UCLA Football ends a season
A lot has happened to the UCLA football team in the last year. But when it came down to its annual rivalry game with USC, it seems like nothing has changed.
Once again the Bruins were within striking distance of the chinks in the Trojans’ armor. But in the moments that counted, they failed to make the blow.
UCLA (4-8, 2-7 Pac-10) failed to take back the Victory Bell Saturday at the Rose Bowl, losing 28-14 to USC (8-5, 5-4), the Bruins’ fourth-straight loss and their 11th of the last 12 contests against their foes from across town.
UCLA only trailed 14-7 at halftime but failed to score in the second half despite two interceptions by USC quarterback Matt Barkley.
Instead – the Trojans tacked on two more touchdowns to excite their fans who shared a good portion of the seats in the famous Pasadena stadium.
The Bruins’ own sophomore quarterback Richard Brehaut wasn’t much better, participating in three turnovers and completing just 20 of 35 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown.
Redshirt sophomore running back Johnathan Franklin provided UCLA’s first score: a 59-yard touchdown in the first half. Brehaut threw a 10-yard touchdown to redshirt sophomore tight end Joseph Fauria in the game’s final seconds.
- UCLA Football.
There are decisions to be made in UCLA’s football program. They just aren’t likely to be made soon.
Coach Rick Neuheisel reiterated after Saturday’s 28-14 loss to USC that he will take his time in evaluating his coaching staff. But recruitng comes first. There are no meetings with offensive coordinator Norm Chow or defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough.
Chow has a two-year contract extension. Bullough has one year left on his contract.
“We’re going to go through the process, from top to bottom, as quickly as we can” – Neuheisel said.
Free safety Rahim Moore and linebacker Akeem Ayers, both juniors, said they will gather information to help them decide whether to declare for the NFL draft.
“I’m going to do what is best for me” – Moore said. “I’m going to keep praying on it and then make my decision.”
It was nothing UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel hadn’t seen before. For every positive he’s seen from his team, he’s witnessed just as many negatives, if not more. And it was no different Saturday night.
Quarterback Richard Brehaut and running back Johnathan Franklin combined for nearly 339 yards but also combined for three turnovers, the latter helping USC beat UCLA for the 10th time in 11 seasons, 28-14, in front of 71,105 at the Rose Bowl.
“It’s turnovers” – said Neuheisel, whose Bruins finished 4-8 for the second time in three seasons. “It’s who makes less mistakes in these games who wins these games. You’re talking three turnovers that was the difference in this game. This game is 7-7 instead of trying to scratch from behind.”
“We had a chance to kick a field goal at the end of the half and get the lead and the ball just gets away. Those are the kind of things, if you’re not quite ready to be that team that we all want to be, those are the things that haunt you. You can’t make any excuses about it. We have to be better.”
For part of Saturday, UCLA did look better. Especially Franklin, who rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown to finish with 1.129 yards for the season. The sophomore, the first UCLA back to rush for more than 1.000 yards in a season since Chris Markey in 2006, also became the first Bruin to break the 100-yard mark against the Trojans since DeShaun Foster in 1998.