Football looks to throw itself back into the game against Houston Cougars
By Eli Smukler
Sept. 17, 2010 1:07 a.m.
The UCLA football team has a glaring problem.
After Saturday’s embarrassing 35-0 loss to Stanford at the Rose Bowl, coach Rick Neuheisel made it painfully simple.
“Somewhere in that, we lost our ability to throw the ball,” he said.
If UCLA (0-2) wants its first win of the season when it hosts No. 23 Houston (2-0) this Saturday night, the Bruins quickly need to find their passing game.
At the center of the issue is redshirt sophomore quarterback Kevin Prince, who was pulled for the final quarter of the Stanford game having completed just 39 yards through the air. Prince’s injury issues ““ a strained oblique and a sore shoulder ““ kept him from being a permanent fixture behind center in the Bruins’ early season practices.
Prince was out in full force at Spaulding Field this week though, and Neuheisel has thrown the entire weight of his confidence behind him when speaking to the press.
“I feel better tonight then I have in any previous week in terms of where he is,” Neuheisel said after Wednesday’s practice. “Kevin looks to be 100 percent. There (are) no lingering effects. There’s no wincing when he throws and all the things that go into being healthy. So, those are positive signs.”
The Bruins’ passing game is currently ranked 115th of 120 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, but UCLA’s quarterback may not be all to blame, as things were not always perfect at the other end of those passes as well. A significant number of drops by UCLA wide receivers in the team’s first game against Kansas State still stand out as a factor in the team’s underwhelming offensive numbers so far.
Wide receivers coach Reggie Moore acknowledged the added difficulty of Prince’s absence but said he has seen improvement in the passing unit this past week.
“When you don’t have those repetitions, things kind of suffer,” Moore said. “(Prince) has been back though, and we’re starting to show a little rhythm. We’re starting to get comfortable with one another.”
Sophomore quarterback Richard Brehaut has been the alternative, throwing for 42 yards at the end of the Stanford game, but Neuheisel maintains that he’ll stay the backup for now. Redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Smith said he believes that the team’s pass-catchers can be ready for either one of them.
“All it takes is trust,” he said. “The more we trust KP, the more he trusts that we’re going to be in the right spot, the less he has to think about. I imagine, having never played quarterback, that all I’d want was someone’s trust.”
Of particular focus for the Bruin wideouts is the team’s poor performance in third-down situations, where the team has converted just four of 22 chances.
“Those third downs are crucial,” junior wide receiver Taylor Embree said. “It’s rough on the defense when we go three and out, and they’re right back out there. And being a receiver, those are your money plays.”
And an exhausted defense will not be sufficient against Houston’s powerful attack even with the uncertain injury status of the Cougars’ star quarterback Case Keenum.
With the help of a dynamic spread offense, Keenum is close to setting the NCAA all-time career passing record, but he’s still listed as day-to-day with concussion symptoms suffered last week in Houston’s 54-24 drubbing of UTEP. Even without him, the Cougars racked up more than 300 yards on the ground, proving the true balance of their strengths.
“I’m anxious to watch us play against that vaulted offense and see if we can’t contain it and slow it down some because it has not been slowed down to date,” Neuheisel said. “It is pretty explosive.”
Add in an ominous date at No. 6 Texas looming just a week in the future, UCLA’s situation begins to look dire without a victory in Pasadena this weekend.
“Everyone’s dying for a win right now: the fans and especially the players,” Embree said. “A win Saturday would help us turn the season around. It would be huge for us.”
