Gutty Little Bruins
by Laughing Stock on Sep 1, 2008 9:00 PM PDT
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PrintI cannot say I'm a fan of the Bruins, in fact I'm exactly the opposite, but that was one hell of a game. ucla 27 - Tenn 24 final score. Amazingly enough, ucla could not manage an offensive touchdown the whole game, and somehow produced two TDs on their final two drives despite the fact that Kevin Craft threw 4 INTs in the first half! I could care less about all of the conference pride crap, but thank god for a weeks reprieve of the whole SEC is the BEST! Regardless, easily the best game by a mile of the season so far.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors.
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I was genuinely impressed
I watched most of the first half, and thought – well the defense is going to keep them in games unless they get gassed, and turned off the television. Oops. Fortunately I tuned back in for the last 5 minutes of regular time and over-time as well. That alone was worth it, and I thought that Craft did a classy thing in the post-game interview by crediting his improvement in the second half to the defense keeping them in it long enough.
If they can keep that up, it’s going to be a much more interesting season than one might have thought.
You tuned in at the right time
The game wasn’t particularly great until the UCLA offense (or QB) came alive midway through the 4th quarter. A nearby USC fan(’s girlfriend) actually slept through most of the second half.
It’s already been a more interesting season than expected. Who would have predicted a victory of 
proportions?
by SuperBruinMan on Sep 2, 2008 12:40 AM PDT up reply actions
I too am having trouble reading the sign.
No need to clarify what it says though – let’s keep it kosher shall we :)
Couldn't be helped
It doesn’t usually have to register a score that high. Still, an upgrade is all part of the new lease package, I assume.
Tip my hat to them
This upset was by far the most impressive in the opening week. The bruins have something to build on if they can keep this train rolling.
TN kicker must be kicking himself
2/4 certainly not a great way to end your opener. I wonder how much they’ll drop, and if UCLA will get ranked.
It’s obviously too early, but I agree with DC – GREAT GAME.
He was actually 1/5
Though three were from 50+ yards.
by SuperBruinMan on Sep 2, 2008 12:15 AM PDT up reply actions
Officially 1/4
That other miss in the first half was nullified because of a delay of game penalty.
I second that
That was by far the best game of the opening weekend of the CFB season. I was glued to the TV the whole second half. That faemask penalty on the Volunteers go-ahead drive in the 4th quarter was reminiscent of Darnell Bing’s facemask in the Rose Bowl. I’m glad the result was different this time around. I differ in my opinion on conference pride, as I will almost always root for the Pac over other conferences. That said, the Pac represented itself well this weekend and I hope we can maintain this play throughout the seson. Who knows, with any luck we might actually send 2 team to BCS bowls (someone will need to take USC’s place in the Rose Bowl right?). That is of course if the AP voters — and I won’t mention any names cough*Scott Wolf*cough*cough — can pull their collective heads out of their asses for once…
Thanks
It was a great game to watch.
I think that I am fully convinced in the genius of Norm Chow.
What do you think?
What do I think?
I think I don’t want to see the Bruins inside the 15, because it starts to get difficult to react to the classic Chow mismatches like he cracked out on that final ucla scoring drive. At least Carroll and Sarkisian have a good idea of how the man’s mind works ; )
You can’t be serious…
What Do I Think??
I think this is exactly the reaction I expected.
You’ll understand if I don’t gush over with effusive praise.
I hate to rain your parade but… Let me guess, Craft’s 4 INT’s in the 1st half were all part of the grand scheme, right?? This was how Chow was going to probe the UT Defense for all its flaws and lull UT into thinking that this would be a cake walk, right? Then he would pounce on UT in the 2nd half, right?
A lot of ucla fans have dumbed down expectations so much that you can’t see the forest through the trees. I didn’t see the first half, only the 3rd and half of the 4th qtr. But from what I did see it didn’t take a genius to see that this game was going to be closer than most thought going into it.
That being said, if anyone took the time to read up on the game you would have found that UT was going to have a very tough time winning this game comfortably, if at all. There were just too many little things adding up that made this a difficult game for UT.
- New offensive coordinator…bringing in a new system
- New QB…playing in a new system
- On the road…against very good defense, hyped up crowd etc. etc.
I have no idea why everyone thought this was going to be a UT blow out. The guys in Vegas set the line was at 7 and seeing that they kind of do this for a living they seem to get it right most of the time. All this talk about a double digit win was way over blown. I mean did ucla’s defense suddenly become impotent because they had to play a bunch of freshmen? We obviously know a little something about playing freshmen at SC so it really shouldn’t shock anyone that the ucla D was going to be well coached and did a pretty good job, though from what I read it looked like they wanted to give the game away. Not really sure what Chow had to do with any of that…
UT picked off 4 passes, one a pick-6. That they came away empty handed from the majority of the turnovers shows me one of two things,
1) the ucla defense was stout or…
2) the UT offense still has some growing to do within the new system.
Again, really nothing to do with Chow…
The mismatch scenario that DC mentioned at the end of the game may have been relevant at the time but ucla had no business being in that game at that point with all the mistakes that were made by Craft in the first half. I’d like to think that Craft settled in after a first half of jitters along with a few adjustments made for the 2nd half. ucla, lucked out on that safety call, as that would have really put them back on their heels. The fact that the UT kicker misses something like 4 kicks had nothing to do with Chow. The UT fumble deep in ucla territory is just how it goes, but again it had nothing to do with Chow.
This win was more because of UT miscues and the ucla defense than it was Chow’s genius, so this was hardly a Chow masterpiece.
We get it you’re stoked and that’s great for you guys, but do me favor keep it over there I am not really interested in dealing with it here. No one over there likes to give SC any credit for all that they have accomplished so why would I want to do that here. You’ll have to excuse me but I am not into any Pac-10 pride, 3 or 4 years ago maybe…
Now where do I go to get my time back that I wasted responding to this…
I agree with some of what you said
but the fact that they won with all their injuries to their QBs and O-line is simply amazing. The fact that they won after throwing for picks is incredible. The ucla defense won the game in my opinion by keeping all those turnovers under control.
ucla still has a tough road ahead. Let’s all remember that this is just 1 game in a very difficult schedule.
As for what I thought of Norm Chow. The last 2 minutes of regulation looked like vintage Chow. If Kraft can start playing like that with some consistency, then the bruins are going to be a force to reckon with. But the thing to remember is that USC always had a running game to compliment the pass. The bruins still haven’t shown the ability to run the ball or pass protect. Kraft was throwing from the shotgun almost every play in the last 2 minutes. That’s not a Norm Chow style.
No disagrement about it being amazing
but it still had very little to do with Chow.
Yes they will pump their chests out talk about the monopoly being over…blah blah blah, but its only one game at home against a team that that is still adjusting to a new system.
DJ89 was texting me from the RB knowing they were screwed after the 4 picks so even he knew they were in trouble.
Based on what I have read I would not disagree that the last 2 min. were vintage Chow but he is that position because of the defense and that was my point. Sure Chow will help them win games but 102 fixated on the “Chow genius” when it was the defense that got them there. where was the genius in the first half…4 picks! Are you kidding me!?!?
I Disagree
and I agree that airing Bruin stuff here isn’t cool, but we were talking about Norm Chow. Forgive me for concluding this is something we can all have a nice debate about.
As you may well know, our offensive line was horrible. Injuries, etc. 3 string quarterback, etc. It was not part of his plan to throw the ball to Vol defenders when our guys weren’t around. Not going to blame the kids too much here but if they don’t turn around when they are supposed to and keep running, this leads to problems. But Chow’s brilliance comes from being a teacher, a coach, and a mentor. He talked to the kid and calmed him down and stuck by him at half-time. You can have victory all you want but instructing these young men and instilling in them such virtues compassion and faith in your teammate should be high in the priorities for college athletics. That’s no slide against any team but rather a reminder to every team not to lose sight in what is most important.
I have watched him in practice, the man is a teacher and a coach. Chow standing over the QB’s giving them advice on every nuance of the game. He’s a great offensive coordinator. I can understand why you don’t like him working for us but we don’t like Ken Norton Jr. working for you. Doesn’t take away from the job either does.
Lastly, I felt compelled to respond because of the class of posters here. Honestly, you guys are a classy bunch. I still am a bit perplexed by Paragon’s opinion of Chow but that’s okay. Take it easy guys.
by Bruins102NCAA on Sep 2, 2008 12:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Disagree all you want, that's fine but I stand by what I said.
There is no need to be perplexed… we lived through the ups and down of Norm Chow, we know how good he is and all that he is done for SC and what he can do for ucla. But we also know a little bit more of the back story and it wasn’t all wine and roses at the end. No one is happier for him than we are. But it’s in the past, he’s in the past for me. So for SC fans its time to move on.
I am not like Scott Wolf or others who are pining for the past. Norm Chow left on his own terms and went to ucla on his own terms. No one is going to challenge how good he is but it wasn’t all him at SC…he practically had to be kicking and screaming to change the offense because Pete Carroll wasn’t happy about the offensive production (you can read about it here). As much as SC fans love what Norm Chow did for us and who he is we know it wasn’t possible for him to reach that pinnacle without Pete Carroll’s vision and drive. That bothered Chow and can be stubborn and sulk when he isn’t happy.
As for your other observations…
"stuck by him at halftime"? Wow! Who the hell else were Neu/Chow going to put in, Forcier? What You saw last night was a classic Chow offense…not real big running attack and you need that to hit the top level in this conference.
As for Chow being a great teacher and a great human being no disagrees with that here. We think Pete Carroll is a great teacher and human being too and he is constantly maligned over there. Most of us have just moved on from Chow. So while you guys are reveling in his genius we also know about the warts that will eventually show up because it has happened before. As much as we liked him his isn’t perfect.
It has nothing to do with weather I like it or not that he working for Neu. He left, went to the NFL, it didn’t work out and he ended up at ucla. It is the career path he chose and that’s fine.
I like Chow and respect him tremendously but that doesn’t mean I will buy into everything that is said about him good or bad.
Thoughts on the game
I only returned from So Cal last night so this is a little late coming. I agree that this was no Chow masterpiece and the pundits who are proclaiming this as a huge upset are being a little hyperbolic in their assessment. That said, much of the exuberance is over what we UCLA fans have not seen for the past five years (and the years since we started 7-0 in 2001.) That is, the offense was awful in the first half, but made adjustments. The offense did not execute in the first half, but dd so in the 2nd. In short, the coordinator changed the game plan to take advantage of Tennessee’s defense, and worked to exploit whatever matchups worked in our favor rather than sticking with the same game plan that had demonstrated a total inability to move the ball in the first half. This, my Trojan friend, is something we haven’t seen for a very, VERY long time-and for the first time in years, it made me hope. I don’t think I’m alone in that assessment. And seeing a quality OC make adjustments to utilize what tools were available after a horrendous first half shows Chow’s talent. A coordinator can’t win a game, but he can put his players in position to win (as did RN) and for that, much credit is due to Chow.
Now the game was really won by the defense playing so well. You correctly note that Tennessee was breaking a new OC and QB, but they did have four returning OL IIRC and a very solid running game, as they demonstrated. Yet Walker’s D kept them from scoring much and performed very well. I’m not sure I buy your analysis that the game was lost by UT rather than won by UCLA, but that is for another day.
That’s fine…
I have no problem with the exuberance of the fans, they have had nothing to cheer about in while, or about the OC making the proper adjustments but we both know any OC worth his salt would have made some adjustments not just Norm Chow.
The problem was not with the protection with a veteran O line, it was with the timing in regards to the receivers. The QB simply didn’t hit them as he should have.
That’s why they couldn’t convert those INT’s into points…
Not really genius
but you have to admit that Karl Dorrell would have lost that game. After watching the 1st half this morning I was surprised to see that Chow was running so may plays out of the shotgun. Watching the O-line cave in play after play made it apparent that ucla’s O-line can’t hold for very long. Its going to be interesting to see if Tennessee was overrated or ucla was underrated. Maybe it was a bit of both.
I think a lot of the exuberance is due to how we won
Two consecutive TD drives to end regulation, losing the lead twice in the last two minutes, only getting a FG going first in OT. It was an exciting game by any measure.
I don't think this is a sign that ucla has improved
its more a sign that the prevent defense only prevents you from winning. Yeah there were a couple nice throws on the final drive, but a lot of what happened was just terrible soft coverage from Tennessee.
This is all gonna be moot when BYU stomps the bruins next week.
If it wasn't for college football I'd probably have given up on sports.
The one thing I can’t stand more than ucla is the SEC and their fans
I have to give credit where credit is due and ucla played a spectacular game, now that isn’t to say that their performance was perfect (ahem 4 picks in the first half). But I was super impressed at how craft pretty much became superman in the second half and orchestrated the best comeback of the season so far. You couldn’t write slick rick’s return to ucla any better.
What still amazes me though is that SEC fans continue to talk smack to the Pac-10 even though one of their top tier teams that made it to the conference championship pretty much got humiliated on national tv by what was supposed to be the doormat of the pac10.
Now before both LA teams too full of themselves lets all remember that we still have a season to grind through and there are still 11 games left on our schedule.
Spectacular???
Maybe on defense, and that’s bit of a push, but not on offense…
Look at these numbers:
31 rushes for 29 yards, for a 0.9 yard average
74 plays for 288 yards, for a 3.9-yard avg.
Lets not get to crazy here
Ok Ok
calling the game spectacular is a stretch but still this was a great game to watch even if you’re a Trojan like myself. I think speak for all of Trojan Nation when i say that there is a sense of sincere admiration for what ucla did against tenn against all odds.
That being said I think that if USC played tenn we would have opened a can of whoopass and shut those lemmings up from the special education conference.
You had to like...
The “SEC” chants before the game? I heard that too. That wasn’t merely for our amusement.
by Bruins102NCAA on Sep 2, 2008 10:24 PM PDT up reply actions
Curious for bruin's opinions
Do you think that ucla won that game by not giving up, or did Tennessee lose it by not cashing in on all the turnovers.
I think that
The answer to the first partially explains the second.
I also think UCLA did a good job winning the field position battle in the first half, so Tennessee didn’t really have great field position after any of the interceptions.
by SuperBruinMan on Sep 2, 2008 7:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah thats true.
Most of them were in Tenn territory. Its just amazing that they only capitalized on 1 of them.
Maybe I have to apologize for this Post
I certainly did not expect a huge heated debate, and the only reason I posted is because it was a pretty great game featuring our crosstown rivals. I was not trying to hype up ucla or make it seem like what happened was due to any explainable or identifiable cause, in particular their coaching. Walker certainly had his moments, the two minute offense was executed very well, and keeping Craft in was a huge risk that somehow payed off, but all in all luck and improbability played a huge role in that game. So basically what I am trying to say is that my opinion of the bruins has not changed at all after last night. I still think they are likely a middle of the road Pac 10 team and that they will continue to play us tough because they are our rivals.
I dont see heat
It was a great game to watch. The last quarter was a neat way to finish, and everyone loves a goat kicker at the end. I don’t see any problem talking about it.
Not at all…
I have no problem with this post.
I just took exception with the claims made about Norm Chow, especially after just one game against a UT team that was worse than advertised.
A fine post
This was, from my perspective, a fine SBN post. It is a joy to read the other side of the coin and most delightful to hear your intelligent analysis of our program. You certainly receive high praises over at BruinsNations.
Now, if only you gents had more ‘upsets’ for us to get out of our seats about…
Excuse Me?
High Praise from BN???
What, you drinking on the job again? I doubt it!
CC is NOT…repeat IS NOT liked by the moderators at BN or most of the participants over there.
and I’m no interested in trying to fix it.
we just try to do our own thing…
Praise from BN
It will be a cold day in hell when that statement is true. BN has nothing but contempt for USC. They make no bones about it. The people that run that site propagate that sort of atmosphere. Its hard to take any of their opinions about USC, all of them negative, with any degree of seriousness. That being said, I feel we are lucky to have some of their more mature people over here writing posts that give us some real perspective on what a more mature bruin is thinking.
Well said frak
I, too, enjoy ALL OF OUR BRUIN posters here at CC. The maturity of content and sarcastic wit of most of them really enhance CC to some extent.
Truth be told, I rooted for them vs. TN: only because of the PAC10/SEC polemic. We have to “show up” in our OOC games, and Ucla DID! Congrats guys, it will be a very memorable and intense season from this point forth. (now keep it up bruin nation, we gotta game to play later this year)
"Surround yourself with people who can't live without football" - 1st tenet of 3 for Bear Bryant's 3 Rules of Coaching . . . . .
by BixBeiderbecke on Sep 5, 2008 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions
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