There has to be a game where fans can point to and say...We're definitely headed in the right direction.

They all can't be like the Hawaii game.... looking at the remaining schedule there has to be schools that are worse than us. It would suck if we ended up in the cellar

Just finished going through the numbers:

The Good: Attendance was 43,051, a good showing despite being a late night game…plus a huge group of HS recruits. Our defense held the high powered Oregon defense to 6 points in the second half. That Addison interception for a TD was a thing of beauty. Harden showed some improvement, averaging 4.1 yards.

The Bad: Garbers is hurt. It remains to be seen how much he’ll play against Penn State. He still remains ineffective without a TD. He was 12 of 20 for 118 yards. UCLA had only 47 rushing yards and 172 total yards and was 1 for 10 in third down conversions. Our lack of an oline is embarrassing and UCLA lost Unije to injury.

The Ugly: Everything…the playcalling, the lack of talent, the coaching and lack of execution, the costly penalties.

For me, if there was a bright spot it is that it was not a rout. I imagined a worse loss and that Dillon Gabriel was going to have a 500 yard game . It’s a credit to the defense that they never gave up despite being overmatched.

you could hear crickets. No..." We're going to kick those Ducks to the third row of the Rose Bowl" banter or "Poor me...the sky is falling" except me of course.

It's so quiet here...you could hear a pin drop.

WAKE UP...KICKOFF IN LESS THAN 12 HOURS!!

And the breakdown of the game:

DeShaun Foster:

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Carson Schwesinger, Josh Carlin:

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Making this now as I get ready to handle some errands.

Here’s my five things to look for:

I don't have high hopes for a win so I would rather focus on progress. If we can get 400+ yards of total offense, no turnovers and keep the game close through the 4th quarter that would be a positive step.

during the football season. Most notably Bear Alexander from suc is sitting out the season in preparation of entering the transfer portal and preserving his eligibility. I believe that Washington has a player that also is doing the same.

Apparently, Alexander is upset with his playing time against Michigan and felt that he should be the cornerstone of the defense and he's not

to join the conference. Why not add San Jose State or Nevada or Gonzaga??

A look at some other names here:

Checked in with our Oregon site for a closer look at the Ducks, how they bounced back from their own slow start to the season, and more:

Garbers did and so did a couple of our receivers.
But our offensive and defensive lines are being overwhelmed.
LSU was able to do whatever it wanted offensively. Our punter put them in poor field positions twice but it didn’t matter cause they were able to put together a couple of 90-yard drives.
In all 3 games we have had problems putting pressure on quarterbacks. Is it schemes, lack of size or lack of talent? I suspect it’s a little of each.
Offensively our running game is non existent because our O line is poor at run blocking. Also weak on protecting Garbers.
Almost all of our problems can be traced to our offensive and defensive lines. Both lines also lack depth.
We just need to do a better job of recruiting and developing our trench guys. Gonna take a few years.

Things now underway out at Wasserman

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Sounds like we’re talking to transfers Skyy Clark and Tyler Bilodeau this morning before we get Mick Cronin.

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Today’s practice got pushed back last-minute, deciding just before 7 a.m. that it would now start just before 12:30 p.m.

Naturally, I was already well on the freeway and now have time to get a head start on some Oregon research to kill the time, I guess.

It’s been a tough week for Downey (Calif.) Warren.

Multiple reports Friday night indicate wide receiver Jace Brown has checked out of the school, while the status of quarterback Madden Iamaleava is up in the air.

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I was told by Southern California News Group freelance reporter Nick Ingram, who covered Warren’s 36-0 loss at Gardena-Serra that was marred by fights in the stands and called off at halftime, that Serra coach Scott Altenberg informed him before that game that Iamaleava would not be playing.

For that to unfold at this point in the season, it’s hard to fathom they end up somewhere else and can be cleared to play. So, that will be a situation to monitor.

Instead of the usual Monday morning practice, it will be in the evening while Tuesday and Wednesday are the normal schedule.

So expect updates from me starting around 7 p.m. tomorrow.

The breakdown:

The Oct. 5 game at Penn State will kick off at 9 a.m. PT, giving UCLA quite the swing in kickoff times after it hosts Oregon this Saturday at 8 p.m.

Yes, I know Oregon is Number 8 in the country and UCLA is a 25 point underdog but they need to be focused and play hard.
Play all four quarters with grit and determination

Audio obtained courtesy of the Los Angeles Times and transcribed:

SHOWED A LOT OF FIGHT, ESPECIALLY IN THE FIRST HALF. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING AT HALFTIME AND WHAT CHANGED FROM THERE?

QB Ethan Garbers: “Yeah, I mean, we came in at halftime and we thought we had a really good chance to win this game — which we did. We got the ball back in the third quarter and we needed to put a drive together and we just didn’t execute. Again, we were shooting ourselves in the foot in the second half. But I’m really, really proud of how the guys played in the first half and we really got something to build on now and some momentum offensively.”

WHAT WAS THE KEY TO GETTING THAT MOMENTUM IN THE FIRST HALF? WHAT DID YOU DO BETTER THIS GAME?

Garbers: “I mean, I think just our mindset was better. You know, the whole week we were talking about how, ‘Hey, there’s no pressure on us to go out there and perform.’ Like, we just need to play free and play with no pressure. I mean, everyone was doing their job, everyone knew what to do and we were executing. So, it seems like it worked.”

IT SEEMED LIKE TIMING WAS BETTER IN THE PASSING GAME AND YOU WERE GETTING A BETTER FEEL IN THE OFFENSE. WOULD YOU SAY YOU FELT THAT WAY?

“Yeah, definitely. In the first half, we had some good going. We gotta work to sustain that for four quarters ‘cause we can’t just not score any points in the second half, it’s not gonna be great. But we just gotta keep working, keep building on what we had today and we’re gonna keep our heads up.”

DID LSU DO ANYTHING IN THE SECOND HALF TO GET YOU OFF YOUR GAME?

“Yeah, they rushed the passer pretty good all night long. But I mean coverage-wise, they played a little more zone. But I know they’re a great team, they’re gonna go a long way. Hats off to them, but we just gotta be better.”

CARSON, IN THE SECOND HALF LSU WAS ABLE TO SUSTAIN SOME DRIVES. DID THEY CHANGE THEIR APPROACH AT ALL? DID THEY DO STUFF UNDERNEATH, SHORTER STUFF TO KEEP THOSE DRIVES GOING?

LB Carson Schwesinger: “Yeah, I think going into the second half — similar to what Ethan just said — we were going in thinking we needed to get a stop to start off. Built off that first half, came into it just needed a little bit more communication from the defense. Obviously, teams are going to come out with adjustments but we gotta come out and adjust the same way, too.”

A LOT OF LONG DRIVES FOR LSU, ESPECIALLY IN THIS HEAT. HOW HARD IS IT TO STAY IN THAT RHYTHM WHEN YOU’RE ON THE FIELD FOR SO LONG?

Schwesinger: “Yeah, I think one of the things we want to do when we get on the field is get back off the field. You know, give the offense the ball back. The long drives in the heat obviously, yeah, they can affect us but we’re all playing in it, you know? We gotta keep, just keep our communication, keep our technique — assignment, alignment, technique — and hone in on those long drives to be able to get off the field.”

ETHAN, I KNOW THE STATS ARE GOING TO BE MISLEADING IN THE RUN GAME. HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED A MORE ROBUST RUN GAME TO IGNITE THIS OFFENSE?

“I mean, yeah, I felt like we actually ran the ball pretty good, pretty well against their front seven today. I know all the sack yardage is probably gonna throw that back, but I felt like we did a decent job moving the line of scrimmage and gaining positive yards on runs. And, I mean, that’s just something else that we’re building on. Yeah, a good run game is a quarterback’s best friend, but yeah, we’re still working on it and we’re gonna be better.”

BOTH OF YOU CAN ANSWER THIS: THIS WAS SOMETHING TO BUILD OFF ALL THE WAY AROUND TODAY?

Garbers: “I mean, yeah, I feel like we’re both disappointed in the outcome, but I think how we played in the first half versus a good LSU team like that and an SEC team, I mean, I think we’re proud of that. But I’m not proud of how we finished, I’m not proud of how we played in the second half.”

SEEMS DEFENSIVELY YOU JUST COULDN’T GET ANY TACKLES FOR LOSS AND NEGATIVE PLAYS. HOW KEY IS THAT, ESPECIALLY IN THIS GAME AND MOVING FORWARD?

Schwesinger: “Yeah, I think in any football game one of the things we try and do is what we say is create havoc — whether it’s PBUs, interceptions, TFLs — and those are things we’re gonna have to do moving forward in order to get off the field and keep those drives from becoming those long drives that we had in that second half.”

SEEMS LIKE YOU’RE TAKING STEPS. FEMI IS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY NOW AN EDGE AND YOU’RE PLAYING A LOT MORE INSIDE. IS THAT HELPING AND WHAT ELSE IS CONTRIBUTING TO THAT?

“Yeah, I think we’re moving. We got a lot of real good football players on defense, and I just think, you know, we’re moving things around to see where we can get the best cohesive unit. (Inaudible), being able to get everybody in that can make impactful plays, and how that changes week to week is really just us trying to be able to get our best guys on the field.”

CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH KAIN MEDRANO?

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve been with Kain, he’s been here since I got here. Knowing him for the past couple of years, and he’s obviously been a mentor as he’s been one of the guys playing, so it’s definitely great to have him out there next to me. Someone you can rely on and hopefully the reverse of that, too.”

SOME GUYS WHO CONTINUE TO STEP UP LIKE KWAZI, CARTER SHAW. HOW MUCH ARE THEY GOING TO HELP DOWN THE ROAD?

Garbers: “Yeah, it’s great, you know. Those young guys coming in and getting some gametime reps. I just gotta continue to work, build chemistry with them, and I really like what Carter and Kwazi are doing. It’s just good if we can get guys rotating in there, keep fresh legs. I’m really proud of those guys.”

While DeShaun Foster probably wants nothing to do with moral victories, he should be encouraged with at least the strides made on offense.

(Also, I’ll have to get to the PFF numbers from the game later tonight. Have a scheduling conflict for most of the day.)

The Good: Garbers have a very good game. He was 22 of 36, 281 yards passing against a stout LSU defense and constant pressure. He had some mistakes but overall I was impressed with his performance. We finally saw Jalen Berger in action and bothe he and Keegan Jones had some nifty highlights…Harden not so much. Kudos to CShaw, a walk-on and son of former Stanford HC, David Shaw on his performance. Finally, UCLA has two potential offensive stars in Gilmer and Flores…if Garbers could figure out how to get them the ball more. Keegan Jones needs the ball more. He’s an exciting player to watch.

The Bad: The playcalling was sorta of hit and miss although the first half was better, the second half was inconsistent and the offense simply couldn’t find any rhythm, Execution is still a huge problem. The offensive line, for the third week in a row, was terrible but that’s to be expected against the LSU defense. Our defense had some major breakdowns in the second half and LSU tossed them around like a rag doll. I think they showed a lot of heart but they were simply overmatched against the talent-rich LSU defense. UCLA needs to overhaul this entire unit in the off-season.

The Ugly: Too many penalties and too many breakdowns in critical moments of the game. For the third week in a row, UCLA had more passing plays than running plays….36 passing plays vs 22 running plays. They had one stretch where they marched 75 yards down the field for a TD but that was early in the game…the rest was a mixed bag of good and bad plays.

Overall: I was encouraged because I thought the game was going to be a blood bath….it’s still a loss but it was encouraging. UCLA lacks the talent to consistently play against their Big Ten opponents but I saw improvement from their first few games and they played a lot better than they did against Indiana. I said once and I say it again…it’s going to be a long and bumpy season. Up next will be a late nighter against Oregon but it’s a home game.