UCLA has problems of their own.

[In my college years I wouldn't have thought I'd hear myself say this, but I will gladly take Oregon's team over UCLA's this season, injuries and all. UCLA coach Tricky Rick Neuheisel is overhauling his offense in the middle of the season and hoping he has the talent to make it work.

How's their red zone offense? Their lack of TD's has allowed the Bruins' field goal kicker to lead the nation with 12 kicks. They're averaging 22 points per game -- second worst to WSU.

If their non-league wins were cause for optimism, their loss to Stanford may have shown the truth.

Now Oregon arrives coming off their second consecutive Pac-10 blowout win. And Neuheisel's only rays of hope show in reports from Eugene of injured knees.

Oregon is struggling with 2nd and 3rd string depth. Neuheisel's struggles lie with his first team. Here's a story from the L.A. Times.]

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel discusses a broken pass pattern with receiver Taylor Embree, right, and quarterback Kevin Craft on Saturday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / October 3, 2009)

Bruins take a run at a little passing
Rick Neuheisel says team had to come out of its 'run the ball or die trying' mantra.
By Chris Foster, LA Times
October 6, 2009

The buzz words around the UCLA football program have become "high octane" and "explosiveness." This seems a long ways from Coach Rick Neuheisel's preseason philosophy of "run the ball or die trying."

A 24-16 loss to Stanford created new topics of conversations, out in cyberspace and around the program. It produced a first-loss panic among the fan base, and a small shift in emphasis inside the UCLA beltway.

"We had to come out of our 'run the ball or die trying' mantra and throw a little more," Neuheisel said. But, he added, "everybody just wants to see deep balls, long throws in the air. It's exciting. It's like the play at the plate in baseball. It's the 'wow' factor while the ball is in the air. But you have to have the ability to play the entire field before you start putting up the 'heaves' and 'hos.'

"Neuheisel said, "I feel like I got the best play caller in the business in terms of picking his spots," in offensive coordinator Norm Chow, adding, "You don't have to go back very far to see plays that were pretty explosive that this guy called."

UCLA fans can think back to that, though the players Chow was directing were wearing USC colors. Bringing that to Westwood would appear to be a personnel issue.

Kevin Craft threw for 204 yards, but had only one completion beyond 16 yards. Kevin Prince, the Bruins' No. 1 quarterback, is on track to start against Oregon on Saturday.

Prince, out the last three weeks because of a fractured jaw, will have X-rays taken Wednesday. That is expected to be a mere formality.

"He has a big arm and can put the ball in all portions of the field," Neuheisel said. "We need to keep working on some of that down-field throwing. He gives us a chance to do that."

That, though, is only half the equation. The Bruins are still lacking in big-play makers. The speed to burn was brought into the program this season, but it has yet to have a major impact.

Receiver Morrell Presley has provided energy, but his pass-catching abilities are a work in progress. He dropped a second-down pass on the Bruins' last drive against Stanford.

Receiver Randall Carroll, a two-time California 100-meter champion at Los Angeles Cathedral High, did not get off the bench against the Cardinal, an indication that he is having difficulty absorbing the offensive system.

Tailback Damien Thigpen got into the game late, picked up 28 yards in three carries and was "a breath of fresh air," Neuheisel said. But Thigpen started the week fifth on the depth chart.

"You want to be able to control the line of scrimmage and take pressure off the quarterback position," Neuheisel said. "By running the ball and forcing teams to get closer to the line of scrimmage, that should create some big-play opportunities."

So far, it hasn't.

[Is that Rick Neuheisel or Rich Brooks? Remember Brooks' mantra, "You have to run to establish the pass."? He stuck with that for years until he got a more creative offensive coordinator named Mike Bellotti.

Bellotti has evolved into Kelly. Now Kelly will say, You have to run off left tackle in order to establish the wide receiver hand off to the right. And you have to pass to the tight end in order to establish the QB keeper. You have to _________ to establish _________. Fill in the blanks any way you want as long as you have the talent and ability to teach it.

It seems Neuhoser's problem is he doesn't have much to work with; so he's trying to keep it simple and basic.

If I were him and I had my better-than-average long range passer back with his jaw taped to his skull, and I knew Oregon's starting D-backs were done for the season, I'd go for the pass. I'd see how Oregon has held every opposing running back under his average this season and I'd practice the long ball this week.

They might lose. But they'd lose for sure otherwise.

Oregon's defense has been stalwart this season, giving the offense the chance to get it together. Now it's the offense's turn to lead the way while the new D-backs start accruing minutes on the field. That obviously puts pressure on Costa to start performing from the coin flip. But I think he can handle it.

In fact I will predict after this game is over and Oregon gets it's 'W', the sports radio shows and message boards will be full of discussions on who's the better QB, Costa or Masoli.] --kb