Editor's Note: We are done for the night so if you are new to DD and commenting we won't be moderating comments until tomorrow. We will get to the business of getting a competent new coach then as well. 

So much for the pregame talk about how we were ready to play, focused, had a great practice.   So much for the hype of #1 in the Pac-10, undefeated in conference … the losses to the "gimmes" a distant memory but a reminder to play every team hard.  So much for talk of a Pac-10 championship, let alone Bruce Davis' insane talk of a national championship.  Did Dorrell answer the bell??  Did he coach hard?  Did the great Defensive Genius, "OUR NEXT HEAD COACH," DeWayne Walker plan for Washington State to run up over 550 yards of offense, 270 yards RUSHING(!), against our 'top' defense??  Washington State, the bottom dweller of the Pac-10 … the team who got crushed by Oregon 53-7 … the team who's coach is probably out of a job next year just schooled Dorrell and Walker.  The silly bracelets Dorrell has the team wear say "Finish Pac-10 Champions" the play on the field says "We don't know what we're doing."

The inconsistency, the inability to win on the road, the inability to beat teams we are supposed to, the inability to put together a winning game plan, the inability to adjust in game, the inability to dominate when we have the talent to do so was all there to see today.  Where are all the Dorrellistas now??  Who is going to support another year of this??!!  Who is going to want Karl Dorrell as our coach next year when we lose 17 starters and 25 players and have a much tougher schedule??  Who still thinks Karl Dorrell is going to win the Pac-10 championship EVER?!!  Might as well cut those idiotic bracelets again … it is October after all.  Get to work Dan!! We are out of rage … more tomorrow.

Get the word out, email Dan Guerrero, the administration and the media!! 

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Vegas bookmakers opened up the line on the Wazzu game in Pullman today at UCLA favored +8.5.  But during the week that line tightened to +6 across the board. Only this morning did the line tighten even more in at least one book to +5.5.   So betters have yet again gone against the opening line when UCLA is favored.  Dorrell's troubles with Wazzu and on the road and against lesser opponents are well documented.  Bettors are weary of his record against the spread as well.  We see this ending up with a win by a much wider margin as we have said.  Go Bruins!!

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Today should be an easy win folks … we play winless in the conference Washington State at Pullman.  The coaches and players are sounding confident, focused, prepared and undaunted despite our recent troubles and Wazzu's domination of our game last year at home.   Even Karl Dorrell thinks the toughest part of the game today is simply getting there (from Brian Dohn)!

"I think the toughest part of the trip is getting there, but in terms of anything else, it's the same field, great crowd."

Ok coach.  What about the recent letdowns against Utah and Notre Dame?  Is the team ready with focus and effort (from Dohn)? read more

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On to this week's Stat of the Week.  Let's first review last week's Stat of the Week for the Cal game.  We said the key to beating Cal was for the defense to stop the running game.  We said specifically that if we held Cal to under 100 yards for the game that we would probably win.  Cal had 67 yards on the ground (Yahoo sports) and we won.  Cal should have won that game on a field goal but it was precisely the lack of production on the ground that led to Tedford making that ill-advised out pass that got intercepted by Verner for a pick-6 and the game.  We noted that before the game, but after our Stat post, Walker said that the key to winning was stopping Cal's running game and that unlike last year this time that is what the defense would focus on.  After the game, Cal players and coaches said the reason they lost was because UCLA stopped their running game.  We tally up the the Stat of the Week and we are 7 for 7.  

This week it took us a while to find the one key stat that would be critical to the outcome of the game.  We dont think there is any.  There are a few.  But in keeping with this feature we will go ahead and narrow down the field, and commit to just one.  We dont have the time to go into all the reasoning but here are the three stats that will be key:  read more

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Looks like the team is ready to play, Cowan is ready to play, the team talked about Utah and not letting an easy one get away from them, they had an excellent practice, and they play a team near dead last in every defensive category.  This obviously sounds a lot like Notre Dame and Utah, but we really do expect a victory.  Wazzu is awful in nearly every single offensive and defensive category.  Where they shine is passing offense.  Wazzu can't run at all so look for a full-time passing game.  That is all we need to focus on defensively to win. Wazzu's defense allows 35 points per game and is near dead last in rush defense.  All we have to do is run the ball mostly, hold onto it, drain the clock, and that will get the job done on offense.   We fully expect a win, and the obligatory Dorrellian mania afterwards. 

So lets get to some notes:  read more

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Editor's note: we are going to keep this post at the top. Send it or this post to friends (email link at end of posts), post it on myspace, facebook, your website, especially the list below. Get the word out to Morgan Center, Murphy Hall, the media. The Coach-In-Training experiment is officially a failure. Now we look to Dan Guerrero to do his job again.

I felt a change in leadership was necessary. We want to have a national caliber program here, certainly top 25 every year. We need to raise the bar, we need to start winning Pac-10 championships again.

These are the reasons Dan Guerrero fired Bob Toledo BEFORE the 2003 season was over. It was also after a Washington State loss at the Rose Bowl.

Our goal is to win Pac-10 championships and compete in BCS bowl games.

These words are from Dan Guerrero when he hired Karl Dorrell. Dan Guerrero needs to back up his words with action!! He needs to have some consistency in the standards he applies. He needs to do what he did with Bob Toledo, who had a BETTER winning percentage than Karl Dorrell has. Dan Guerrero needs to Fire Karl Dorrell! Sooner rather than later because you can't hire a football coach in May. Here are the reasons to Dump Dorrell (updated). Reasons To Dump Dorrell (updated as of 12/27/06)

1. 1-3 against Southern Cal.
2. No Pac-10 championships.
3. No BCS bowl games.
4. 1-10 on the road against teams with a winning record.
5. Worst starting 3- AND 4- year record of any UCLA football coach since WW2, including Bob Toledo who was fired.
6. Worse winning percentage than Bob Toledo, who was fired.
7. 3-11 against ranked teams.
8. 2-7 against top 10 teams.
9. Only 6 conference wins against teams who finished over .500.
10. 19-14 against Pac-10 teams.
11. 8-17 against teams with a winning record.
12. 10 losses to unranked teams.
13. He has a losing record after October, 6-12.
14. Embarrassing losses to Wyoming, Fresno State, Arizona, Southern Cal.
15. Revolving door for assistant coaches.
16. 80% of Bruins fans polled on Bruinsnation.com disapprove of the job KD is doing.

Welcome to The Suck! We need to change this. Get the word out. Email this post to your friends (email link at the bottom of this post), put this post or this list on your Facebook, Myspace, or website pages. Email sportswriters, the Daily Bruin, and the administration (contact list here). If you have any other ideas and need our help contact us. We will be starting a campaign most likely early in the week that you can get involved in. Check back with us for more info. We are going to keep this post at the top.

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To me, this is all coaching. This is all on me, like everyone expects anyway.

That is Karl Dorrell, for the first time on record, taking responsibility for a loss. It would have taken a Hollywood effort in spin to pin this loss on anything else. It is too late though. Whatever benefits he may get from finally admitting where the problems lie are lost on a beaten down team, unable to draw inspiration coming out of the half at home with the lead against an average team. Only one possession in the second half lasted more than four plays.

Karl Dorrell’s excuses and rationalizations have finally met their end. No more “growing” or “learning” or “almost there’s.” Players are having players-only meetings during the week and sitting out or leaving games with those minor injuries that say “I don’t want to be a part of this.” Players are hearing the boos rain down on them from the stands at their own home. And worst of all, players are giving up on the field of play, going lifeless in the face of all that is wrong.

You could see it in the coaches faces as well. One of the most fitting moments in the Dorrell era came with minutes left in the game, a game long ago decided by a talent gap in coaching the size of a Rose Bowl stadium, when Ed Kezirian, Assistant Director of Academic Services, was standing prominently on the sidelines waving a white towel to get the crowd and team going (did anyone else see this?!). No one, not one single player or coach and certainly not a single person in the stands was buying it. Not a coach would stand near him. Even without the heavy irony of the white towel waving franticallly on the sideline, it was embarrassing. A member of Morgan Center staff trying to bring some hype to a beaten program while they were getting their butts handed to them.

It reminded us of the ludicrous press release issued by Morgan Center at the start of the season: “Watch out USC, Dorrell Is Making UCLA A Threat.”** The Coach-In-Training experiment is a failure. It’s time to cut our losses and move on. It’s time for change. The good news is Dan Guerrero may be coming around. Here he is sounding a bit non-commital.

“We’d like to win football games, there’s no question about that. And, obviously, we’re not playing at an optimal level,” Guerrero said. “So, we just need to do the things that are necessary to do that.”

We agree! And that means Dumping Dorrell. More Dan Guerrero: Lonnie White reporting in the LA Times, “Dan Guerrero said Dorrell … has four games left to ‘right the ship.’” We hope DG is putting feelers out there for a new coach that will do that. Let us be clear about one thing. Dan Guerrero has a chance to be one of the best AD’s EVER at UCLA. Yes. He can be responsible for the turnaround in basketball, baseball, AND football with one more stroke of genius, the toughest of them all. He can finally be the one to make football at UCLA matter. By ending the experiment and hiring a proven winning experienced coach, DG can herald a new era where UCLA is not an afterthought in football across the nation, or in our own city. Let’s support DG in making this tough decision to Dump Dorrell! Let’s get it done DG!!

** Morgan Center CHANGED the title of their press release of Aug. 23, 2006, from “Watch Out USC, Dorrell Is Making UCLA A Threat” to what it is now, “Bruins’ improvement under Karl Dorrell highlighted in story.” HA! When did they make that change?? That is not how that press release went out!

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Karl Dorrell has lost this program. It is in a tailspin. Our coach-in-training experiment has officially failed. How can KD look in the eyes of his team and give them the same tired rationalizations that they are “learning” and “growing” and “almost there?” There is no way we are finishing better than 6-6, and we could lose out the rest of the way. At Cal - loss. Against Oregon State - they just beat Southern Cal. At Arizona State - they just beat Washington AT Seattle. Against Southern Cal - Pom Pom Carrol owns Karl Dorrell.

Welcome to The Suck! Expect mediocrity or worse. Expect to be outcoached and outclassed every game. Expect to lose in recruiting. Expect to be an afterthought in our own city. This is The Suck.

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37-15! What can we say?! Even we at DD are speechless. Even we at DD don't think that Karl Dorrell and Co are going to give excuses after today's embarrassment. If there ever was a time that KD and Co would man up and take responsibility for a loss it's today. Surely it won't be the players, it won't be the officials, the weather, the time of day, the fans, the clock guy who were to blame. Show some respect for the program, the University, the players, the staff, and most of all the community and accept responsibility Karl, Jim & Jim, DeWayne! It's time for change, let's start with that.

More Notes

1. Outscored after halftime 23-0. Nice halftime adjustment Karl!!
2. We said here earlier in our Stat Of The Week that the defense would have to come up big against a good Wazzu offense, and they didn't. They gave up 500+ yards to Wazzu, 400 through the air. Nice job DeWayne Walker!
3. We said Pat Cowen had not convinced us he is ready to be our QB, and he proved it again today. 45.9% completion, 6 yards per attempt, 2 INTs and 1 touchdown … against the #97 ranked pass defense in the country! PC has poor accuracy, particularly on longer passes and over the top.
4. 320 yards offense, 78 on the ground, 2 for 12 3rd down conversions. 0 for 2 4th down. Need we say more? Nice job Jim Svoboda!
5. KD said this team was prepared, that they had put the ND loss behind them in practice. No Excuses!
6. 1 friggin touchdown!! At home!!! If you are a great high school kicker looking for national numbers and attention play for Karl Dorrell and Jim Svoboda. Medlock for Heisman!!!
7. More penalties at critical times during the game. We'll say it again, the team lacks discipline. That is a sign of bad coaching.

More later …

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Expect a victory today at home in a low scoring affair.  We need a big game from our defense and from Pat Cowen.  Here are our gameday notes.

Gameday Washingon State Notes

1. Both teams bring in defenses that can slow teams down  and pass rushers that rank tops in the nation:  Justin Hickman #2 with 10.5 sacks, Wazzu's Mkristo Bruce #3 with 10 sacks (all solo), and Bruce Davis #14 with 6.5 sacks.
2. All three defensive ends, Hickman, Bruce and Davis, have been named to the mid-season Watch List for the 2006 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award.  Congrats to our guys!!
3. Our defense is ranked #10 nationally in total defense, #11 against the rush but #46 against the pass, allowing close to 190 yards per game in the air.
4. Wazzu's defense (#71 total defense, #35 rush nationally) shut down the nation's #4 offense, Oregon, last week. Wazzu's stats have come against 4 ranked teams, including Southern Cal, Auburn away, Cal, and Oregon.
5. Wazzu plays a 3-4 defense, still gets to the QB, and has 10 picks this season (#16 nationally). Pat Cowen has to come up with a great game, including being accurate with the long ball and having more touch hitting receivers over the top. 
6. If our offense is going to score points to win it will be through the air. Wazzu's weakness on defense is the pass (#97 nationally), despite the picks. They give up 230+ yards a game, although they are a bit better in passing efficiency (#51).
7. The Cougars offense is ranked #22 in the nation in total offense (we are #79) and #23 in passing, averaging almost 250 yards per game.  They are ranked #19 in the nation for first downs.  We are tied for #55.
8. UCLA brings in one of the worst rushing offenses in the Pac-10 and nation (#77) considering most of our rushing yards were gained against two of the worst rush defenses in Stanford (#119 dead last) and Rice (#112).
9. We are #74 in the nation in 3rd down conversions at an anemic 36.4%. Jim Colleto and Jim Svoboda have got to mix it up and if what they are doing isn't working they have got to adjust, or we are not going anywhere today.
10. If our offense sputters, we might have to rely on the defense to score points to win this. We think they are capable, but Walker cannot take the foot off the peddle today if it's close. Play to win coach!
11. Unless turnovers and mistakes become the story, this is going to be a tight game.  Karl Dorrell is going to have to get in the huddle and in his players faces if he wants to ensure victory. Fire this team up Karl and play to win!

Go Bruins!!

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