It may not matter much, but I managed to find one source out of L.A. who said UCLA QB Kevin Prince sat out practice for a second day this week to "rest" his knee. This was an injured knee from two weeks ago. He's experienced swelling and pain in it all this time.
He flew back to his hometown in Texas last week to get a second MRI from the doctor who originally operated on his knee when he was in high school. Neuhoser and Co. said they would not comment on Prince's knee until they heard from the doctor. Lately Neuhoser said Prince's involvement against Oregon would be a "game time decision".
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| Kevin Prince |
Duck fans, I think it's safe to say that we have all become sort of experts ourselves about knee injuries and how they relate to who is and is not practicing, and what coaches are and are not saying. This ain't our first rodeo, Neuhoser; and you don't fool us anymore. So just come out and say it. Oh never mind. I will.
SOPHOMORE RICHARD BREHAUT WILL BE TAKING THE SNAPS FOR UCLA THURSDAY EVENING AGAINST OREGON.
If I'm proven wrong and Prince is in there, we'll all know that somewhere between Eugene and Pittsburgh, Dennis Dixon will be watching and cringing until Prince inevitably goes down. And then Brehaut will come in to try to save the day.
That's not going to be very easy. Prince is the better passer. Brehaut is not known for his running even with two healthy knees. Although Brehaut had a half decent (50% completion) second half against WSU two weeks ago when Prince went down, he hasn't had much playing time outside of mop-up duty. Plus he has never been to Autzen.
The following story just makes UCLA's situation sound all the worse. Greg Beacham, AP writer contributing to NBC Sports submitted this sad story: UCLA'S AWFUL PASSING GAME TO BE TESTED AT OREGON
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow were willing to do almost anything to get UCLA's running game going this fall, even risking their considerable coaching reputations on the NCAA's latest trendy offense.
That ground game has been fixed by the Pistol - but an even more confounding problem has popped up in its place.
The Bruins (3-3, 1-2 Pac-10) head to Autzen Stadium to face No. 1 Oregon on Thursday night with perhaps the worst passing offense in the nation.
"We have invested heavily in a running game because we felt it was the key to taking the next step in the conference," Neuheisel said. "In no way did we anticipate that in doing that, we would lose our throwing game."
A year after UCLA struggled mightily to run the ball, the Bruins' ground game is purring in the new Pistol offense, racking up 223 yards per game. [That's good for second place in the Pac-10. First place is Oregon at nearly a hundred more yards per game.]
Yet their passing game has been reduced to nearly nothing, managing just 95.5 yards amid a weekly slew of overthrown passes, unimpressive route-running and poor pocket protection. If the Bruins fall behind the Ducks, they know it'll be almost impossible to catch up.
It's an embarrassment to Neuheisel and offensive coordinator Chow, who built their reputations on prolific, balanced offenses during their lengthy coaching careers.
UCLA hit the midway point of its season ranked 118th out of 120 FBS teams in passing offense, with only Army and Georgia Tech managing less production through the air this season. The Bruins also are ranked dead last in the FBS in passing efficiency, a statistic that takes into account completion percentage, yards and interceptions.
"It's been tough to throw the ball the way we want to," said Kevin Prince, the oft-injured sophomore quarterback who has started five of the Bruins' six games. "It's tough to swallow sometimes, because you don't want to be that team."
The Bruins haven't passed for more than 128 yards in any game this season, finishing under 100 yards three times - including just 27 in their upset victory at Texas last month. Their quarterbacks are a combined 61 for 132 with six interceptions and just three touchdowns, and none of the Bruins' passes has gone for more than 35 yards.
The Bruins didn't need a prolific passing game to beat the Longhorns, with even Prince chipping in on their impressive 264-yard ground attack. But then the running game crashed to a halt two weeks ago against California, managing just 26 yards in the Golden Bears' 35-7 rout.
"We've got to get proficient, and certainly Norm and I have been around proficient offenses in the past," Neuheisel said. "We know what it looks like. We know how to teach, and we're going to get there. But we can't forget what our calling card is, and that's being physical at the line of scrimmage and running the ball."
Still, it's a constant source of frustration for Neuheisel, the former UCLA quarterback who developed prolific offenses at Washington and Colorado before running the Baltimore Ravens' offense three years ago.
It's also a downright stunner for Chow, one of the most respected offensive assistant coaches in recent college football history. After 27 seasons working alongside LaVell Edwards in the innovative BYU passing offense that spawned Steve Young and Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, Chow tutored Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC on the way to two national titles.
Chow sees two main reasons for the Bruins' utter ineptitude through the air: UCLA has been determined to run the ball after managing just 114.6 yards per game on the ground last season, and the passing game was neglected - particularly when Prince missed most of training camp with injuries.
"You dedicate yourself so much to that phase of the game, and in the NCAA, you only get 20 hours to practice every week," Chow said. "We've got young guys who are learning this from the ground up. We don't have a lot of experience, so we have to get that on the job. But we're disappointed. We should be throwing the ball better."
For all of Prince's struggles with accuracy and backup Richard Brehaut's problems with composure and in-game concentration, [How's that again? Problems with composure and concentration, and he's coming to Autzen for the first time? Ya, you and I can chalkboard Oregon's game plan for this one.]the Bruins' receivers haven't distinguished themselves, either. Although Neuheisel has landed three highly ranked recruiting classes at his alma mater, the Bruins haven't developed a game-breaking receiver.
Nelson Rosario, who could miss his second straight game with a high ankle sprain, leads the Bruins with just 14 catches for 137 yards. Less-than-speedy starter Taylor Embree has only eight catches for 99 yards, while Josh Smith - the Colorado transfer expected to provide speed - has just three receptions and is suspended for Thursday's game for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
"We don't work at our best unless both phases of the offense are contributing," tailback Johnathan Franklin said. "It's a big change, for sure. You don't expect to startstop passing like that, but we're working on it every week."[Well, good luck with that.]
[OK, here's the plan. Oregon Defense: You load the box and stop the run. Autzen crowd: You scream in Brehaut's earhole 'til it bleeds. If Prince plays, just wait until he goes down and grabs his knee. Then stick to the original game plan. ]
Something to print out and put on your refrigerator.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/10/20/midseason-all-americas/index.html?xid=si_topstories
The above link is the Sports Illustrated list of Midseason All Americans. Three Ducks -- LmJ, center Jordan Holmes, and cornerback Cliff "Kash" Harris are first team. Second team lists defensive tackle Brandon Bair, and Harris again for punt returns.
Pardon me if my naive geekiness is showing, but we Oregon fans have never seen anything like this. To see four Ducks together on anyone's list other than a police blotter. This makes last February seem like a long long time ago.
["It's a beautiful day . . . . . Don't let it get away. It's a beautiful day . . . . . TOUCH ME . ." --OK, I'll stop now.]
3-Deep in Epicness.
Remember Pong, the first video game? Remember the first VCRs? Remember when your favorite radio station switched to playing "All CD's". And then came the first plasma TV's. Technology is changing so fast, the next big thing is right upon us.
ESPN announced that Thursday night's game at Autzen will be the first game on the West coast broadcast in 3D. What does this mean for you, the viewer?
Right now, you need to look in your closet, junk drawer, garage, basement, glove compartment and wherever else to find those dang 3D glasses they gave you at the theater when you saw Avatar. Then just tune in to ESPN HD when the game starts, put on your glasses . . . . .
Oh it won't work. It'll probably just give you a headache. You need to call your cable or satellite company and order ESPN3D, right after you buy a booquoo-thousand dollar 3DTV! But for now at least, you'll still feel like you're a part of the history-making epic event. Just take some aspirin first.
Here's a link for techno geeks: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/07/espn-3d-review-college-football-kickoff/
Gametime: Thursday, October 21st. 6pm Pacific on ESPN.
I will be at the game. Thank you, Matt. When I get home around midnight, I expect to be hoarse, and the Bruins will be toast.
--KB
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