Dump Dorrell

Here we are in week 5, October, we are 4-1 and at #25 in one poll, USA Today coaches poll, and out of the rankings in the other, AP media poll.   This is not how we, or most people, envisioned this season going.  We should be at 5-0 and in the top 10 and yet we are only relieved to be at 4-1.   It's even more odd that a UCLA team can be 4-1 and not be ranked in one poll and only ranked #25 in another.  Not odd obviously when you consider pollsters are tired of being burned by Dorrell.   Dorrell is living in a Missouri state of mind … pollsters are saying "Show Me."  At #25 in only 1 poll, an argument can be made that we may actually be the worst 4-1 team in the country.  

All that won't matter if Dorrell wins the conference.  Next up is our last OOC game.  0-5 Notre Dame is coming to Pasadena this Saturday knowing that (more…)

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We are going to get right to it this week because we are short on time.  Here are the candidates for Plays of the Year from the Oregon State game: (more…)

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As DD reader Jake Merrifield put it, we escaped with a 24 point victory over Oregon State at Corvalis last night.  For more than 3 quarters we were looking at the end of the Dorrell era.  Oregon state gave Dorrell his reprieve in the 4th quarter by giving us the game over and over again, providing us a reminder of Dorrell's frustrating ability to survive the hot seat.  This was not a convincing win by any measure, regardless of what the Dorrell cultists, out in full force, are saying on the boards.  The one positive is that Ben Olson faced the fire and never gave up, gaining more confidence as the game wore on despite Training Jay and Dorrell's horrendous play-calling. 

So we are left to assess Karl Dorrell's performance according to (more…)

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What a bizarre game.  One look at the score and you'd think we dominated.  And yet, if feels like Dorrell dodged one.  We were down 14-12 in the 4th quarter, then a series of huge mistakes by OSU, mostly from two players, gave us amazing field position and easy scores.  In fact, we had great field position nearly the entire game.  We said earlier this week that the Stat of the Week would be turnovers … and it turned out that turnovers in our favor really decided the game.  3 straight fumbles, 2 lost, on kick-off returns by the same player … not sure that's ever happened before.  A punter who can't punt 25 yards, and because he takes forever to get the kick off had one blocked, is basically a turnover every time he touches the ball.  Those 3 turnovers, the 2 kick off fumbles and the blocked punt, led to 3 of our 4 scores in the less than 8 minutes in that final quarter.

Our defense did come through in the the last 3 quarters, finally.  For the first time this year, (more…)

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Class is in session kids.  Take your seats .. quiet down.  This is Football 101.  Open your books, Football For Dummies, to page 1.   The Bruins play the Oregon State Beavers today up in Corvalis, Oregon, in what promises to be a lesson in football.  Who will be the student, who will be the teacher?  That is what will be decided today.  Karl Dorrell set himself up for a great embarrassment if we lose today.  Maybe not on the order of Utah, but a great embarrassment nevertheless.

If you've been under a rock for the past few days, Karl Dorrell snapped at a reporter earlier in the week when the reporter asked him a basic question about Oregon State's defense … "why is it so good?"  Dorrell's response is gaining legendary status. "Like you guys really know … that's football 101."  Football 101.  Class starts today. 

Losing Today Has Consequences  (more…)

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This week's Stat of the Week is probably pretty obvious.  Let's first review last week.  The Stat of the Week last week - the key to winning the game for our Bruins - was again on the money.  We thought that if our Bruins kept the game close at the half that you could rest assured that we would win the game, despite Karl Dorrell's inability to adjust well after halftime, because this team only needed to know that it could win.  Had we gone down by 2 touchdowns the team would have imploded for the game and the season.  Thankfully that did not happen.  The teams went into the locker tied 10-10, leaving the Rose Bowl crowd a little uneasy, but we left the game with the win 44-31.  

This week we think the key to winning this game will be turnover margin.  If we win the turnover battle by 2 or more then we will win this game.  OSU is among (more…)

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The line on the Oregon State game first took a while to come out due to the big question at QB. Then when it did come out it came out pick 'em.  Then during the week the spread moved in favor of Oregon State, to a point by midweek.  Today the spread is at its widest and its strongest in favor of OSU with one service at -2.5, with the range starting at -1.5.  The over/under opened at 55 and has since tightened a little to 54 ~ 54.5.  By all measures this game should be close.  We predicted on The Bruin Show earlier this week that our Bruins will win this game 34-31.  We predicted a win because Karl Dorrell has said this week's practice was great and that the team was going to play a great game.  Since Dorrell himself is answering the bell and is ready to give a clinic on football 101, there should be no reason for a let down.  Go Bruins!!!

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Maybe the fault lines are starting to show, maybe the pressure is getting to be too much.  Lately, Karl Dorrell has gotten bitchy with the press and others over simple things and questions.  He's also exposed again his lack of hard core football knowledge.  Take for instance this exchange with beat reporters when asked what makes Oregon State's defense one of the best in the conference, Chris Foster LA Times reporting:

Dorrell said that Oregon State's defense was "definitely the best we have played against to this point."

And what makes the Beavers so tough?

"They're good," Dorrell said.

In what areas?

"Well, they're good everywhere," Dorrell said. "They're good against the run. They're good against the pass. . . . They are very good."

Great in depth analysis there Karl.  It would be one thing to (more…)

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Looks like Sunshine Reports, as one Bruinzone poster put it,  are coming from Dorrell now too.  Here is what Dorrell had to say about this week's practices, Rich Perelman LA Times reporting: 

UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell was pleased with Wednesday’s spirited and intense practice, which included almost an hour of work accompanied by very loud crowd noise.

"I thought the offense looked sharp," he said. "I thought Ben [Olson] looked sharp, he operated pretty well with all of our game-planning things. I like what we’re doing right now."

There you have it. It's not exactly Dorrell "adding himself" to the coaching units this week but it's worth noting he thinks the players are looking "sharp." We can pretty much expect a focused and strong effort from the team this Saturday. No letdown from the emotion charged bounce back win over Washington.  All we need now is a little "added" Dorrell and we should be a lock to win at Corvalis.  And Dorrell doesn't leave any presser lately without doling out a choice Dorrellism or two.  This time its a mini-Dorrellism … "game-planning things."  You know, those game-planning thingys … Ben is good with them thingys.  Nice.

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This week we travel to Corvallis and take on an Oregon State team (2-2, 0-1) that put up a fight against Arizona State last week, beat Utah handily in their opener 24-7, and got blown out by a surprising top 25 Cincinnati away, 34-3.  Our game against Oregon State last year was memorable for a number of reasons not pertaining to the actual game.  You might recall that OSU was our turn-around game, the infamous "new season" game.  To stop the 4 game losing streak we had going at the time, Dorrell used the creative technique of wiping out the entire season, 4-5 at the time, to focus on "going undefeated" the rest of the way. Too bad the NCAA did not comply and wipe out the rest of our record. 

The week of the OSU game was also the week of the infamous Karl Dorrell "The Thinker" piece put out by the LA Times and Morgan Center to counter growing criticism of Dorrell's performance.  Nothing like a little fluff in the midst of a 4 game losing streak to appease the masses.  Look for the same type of fluff once Dorrell loses some conference games.

The OSU game was also interesting for (more…)

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