UCLA loss

Well, I knew that if the Beavers couldn't at least tie or win the turnover battle then they would lose the game. The Beavers defense had every opportunity to help the Beavers win in this game, but just couldn't get it done. There was no pressure on Drew Olson, they couldn't recover the one fumble UCLA did have, and they couldn't read the receivers routes well enough to stop the big play. Unfortunately, most of the big plays from UCLA came with a LB guarding a RB or receiver. That’s just a good match-up for any offense. Most of those plays could have been negated with a strong pass rush but UCLA didn't let that happen. I thought the D did pretty well against the run, but just didn't wrap up well enough to really shut them down.

Offensively, I thought we did OK. The game was 41-28 at one point and I thought that if the defense could step up, the offense could score on UCLA a couple more times. Only 2 turnovers. Not bad. I felt like Matt Moore was trying really hard to beat UCLA. He had a few forced passes and seemed a little less laid back than he normally seems to be on TV.

As a side note, to all those people who want to see Riley more fired up I think you are getting less and less to complain about each week. Did anyone else see Mike chase down Roy Scheuning after that personal foul? Last week he was berating the refs pretty bad after the fumble into the end zone nearly cost the Beavers the game.

All in all, I think this may be a good thing for the defense. Now they will go into the Arizona game with a desire to get back on track and punish some one. The can remember their flaws and try to learn and correct them some more. Now is the part of the season where the rubber meets the road. The Beavers have to come up big against Arizona and Washington who look just dangerous enough to cause problems. Also, Stanford is looking better week by week.

Let's give the Beavers a big homecoming welcome this weekend!