Worse Case Scenario

Since Training camp, the depth in our backfield has been paper thin. Markey got hurt last week against OSU and we only had Kalil Bell and a banged-up Chane Moline at running back. Cowan was hurt, then came back, and then was hurt again. So, of course, the worst case scenario happens on Saturday and Olson gets hurt. We end up with a third-string walk-on playing at the most important position on our offense. That's UCLA football! Just when you think things can't get any worse.

I don't blame Mac Beth for what happened tonight. I mean, common, the kid doesn't even have a scholarship. This is his second game at the collegiate level. It was a horror show, but what do you expect? He played his heart out and at least he had the balls to put on the pads and try out for the team. He even looked good on a couple of drives but a few unlucky tipped/deflected passes got intercepted. It was that kind of night for the kid. His only touchdown pass and big play to Joe Cowan gets called back on a hold. That stunk too because it didn't look like a hold to me and that play could have given Mac some confidence. As it turned out the next play was intercepted.

Anyways, we lost. We gave yet another winless team their first victory of the season. You're welcome Notre Dame fans... see you in another 40 years. The sad part isn't that we were defeated. It wasn't sad that we had 6 turnovers, or 11 penalties for 93 yards, or that we couldn't get revenge for last year's soul-crushing defeat. No, actually, the sad part is that I'm not surprised. I'm not even really that upset. I've come to accept that UCLA just can't win games like this. At least not in the Karl Dorrell era. It is sad that this is what I've become as a Bruin fan. I just shrug my shoulders and say, "eh, that's about what I expected".

I could blame Dorrell and the coaching staff for tonight, but I'm tired of that. No, I'm moving past blame. I'm moving on to acceptance. With all the injuries, the poor coaching, and the lack of play makers, we're going to see a lot more of these types of games. Our season was ruined when we lost to Utah and I think Bruin fans everywhere saw the writing on the wall after that fateful afternoon in Salt Lake City. It is time to lower your expectations and hunker down for another mediocre season. We might get some upset victories and win more than we lose, but a great season? No. Good season? Doubt it.

Well, at least our spanking by Notre Dame wasn't the worse loss of the night. Hell, it wasn't even the worse loss in the city. The #2 ranked Trojans go down to one-win Stanford... who was playing their backup QB. Of course ,we did loose to a winless team but nobody thinks we're any good. The Trojans were supposed to be one of the greatest team ever. Booty was supposed to be a Heisman candidate and he threw as many picks as our 3rd-string walk-on. I love that it was against Harbaugh and the Cardinal no less. Trojan fans were licking their chops talking about how Carroll was going to run up the score because of the comments Harbaugh made this fall. Ouch.

I guess that is my silver lining tonight: our defeat won't be the lead story on Sports Center. Yes, that is sad and pathetic, but I don't care. It is about the only thing I have left as a fan at this point. If the Bruins aren't going to win, well dammit, the Trojans better lose. So thank you Stanford, you at least made tonight somewhat tolerable. Now, I'm going to go finish the rest of my beers and dream of regime change in the off season.