Dorrell hasn’t elevated UCLA to elite status so it’s time for him to go. I’m a big believer in coaches getting 5 years and he hasn’t got the job done. (Although, if he wins the Pac-10, he should absolutely keep his job.)

That said, Guerrero should have kept his big mouth shut until UCLA was mathematically eliminated from winning the conference championship. Why on earth would you shoot your mouth off when your team still has a shot at a BCS bowl, and all the million$ that come with it?? Why create a distraction. A leader has to be smarter than that.

I feel sad about this and I really hope this will not work out this way but, by the way we have been playing, we will score 3 or 6 points and USC will score 42. I am embarrased by our play against Oregon.

There was no courageous efforts out there. The only one that stands out is Forbath who is an exceptional talent. The defense was playing against a pop warner quarterback. All they did was LOAD UP on the run and they easily stopped Oregon.

Ben Olson can be a good quarterback but NOT IN THIS SYSTEM! It is sad to see how horrible coaches cant adjust their plays to fit their players. Rasshan is an athlete not a QB. I dont understand why they did not do more rollouts and waggle passes. He almost completed one to the Tight End but he got blasted and dropped the ball. I guess when they saw that he was on targer they wanted to stop that and make him throw by dropping back and throwing up prayers. BAD BAD BAD coaching.

They cant see the forrest through the trees. I guess its too late now and that is why I predict a 42-6 destruction of our team by SuC.

I guess I should say DORRELL/NORVILLE/Walker 6 - SuC 42.

What an utter embarrasment!

While I was extremely relieved that UCLA won yesterday, let’s look at this for what it is worth. Oregon did not have Dennis Dixon at QB yeterday, and by games end had their fourth string QB in the game. We could not generate nothing on offense during the WHOLE GAME and yet Dorrell is savoring this as if the Bruins are headed to the Rose Bowl after all. That game was horrible to watch. While defensively UCLA looked good, think about how would they have been if Dennis Dixon played?Probably on the losing wnd for the fourth straight week. I think it is about time to pull the plug on Karl Dorrell. Bring in a coach that is inovative enough to average over 20 points a game. I think maybe Walker can stay, if the new coach wants him to, just to see if last year was a fluke or not. If a new coach says no, then we get a new defensice coordinator. But Dorrell has to go. 5 years–no Pac-10 title that was promised, no national championships that were promised. Just a lot of broken promises. This is not good, guys. While I hope we upset SuC, it just won’t happen. So Karl, don’t let the door hit you on the way out and don’t take too long cleaning out your desk.

I am a big bruin fan and I believe in second chances. One thing I do not believe in is giving Karl Dorell another year. Next year’s scheduled is twice as hard as this year. The bruins have 25 seniors leaving by giving Dorell another year means another average season. KD apologist say his up coming recruiting class is one of the best. So their telling me I have to wait 2-3 yrs to maybe win the pac 10. UCLA is the best Atlethic University in my mind. One thing I cannot believe is 100 national championships and only 1 is in football and it came before the other 99.n Its time too many years have past.

Note to Karl Dorrell: Learn from Lavin. Take the money you’re not worth that is given to you in the buyout and run.

i think its funny that you guys blast ucla coaches when we lose w/ our 4th QB, but you give oregon a pass when they lose w/ theirs. i think you guys should stop with all the negativity. you guys did a great job last year hyping people up during sc week, and i hope you do the same thing this year. stay positive while theres still hope. i predict ucla 23 usc 21. GO BRUINS!!!

Hey Nick, forget about your protectionism attitude for the coaches. You should go back 5 years and make your judgements from that. One victory over U. of So. Central in all those years won’t work.

Nick,

Maybe you should check into the preparation time for OREGON…2 weeks, they should have come up with a much better game plan than, “Hey dont worry we will only have to drive 10 yards per possesion and kick field goals, so we dont need to have an offense!”

Pathetic perfomance, not by the players because the coaches do not uderstand by some odd reason how to play with what they have. They keep trying to force a square peg in a round hole. Guess what, it wont work agains SuC since they are at full strength! If KD had any pride in himself and the UCLA program he would resign just like the Texas A&M coach!

Firing Dorrell is long over due. The day after last years lose to FSU in Frisco, Dorrell apologized to a group I was with for the terrible performance by the Bruins and swore it would never happen again. It’s happened all year…..injuries aside we have enough good players to fill the spots, just not the leadership. We need a coach who can inspire our team to victories……get over the hump, blow out the patsies and stand tall against the PAC-10….Guererro use some Blue and Gold cash and get us a new leader.

This game was frustrating because if we had won the games this year against teams we were supposed to beat, the ones with losing records, where would we be now? Competing for the national championship with maybe one loss.
So, ok, I cant root for the prophylactics, but I can see how this game is going to go. Petey will take the opening kick (he’ll want the ball and we’ll defer), march down the field and post 7 (or 8). We’ll go 3 and out, punt and they’ll ram it down our throats again. 14 (or 16)-zip; we’re demoralized; game essentially over. I’ve seen KD’s team perform in this pattern how many times? But this time I want to see something different. How about some life, some emotion from these guys, like something is on the line. That kick-off return forward pass was at least an effort to shake some things up. How about faking a punt every once in awhile? You know KD going for it on 4th and 1 was against his nature and he didn’t want to do it. He wanted to punt and play field position. The pressure from the fans pretty much forced him to. So lets see something different from these guys this time. I can only hope they’ve been saving up all their great play calls for this game, because we sure haven’t seen them yet. BTW, why have OR under center the entire game? I only saw one roll out run/throw option play, and it was good for a rare 1st down. This is what we get with 2 weeks to prepare?

Nick @ 6:50 pm:
i think its funny that you guys blast ucla coaches when we lose w/ our 4th QB, but you give oregon a pass when they lose w/ theirs. i think you guys should stop with all the negativity.

The issue of the injuries really needs to be dissected. It pains me to see that no one in the Media has done so. Nick, it’s all very simple. Why do we give Belotti a pass on the injuries? I made this very point earlier in teh week. I said, if KD had seasons where he had won pac-10 titles had pulled multiple 10 win seasons, and had shown success, he would receive a pass on the injuries. I don’t think ANYONE would debate that.

Here’s the issue, though, HE HASN’T had that success; therefore he doesn’t earn that pass, and anyone that dismisses this season to injuries really isn’t paying attention.

Let’s have a juxtaposition:

Oregon’s Belotti:

Prior to the injuries this season, Oregon was one of the best offenses in the country, if not the overall best. Dixon was a Heisman candidate and he was putting up record breaking numbers for his school. Oregon won games while scoring 50 points and putting up ungodly numbers against highly ranked competition. In other words, Status Quo for Oregon was a route leading STRAIGHT to the National Title. Without the injuries at QB, OREGON, RIGHT NOW, would be No. 1 in the nation. It was even clear in the Arizona game. The Ducks jumped out on Arizona immediately, but after Dixon went down, it was over. It was Literally OVER! It was so obvious, too.

Now, let’s take UCLA.

Before the injuries, there were 3 out of 4 years of PURE mediocrity. Of BAD offense and major coaching blunders. But that’s the past, let’s focus on this season. Okay, before the injuries. UCLA played STanford and beat them. Fine. Then we played BYU. Anyone that was at that game knows that it shouldn’t have been close at all, but our offense was GARBAGE once again. Once again the west coast offense was causing trouble. We racked up procedure penalties (due to the multiple sets created by the west coast offense), turnovers and conservative play calls.

HEre’s the issue, when you have to reduce the west coast offense so that your QB can understand it, the offense becomes PREDICTABLE! Therein lies the problem with reducing the playbook. Everyone that saw UCLA in training camp KNEW that we were going to have offensive questions that had to be answered. After BYU, they were not answered. In fact, more were raised. The group of people that liked Patrick Cowan last year called for his return and wanted to bench Ben, who was CLEARLY struggling.

The next game: UTAH! That was a completely healthy bruin team, facing an injury destroyed Utah team. There was NO OFFENSE! We were TERRIBLE. 44-6 was the final. Not a single TD. Barely any first downs, a slew of penalties and more questions than answers.

So you see… INJURIES did nothing to change the course of our team. Injuries did not cause offensive ineptness, because it ALREADY existed. Injuries did not cause Offensive line miscues, beause they ALREADY existed.

That is why the injuries excuse is not applicable to KD and is applicable to someone like Belotti.

Please, I implore you people, GO BEYOND WHAT YOU READ! Use your brains, please! Use your critical thinking skills. Don’t just read what a newspaper hack writes and simply agree. Find the opposing view point and gain a higher understanding. The problem is that most hacks won’t take the time look at the entire season like that. It’s easier forthem to blame the lost season on injuries than it is to analyze EACH game, one by one, to see if such an excuse is viable. IN this case, it is not.

Louis Miranda- Please read this article that the fine gentlesirs at DD put up for us to read. Gauge DG’s reaction. That’s where our focus needs to be. I want everyone to focus away from KD and focus on what matters: DG’s reaction. DG is playing this very clearly, and you need to realize that a victory over Oregon isn’t going to sway him. From what I can read of DG, KD is likely gone. He’s searching for reasons to keep him. He’s not going to make his decision on ONE game. That’s just not waht’s going to happen.

Last year, KD beat USC, but DG made his decision based on the previous year being a successful year in the west coast offense. He saw that 20 starters were returning and that all of those, especially the offensive guys, had been in this sytem for 3-4 straight years. This suggested taht they had grasped, or were at the point of grasping the West coast offense. Remember, the problem with this offense in college is that it’s so complex, that players grasp its functionality after about three years. Once they do, they have one good season and then they graduate. After that, the next crop have to be conditioned for another three years, and so the cycle runs. DG calculated that with the 20 returning starters, and the system in place, this was to be a great year. It was not. BEYOND THE INJURIES!!!! That’s for you people that insist on the injuries, the team JUST wasn’t clicking at ANY POINT during the season. There was NO sign of improving at any phase of what needed improvement.

It is here where the firing is justified. It is at this point where we meet DG and he pulls the trigger. He’s at that point now, but he’s waiting to see if there’s anything that’s going to suggest he shouldn’t be at that point. Luckily, if we continue our pressure and we continue to defeat the incomplete analysis that these Media hacks spew, he won’t be moved from where he currently is, and KD will be gone.

Let it be known, though, that once KD is fired, we cannot rest. That’s when we have to blast the Administration so that we have the PROPER coach hired. We cannot hire a Dwayne Walker. That would be a sin.

Thanks for the insight on Dan Guerrero Diego. I really figured DG will not fire Dorrell but I’ve been wrong before and you are right, Guerrero isn’t a geek. The man played baseball and likes winning. I hope they beat SC because to be a Bruin one must hate the Trojans. I really hope it does not save Dorrells job. By the way how does ucla qualify for the rose bowl game by beating sc and Arizona beating ASU. Wouldn’t that give UCLA and AsU 6-3 pac-10 records and ASU the tiebreaker for having beat UCLA?

I really don’t know how it does. DD posted the list of tiebreakers, and I believe there is one tie breaker in there that UCLA would have over USC and ASU.

Remember, if we beat USC and ASU loses, there will be a three or four-way tie between USC, ASU, ORE and UCLA. I don’t know how that keeps UCLA in teh Rose Bowl, but that’s what the media are telling us. What I do know is that the final tiebreaker is the team that has gone the longest without going to the Rose Bowl or a BCS Bowl. If it reaches that point, ASU would go to the Rose over UCLA. There must be a point where UCLA wins out on a tiebreaker before that final one.

Nick conveniently forgets the fact that both Olsen and Markey (first team) did play in the second half of the game against Oregon and they combined for one field goal and a gimme touchdown on turnovers. Not to fault them; it’s as Diego so aptly points out, Norvell, Dorrell, and Walker are dumb as a bag of hammers. He’s right: Dorrell had two weeks to prepare for Oregon and the effort on Saturday was all he could come up with?

..like someone said, Saturday it’ll be 66-12 v2.0

It’s not just the injuries that make Dorrell a terrible college football coach, it is many things. He just doesn’t get “it”. He needs to go. Oregon did not do us any favors by losing to UCLA this week, but USC will more than make up for that. They are going to beat us in a most grizzy fashion. USC 45 UCLA 10 (if we get a special teams score). This is Dorrells last game as UCLA’s head coach. Thank God!

I can say that for the very first time in my 27 years of life on this earth, that I am not really looking forward to the crosstown showdown this year.And that’s sad. Although I am and always will be a die hard Bruin, it really doesn’t matter to me this year if the condoms beat us this year if that means it’s a lock that Dorrel will finally get the boot! If they win cool. If the don’t, the feeling is still the same. I really can’t believe I’m saying this, and it is a shame that it has came to this so we can actually get a coach! I can’t bare to see another year of Dorrell football!!!

Louis,

I was confused too on how UCLA could go to the Rose Bowl. I always thought head-to-head record was the first tie breaker. I looked it up on the Pac 10 Web Site and now it makes sense. You learn something new every day. Go Bruins!

“a. Two-Team Tie.
The winner of the game between the two teams shall be the representative.

b. Multiple-Team Ties.
(1) When three or more teams are tied in Conference play, if one has defeated all others, it shall be the Rose Bowl representative. If that is not the case, a comparison of the tied teams’ records against the other tied teams shall be made and the team having the best record against the other tied teams shall be the Rose Bowl representative. If two or more teams are still tied after this comparison, the appropriate two-team or multiple-team tie-breaking procedures shall be repeated among those teams still under consideration.

(2) If more than two teams are still tied after the process above is completed, each remaining tied team’s record against the team occupying the highest position in the final regular season standings shall be compared, with the procedure continuing down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.

When arriving at another group of tied teams while comparing records, each team’s collective record against the tied teams as a group shall be used.

If at any point in the process the multiple-team tie is reduced to two teams, the two-team tie-breaking procedure shall be applied.

If more than two teams are still tied after comparing their records all the way through the Conference standings, the team among the tied teams with the highest ranking in the final BCS standings shall be the Rose Bowl representative.

If a tie remains, the teams most recently earning Rose Bowl or Bowl Championship Series automatic selection shall be eliminated.

c. Ineligible Teams.
Teams ineligible to participate in the Rose Bowl shall not be included in the tie-breaking comparisons, but their game results against all other institutions shall count. In determining the Rose Bowl representative when a team is ineligible to participate in the Rose Bowl, the following shall apply:

(1) If an ineligible team(s) ties for first place, the ineligible team(s) shall be removed from the multiple-team tiebreaking comparisons and the remaining tied teams shall be compared using the appropriate tie-breaking procedure.

(2) In utilizing b-(2) above, the ineligible team(s) shall not be used for comparative purposes with the teams tied for first place.”

Fred….The millions that come from a BCS Bowl game don’t affect UCLA one way or the other, because ALL Bowl money is split up evenly amongst all Conference members.

Regarding T.J. Simers, over the past three years I have had several e-mail exchanges with him regarding UCLA football and basketball. It is stunning how little he knows although he views himself as a significant player who has great influence in the LA Sports scene. Moreover, his arguments are virtually devoid of logic. What always provokes a response from him is an e-mail mentioning “The Ben Howland Error.” This is how he characterized Howland’s hiring in his columns for about the first two and a half years of Howland’s tenure at UCLA. He stopped using it when all the wins started piling up. Nevertheless, he continues to refuse to acknowledge that Howland is a good coach. Last year after the second Pac-10 championship and second final four appearance, I e-mailed about the “Ben Howland Error” and he responded by saying the Bruins were “still in Steve Lavin territory.” About a week ago with the #1 or #2 ranking and Kevin Love on a tear, I e-mailed him about the “Ben Howland Error” and he responded by saying that the Bruin basketball team “bored” him and Howland exerted “too much control” when they played - again, incapable of acknowledging that Howland is a good coach. Simers claimed that he and Howland have had “discussions” about controlling the team too much and that Howland promised him he would back off this year. Simers has never made a positive comment about Howland in any of his opinion pieces written over the years. The point of this is to illustrate the backdrop to Simers crusade to retain Dorrell. He’s incapable of acknowledging that Howland is a good coach, yet champions Dorrell as a great guy and good coach and says that he should be retained. There is no internal consistency in his arguments and logic (or common sense, for that matter) is absent. Simers simply has no credibility.

T.J. Simers is harmless….his entire column is tongue and cheek…90% of it is for laughs. He bags on his family as much as the local teams…Try reading it just from a humorous standpoint (which is what it is)….His column is different and I like it….but I would never ever take it serious because he doesn’t so why should you?

What would be perfect is that we beat so.cal. and KD is fired. Better yet DG is fired also.

From the Northern Neck of Virginia, where if it ain’t a Hokie they just don’t care… I have to agree the Oregon game clearly indicates the program is going in the wrong direction. Injuries or not, with two weeks to prepare for an injury-ridden opponent the outcome should have been much different. I had to shut off the ESPN Game Tracker because it was too painful watching the drive meter going backwards on every series.

Concur as well with Diego’s comment about going beyond what you read. For example, has anyone stopped to ask WHY there are so many injuries in this the year of all the returning starters - especially at a university with one of the nation’s best medical schools?! Could this be another indicator of poor preparation & coaching? And rather than nodding at won-loss figures, consider some of the program’s major achievements over the past 4 years:
2004: Mid-season collapse punctuated by giving Wyoming it’s first bowl victory in 38 years
2005: From mid-season BCS#6 to a 66-19 loss at USC (in which LenDale White broke Charles White’s TD record) and a near-loss to 7-5 Northwestern in the Sun Bowl
2006: First big win over USC, but another mid-season collapse and a 4th-qtr loss to Florida State that preserved a 30th winning season for Bobby Bowden
2007: Helped the 0-5 Irish avoid their worst record EVER - at the Rose Bowl.

I see one faint ray of hope for this week against ‘SC… safely assuming just about every member of that team was watching the UCLA-Oregon game last week there is a distinct possibility the Troy Boys will be a tad overconfident as they waltz onto the Colesium turf. I can only hope our Bruins are given the latitude to punch ‘em in the gut at just the right time. The outcome should be clear after the first two possessions.

Final recommendation - take the money left over from your billboard drive and give it to UniCamp - in the name of Karl Dorrell.

I bleed blue and gold, but I can’t see the Bruins capturing lightning in a bottle two years straight against USC. Part of me hopes the game isn’t televised here in New York; I don’t think I can take the carnage. Guerrerro needs to do the deed after the Trojans demolish us. I nominate Rick Brooks for new head coach. The guy recruits, hires good assistants, gets the most out of his players, and has some UCLA history. Right now, he’s in witness protection (University of Kentucky).

Jeff- Rich Brooks would be a good choice if he was 20 years younger. He’s a bit too old, I think.