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After watching UCLA's Fall Scrimmage on Saturday, many of the 6,700 in attendance will tell you to expect a lot more "13-to-9's" this Season.
In other words, the Defense is granite, but the Offense is fragile.
Well, if they are judging solely from the Scrimmage, then they need to cut the Offense some slack. Despite playing against the Nation's best Defense, the Offense still showed some signs of life.
Ben Olson was 7-for-10, but for only 61 yards. He had only one long completion, and got sacked (or hurried) repeatedly. The Bruins look like they're going to have to rely on screens, safety valves, and SHORT DROPS (by the QB) to keep Ben from wearing the turf. In fact, all the QB's threw passes from one yard behind the line at times.
But one Receiver who can take a quick pass and turn it into a huge gain is converted QB Osaar Rasshan. The Wide Receiver saw the ball come his way several times on Saturday, and although he didn't score, it was still apparent the he has the game-breaking ability that the Bruins have been looking for.
He had a shot at the TD of the Day on a long pass, but he says that he "got excited," because he thought he "might get a TD," and he "took his eye off it." It was such a blatant drop that when he came back to the Coaches, he "dropped and gave them twenty" (push-ups).
It's good to get those jitters out in August, because to get a lot of playing time at Receiver on this team, you're going to have to make a good impression right from the start of the season. One or two drops, and there will be others that will get the opportunities.
Like Gavin Ketchum and Dominique Johnson, who both made head-turning catches on Saturday, or Terrence Austin, who could also turn in some Pontiac Game-Changing performances.
Another reason to not panic about the Offense, is that they kept it simple and straightforward. No trick plays, no misdirection, nothing too creative. Hopefully, that just means that they are SAVING some more aggressive plays for the Season. What it definitely means is that the Defense, who is well-versed with the Offensive tendencies, is at a distinct advantage.
Even without trying to fool anyone, the Offense was able to showcase three successful back-up Running Backs. Walk-On Craig Sheppard turned the corner on a couple of wide runs, and Ryen Carew found the end zone THREE times, and showed an ability to hit holes and get positive yardage. And finally, the most impressive was Kahlil Bell, who showed a lot of heart and desire, refusing to go down on the first hit. He carried tacklers down the field, en route to 40 yards, and more importantly, over 5 yards per carry.
Starter Chris Markey didn't see too much action, and didn't turn any heads with his play, but he doesn't need to lose any sleep over the solid performance of his back-ups -- Even with Bell working his ass off, Markey is still the #1 guy.
So the Offense should show everyone a whole new gear in September, but the Defense is in mid-season form right now. The Defensive Secondary blanketed the field, and the Defensive line was getting a good push, so the QB was often forced to improvise. If Osaar were still a QB, he might have had more success against this D than anyone, because he excels in open field, after a play has broken down.
Speaking of broken plays, one of the Bruins' TD's came after the Running Back and Quarterback collided in the backfield. Maybe that will end up being the achilles heel of this Defense: When a play is shut down, some unplanned, makeshift, playground effort will burn them.
But by the time any Offense figures that out, they will be down by four Touchdowns to the Bruins...
... and four Field Goals.
The Special Teams play was a question mark coming into this season, and they too showed some flashes of brilliance on Saturday. Matthew Slater showed blazing speed, returning a Kickoff for about 50 yards, and Aaron Perez boomed a All-American-caliber Punt.
Then, Kai Forbath made his first three Field Goals, with a long of 48. And they all had room to spare. But then Forbath must have gotten a little complacent, because he missed a shorter one, and had one blocked. So at least we know that he HAS the ability. It will be all about consistency, and the mental aspect of the game. The prediction is that IF the Offense sucks, it WON'T be Forbath's fault.
We expect to see some butterflies on Opening day in Stanford, and some rust, but the Offense should shake off the rust and score big like they did in the Utah opener...
...And there was nothing at the Scrimmage to make us think otherwise.
Below are 16 photos from the Cheerleader-less Scrimmage.
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