UCLA 39 (Johnathan Franklin 5 rushes, 26 yards; Christian Ramirez 5 rushes, 18 yards).

Receiving leaders: Arizona (Delashaun Dean 4 catches, 27 yards; Willam Wright 3 catches, 31 yards; Criner 2 catches, 51 yards, 1 TD); UCLA (Ryan Moya 2 catches, 24 yards)

Penalties: Arizona 1-5, UCLA 5-35.

3rd-down efficency: Arizona 4-6, UCLA 1-7.

UCLA got its third pick of the half with 29 seconds left, as DT Jerzy Siewierski caught a tipped Foles pass. DE Korey Bosworth hit Foles as he was throwing, keeping UCLA down only 10 despite being outgained 260-97 in the first half.

10 seconds left to go before halftime.

Kai Forbath just booted a season-long 53-yard field goal to put UCLA within 13-3. UCLA actually moved down to the Arizona 21, but a false start by Nick Ekbatani and Arizona's third sack of the day - this time by LB Sterling Lewis - forced Forbath's ninth career 50-plus field goal.

Rahim Moore picks off Nick Foles for a second time today, giving him seven on the season - which is already tied for fourth on the single-season list. Not sure what Foles was thinking there, as he had David Roberts on the deep slant and Terrence Turner on the short slant and threw right between them.

The 36-yard return of the pick gives the Bruins good field position at their own 38 down 13-0.

Arizona is at midfield right now after yet another big gain on an end-around. That's four for 60 yards for those counting at home. UCLA has gotten a first down on each of its first three possessions, but crapped out after that.

Cam Nelson got to Kevin Prince again, as his second sack of the game thus far caused a fumble which Apaiata Tuihalamaka recovered at the UCLA 23. Nic Grigsby scored three plays later on a 6-yard run to put the Wildcats up 13-0 after Alex Zendjas missed the extra point.

Grigsby's touchdown run was set up by a 14-yard run by Juron Criner on the end around, giving Arizona receivers 44 yards rushing on three end-arounds.

The Wildcats struck on their second possession, with Nick Foles hitting Juron Criner on a 41-yard touchdown pass. Criner ran a stop-and-go route on Courtney Viney, with Viney biting on the fake. With no safety help, it was an easy pitch-and-catch for Foles and Criner.

4:39 left in the first, 7-0 Wildcats.

Just as I was about to flog UCLA for giving up 30 yards on two end-arounds by Delashaun Dean and Juron Criner to help Arizona move to the Bruins 26, Rahim Moore comes up with his sixth interception of the season. Nick Foles threw high to David Douglas in the seam, with Douglas deflecting the ball into the waiting arms of Moore.

By the way, Randall Carroll was lined up wide right on the first play of UCLA's second possession.

It's sunny, warm and red here at Arizona Stadium and the national anthem has just concluded. With the recent developments on Randall Carroll, it will be interesting to see if a) he plays or b) there's any distraction. Last thing a team on a three-game losing streak needs are comments of a racist or otherwise negative nature in a public forum like Twitter.

Arizona about to enter the field with UCLA to follow.

Right now several UCLA players are gathered by the tunnel of the southwest end zone stretching. The stretching, which consists of leg lifts and leg extensions, is a product of what is apparently a freakishly small visitors locker room here at Arizona Stadium. Usually a lot of the stretching that is being done in plain view would be done in the locker room.

Then again, I can't say I'm surprised. I walked right into the press box from off the street two hours ago without a single security person asking me who I was. Probably not the best of ideas by Arizona.

Reading about the Arizona offense's prolific output has likely caused some UCLA fans to starting banging heads into walls. But if the Arizona defense was a wall, one well-timed headbutt would likely send it crashing down.

The Wildcats don't exactly have the Desert Swarm going this season, as Arizona gave up 584 yards last week to Stanford and 407 yards a couple of weeks ago to Oregon State. But then again, somehow Arizona held Central Michigan and prolific QB Dan LeFevour to 182 total yards in the season opener, so who knows?

Either way, this seems as good of time as any for Kevin Prince and the UCLA passing game to break out, as Andrew Luck is fresh off putting 423 yards on the Wildcats. I'd like to see the Bruins stretch the field a bit (Randall Carroll is a CIF sprint champion, hint, hint). The Arizona run defense isn't horrible, but there should be some room for Jonathan Franklin and company to run - provided UCLA stays close enough to where the run game is a realistic option.

Apparently 6th Street and 6th Avenue are completely different. The stadium is on 6th Street, right by campus, while the exit to 6th Avenue off Interstate 10 put me in South Tucson which was, for lack of a better word, interesting to say the least.

Also "interesting" is how the UCLA defense will deal with the Arizona offense, specifically sophomore quarterback Nick Foles. Foles, a Michigan State transfer that took over for Corona Centennial graduate Matt Scott as the starting quarterback in Arizona's fourth game and has been slicing up defenses since, throwing for 1,053 yards and seven touchdowns the past three games. He spreads the ball around well, as four Wildcats (Juron Criner, David Roberts, Terrell Turner and David Douglas) have 23 or more receptions.

Lost in the Foles hoopla is Arizona's running game, which is capable of big plays with junior tailback Nic Grigsby. Grigsby had 325 yards in the first two games, but a shoulder injury has held him to 184 yards since. However, Grigsby busted out for a 57-yard, game-winning touchdown against Stanford last week, which is not good for a UCLA run defense that's been gashed during the Pac-10 season.

So what can UCLA do to slow down the Wildcats? Consistent corner play would be one, as Alterraun Verner needs to play more like the All-American he's capable of being while Sheldon Price need to provides some form of stability on the other side with Aaron Hester likely out again this week. The safeties have to perform the basic tenets of their job and flush last week, when they allowed Cal four touchdowns of 42 yards or more, out of their system.

Taking away any semblance of an Arizona running game would help a ton as well, as that would allow Brian Price and the front four to create pressure and perhaps force Foles into a turnover or two. Foles has been proficient, but he is young and can be forced into mistakes, as Washington proved two weeks ago by forcing two interceptions.

Is me, T.J. Berka. I'm normally a preps writer for the San Bernardino Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, but I'm in Tucson today giving Gold a day off. I'll do my best to fill his considerable shoes. If it makes you guys feel better, the only UCLA game I covered this season was the Kansas State one - the Bruins' last win. So maybe that'll give you guys some confidence heading into today.

I have some stuff later as we get closer to game time - just wanted to introduce myself.