via www.impawards.com

If John Cusak's turn in "The Sure Thing" taught us anything (tho I'm pretty sure it didn't) it's that UCLA girls are incredibly loose and you need to travel across the country for one.  Even when there is a perfectly better girl right there, just STARING you in the back of the head in a slightly disapproving manner while wearing the world's ugliest sweater. 

This is the choice many high school students face when they apply to UCLA and Cal.  They think they want to go to UCLA.  They think that UCLA is the "Sure Thing."  It will give you whatever you want.  But then they get down there and realize that Cal is the slightly disapproving one in the world's ugliest sweater. Cal is the "Right Thing."

Or so I coulda figured out if UCLA had accepted me for undergrad.  Coulda gone down there and found out why I should have gone to Cal instead.  Or if they had accepted for law school, too.  Coulda gone down there a second time and found out why I should have gone to Boalt instead.  Had they accepted me!

Basically, my point is this "WTF, UCLA???  Was I not GOOD enough for you?  Look at these cheek bones.  Just look at them!  Was it because I'm Jewish?  Is that it?  Is it anti-semitism?"

Yep, I'm pretty sure it was anti-semitism. I, for one, can see no other explanation.

Is that the same reason why SBN turned down my original request to start a UCLA sports blog in 2004.  They claimed that The applicant seemingly doesn't know really anything about sports, UCLA sports, or even UCLA."  That didn't stop them from giving me this Cal blog, did it?  What's it going to be, Blez?  Why didn't my stupidity preclude me running a Cal blog?

Wait, don't answer that.  Instead,let's go inside the numbers of the school that rejected me twice.  Woulda been a third time if I ever lived the dream of applying to Clown College.

All numbers are from here.

                            The Automated ScoreBook
               UCLA Overall Team Statistics (as of Oct 18, 2008)
                                   All games

TEAM STATISTICS                        UCLA          OPP
--------------------------------------------------------
SCORING.......................          143          204
  Points Per Game.............         20.4         29.1
FIRST DOWNS...................          123          136
  Rushing.....................           34           61
  Passing.....................           74           67
  Penalty.....................           15            8
RUSHING YARDAGE...............          636         1278
  Yards gained rushing........          825         1445
  Yards lost rushing..........          189          167
  Rushing Attempts............          224          269
  Average Per Rush............          2.8          4.8
  Average Per Game............         90.9        182.6
  TDs Rushing.................            7           11
PASSING YARDAGE...............         1518         1228
  Att-Comp-Int................    254-147-7    205-112-5
  Average Per Pass............          6.0          6.0
  Average Per Catch...........         10.3         11.0
  Average Per Game............        216.9        175.4
  TDs Passing.................            7           13
TOTAL OFFENSE.................         2154         2506
  Total Plays.................          478          474
  Average Per Play............          4.5          5.3
  Average Per Game............        307.7        358.0
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards.........       31-734       26-607
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards.........       18-188       22-356
INT RETURNS: #-Yards..........          5-6         7-81
KICK RETURN AVERAGE...........         23.7         23.3
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE...........         10.4         16.2
INT RETURN AVERAGE............          1.2         11.6
FUMBLES-LOST..................         10-6         12-4
PENALTIES-Yards...............       36-308       51-416
  Average Per Game............         44.0         59.4
PUNTS-Yards...................      45-1963      39-1566
  Average Per Punt............         43.6         40.2
  Net punt average............         33.9         33.8
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game.......        30:42        29:18
3RD-DOWN Conversions..........       45/111       39/101
  3rd-Down Pct................          41%          39%
4TH-DOWN Conversions..........          2/6          2/4
  4th-Down Pct................          33%          50%
SACKS BY-Yards................        12-81       21-127
MISC YARDS....................            0           37
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED.............           16           26
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS..........        10-13         8-13
ON-SIDE KICKS.................          0-1          0-0
RED-ZONE SCORES...............    22-27 81%    23-27 85%
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS...........    14-27 52%    18-27 67%
PAT-ATTEMPTS..................    15-16 94%    24-25 96%
ATTENDANCE....................       338295       122881
  Games/Avg Per Game..........      5/67659      2/61440
  Neutral Site Games..........                       0/0

SCORE BY QUARTERS     1st  2nd  3rd  4th  OT     Total
--------------------  ---  ---  ---  ---  ---      ---
UCLA................   21   35   36   48    3  -   143
Opponents...........   31   90   43   40    0  -   204

Well, the first thing that jumps out at you is that UCLA has been outscored.  Losing 4 quadrillion to nothing to BYU will do that to you.  They've given up more first downs than they have gotten. 

Same with rushing yardage.  They average 90.9 per game, but allow 182.6.  Given our rush-heavy offense, I like those numbers.  Now, there are some concerns with the OLine.  But if Cal plays to the level we know it can, we should be able to rush against these guys.

But their passing numbers are different.  Craft has rebounded from his terrible 1st half performance against Tennessee to become a decent, if cannibalistic QB.  And they do have about 300 more passing yards than their opponents.  They only give up 175 passing yards per game, so their pass D is for real. 

Another reason why we might see a LOT of rushing this weekend.  Best.  Vereen.  Perhaps even Slocum. 

Note that they have 111 third downs.  I feel like Cal had something like 58 or so.  That could be that UCLA is having a lot of 3 and outs or that UCLA is making long drives, it's unclear.  I personally have no data to back this up, but cannot imagine that having 111 3rd downs is a good sign.  They do convert 41%, which was higher than Cal's 33% (IIRC). 

Note that many (myself included) were laughing at how empty the Rose Bowl appeared against Stanford on Saturday.  However, they average 67,000+ K per game.  I believe we averaged about 61.  So, perhaps we shouldn't have been laughing so hard.  Ai!

RUSHING              GP-GS  Att Gain Loss  Net   Avg  TD Long Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Coleman, Derrick      5-0    32  192    1  191   6.0   1   44  38.2

Bell, Kahlil          5-5    71  209   22  187   2.6   5   13  37.4
Moline, Chane         7-4    28  126    8  118   4.2   0   40  16.9
Craft, Kevin          7-7    58  183  132   51   0.9   0   18   7.3
Austin, Terrence      7-6     5   49    0   49   9.8   0   20   7.0
Carter, Raymond       3-0    19   38   12   26   1.4   1    7   8.7
Forcier, Chris        3-0     6   27    8   19   3.2   0   13   6.3

Dean, Aundre          2-0     2    1    0    1   0.5   0    1   0.5
Team                  5-0     3    0    6   -6  -2.0   0    0  -1.2
Total..........       7     224  825  189  636   2.8   7   44  90.9
Opponents......       7     269 1445  167 1278   4.8  11   69 182.6

Their main man here is Khalil Bell.  He has more than twice the number of the next running back.  I'm not going to count Craft's 58 run attempts, because he is averaging .9 per attempt.  Ai!  A lot of that comes from sacks, which account for 132 lost rushing yards.  He has rushed for 183 positive yards, which is a sign that he is a mobile QB.

Back to Bell, who is their main guy and is averaging 2.6 yards per carry.  But I think Bell has been bothered by injuries and has been in and out of the game.  They also have Derrick Coleman, who is running remarkably better.  He averages 6 yards a carry and is actually averaging more per game than Bell.  These are the guys to keep your eyes on regarding the UCLA running game.

Khalil Bell Via Zoo News

Derrick Coleman Via Zoo News

PASSING              GP-GS   Effic Cmp-Att-Int   Pct  Yds  TD Lng Avg/G
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Craft, Kevin          7-7   112.99  147-251-7   58.6 1518   7  43 216.9
Team                  5-0     0.00    0-2-0      0.0    0   0   0   0.0
Forcier, Chris        3-0     0.00    0-1-0      0.0    0   0   0   0.0
Total..........       7     111.66  147-254-7   57.9 1518   7  43 216.9
Opponents......       7     121.00  112-205-5   54.6 1228  13  52 175.4

Well, here we get to Kevin Craft of the Norwegian Metal Band Dark Crafticka.  Again, the QB efficiency ratings always confuse me, but I don't know if 112.99 is all that good.  It says he has thrown 7 TDs here.  I believe it said he has thrown 7 Ints above.  Although to be fair, 4 of those were in the first game. 

It notes that he has thrown 251 pass attempts in his first 7 games.  That's 35.8 a game!  Not a good sign and that stems from being behind so much in many games.  Craft is developing into a better QB, for sure, but is still not exactly where many UCLA fans wish him to be.

Kevin Craft via www.gawker.com

RECEIVING            GP-GS  No.  Yds   Avg  TD Long Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------------
Austin, Terrence      7-6    36  363  10.1   1   29  51.9
Moya, Ryan            7-2    29  279   9.6   3   39  39.9
Embree, Taylor        7-5    25  324  13.0   0   43  46.3

Johnson, Dominique    7-2    18  208  11.6   0   24  29.7
Moline, Chane         7-4    10   94   9.4   1   20  13.4
Bell, Kahlil          5-5     6   29   4.8   0   13   5.8
Rosario, Nelson       5-0     5   85  17.0   0   25  17.0
Harkey, Cory          7-3     4   34   8.5   1   13   4.9
Miller, Jeff          5-1     4   27   6.8   1   15   5.4

Ketchum, Gavin        6-1     3   25   8.3   0   15   4.2
Coleman, Derrick      5-0     3    7   2.3   0    5   1.4
Paulsen, Logan        1-1     1   18  18.0   0   18  18.0
Everett, Marcus       2-1     1   17  17.0   0   17   8.5
Theriot, Trevor       3-2     1    5   5.0   0    5   1.7
Chandler, Nate        7-2     1    3   3.0   0    3   0.4
Total..........       7     147 1518  10.3   7   43 216.9
Opponents......       7     112 1228  11.0  13   52 175.4

Terrence Austin is the main man here, but they do spread the ball around.  Moya and Embree are all getting a lot of looks.  Note that none of their RBs seem to get a lot of receptions.  I always thought that Norm Chow's offenses tried to use the RBs out of the backfield a lot, but either a)I was wrong or b)he doesn't really have the talent here to do that.  Not really much to see here, just a complement of solid WRs.

Terrence Austin Via Zoo News

Ryan Moya Via Zoo News

Taylor Embree Via Zoo News

                              |--------Tackles--------| |-Sacks-| |---Pass Def---| |-Fumbles-| Blkd
DEFENSIVE LEADERS       GP-GS Solo  Ast Total   TFL/Yds   No-Yds  Int-Yds BrUp QBH Rcv-Yds  FF Kick Saf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
51 Carter, Reggie         7-7   24   26    50   2.5-3       .        .       .   .    .      2    .   .
1  Verner, Alterraun      7-7   34   13    47   1.5-4       .       2-0      7   .    .      1    .   .
2E Lockett, Bret          6-6   28   17    45   2.0-8       .        .       1   .    .      1    .   .
93 Harwell, Brigham       7-7   22   16    38   3.5-11   1.0-8       .       2   1   1-0     .    .   .
55 Bosworth, Korey        7-7   19   12    31   6.5-23   3.5-17      .       4   .   1-1     .    .   .
0C Moore, Rahim           7-7   18   11    29      .        .       1-5      1   .   1-0     .    .   .
40 Ayers, Akeem           7-2   16    9    25   3.0-28   2.0-23      .       1   .    .      .    1   .
22 Norris, Michael        7-7   19    5    24   1.0-2       .        .       8   .    .      .    .   .
12 Hale, John             7-5   14    7    21      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
92 Price, Brian           7-7   11    8    19   7.0-27   2.5-14     1-1      1   .    .      .    1   .
56 Blake, Tom             5-5    9    8    17   1.0-6    1.0-6       .       5   .    .      .    .   .
0G Viney, Countney        6-0   13    2    15      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
43 Sloan, Steve           7-5    7    6    13      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
91 Stokes, Reggie         7-2    6    6    12   1.0-2       .        .       .   1    .      .    1   .
27 Ware, Aaron            6-1    8    4    12      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
2A Westgate, Sean         7-0    3    7    10   0.5-2       .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
54 Bosworth, Kyle         2-2    8    1     9   1.0-3       .        .       1   .    .      1    .   .
2J Love, Glenn            7-0    6    2     8      .        .        .       .   .    .      1    .   .
6  Dye, Tony              6-0    4    2     6      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
47 Anyanwu, Chinonso      7-0    3    3     6   1.0-7    1.0-7       .       .   .    .      1    .   .
8E Carter, David          7-0    2    4     6      .        .        .       .   1    .      .    .   .
90 Siewierski, Jerzy      6-0    4    .     4   2.0-4       .        .       1   .    .      .    .   .
96 Jones, Datone          5-0    2    1     3      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
50 Moline, Chase          6-0    2    1     3   0.5-2       .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
TM Team                   5-0    3    .     3   3.0-6       .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
74 Skaggs, Nathanial      4-0    2    .     2   1.0-6    1.0-6       .       .   .    .      .    .   .
3  Craft, Kevin           7-7    2    .     2      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
10 Ketchum, Gavin         6-1    1    1     2      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
57 Dean, Jake             6-5    1    .     1      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
5B Yount, Christian       7-0    .    1     1      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
44 Chandler, Nate         7-2    .    1     1      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
53 Edwards, Joshua        4-0    .    1     1      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
82 Embree, Taylor         7-5    1    .     1      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
52 Ward, Jess             3-0    1    .     1      .        .       1-0      .   .    .      .    .   .
41 Schmitt, Mike          7-0    .    .     .      .        .        .       .   .   1-0     .    .   .
   Total..........        7-0  293  175   468    38-144   12-81     5-6     32   3   4-1     7    3   .
   Opponents......        7-0  316  130   446    46-183   21-127    7-81    46  11   6-0     8    2   .

The first name to note here is Alterraun Verner.  He is a stud DB.  47 totals is great, although having your #2 guy and leading solo tackler be a DB might not always be the best.  2 interceptions, leading the team.  And 7 pass break ups, only 1 less than SydGOD.  He's clearly a guy to watch for. 

Reggie Carter, the leading tackler, is a LB, so that is a more reassuring sign to UCLA fans.  But Bret Lockett, 3rd on the team in tackles is a safety.  Brigham Harwell, 4th on the team, is, stunningly, a DT.  Maybe I'm the only one, but I always look to see how many LBs are at the top of their tackles list.  Here it is not many.  Not a great sign.

Note that Korey Bosworth has 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss.  He may or may not be related to former NFL star Kate Bosworth.  He is completemented on the DLine by Brian Price who has 2.5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss.  They clearly have a fierce DLine. 

Another player to note is DB Michael Norris, who has 8 pass break ups.  They have some ball hawking and ball blocking DBs out there. 

Alterraun Verner Via Zoo News

Korey Bosworth Via Zoo News

Reggie Carter Via Zoo News

So, there are some players to keep an eye out for on UCLA.  And some numbers to occupy your time.  Who do you think will step up and have a big game for UCLA against us?  Who do you think will be a key player to neutralize?  And how many times did UCLA reject you?  Go Bears!