Even though I believe that in the grand scheme of things we were going to be ok, no matter what transpired tonight, every loss stings.  Our number 9 Bruins lose a tough, hard fought game against the number 8 Horns in another nail biting game.

Despite heroic efforts from DC and AA2, Ben Ball warriors go down in the Lone Star state by a score of 64-69:

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Harry Cabluck (ESPN)

Here is the raw box score.

The game was another heart breaking and frustrating loss against one of the better teams in the country. A. J. Abrams killed us by scoring 31 points and reminding JH that he has a way to go to turn himself into a one and done, first round pick.

Bruins came out looking sloppy on offense and slow on defense. We were not moving around the ball well and looked a step slow in our rotation falling behind by 9 points in second half.

Then we made our charge and probably the most encouraging aspect of tonight's game was the way this team responded to a 10 pt deficit against a very tough team on the road. They figured out how to play that classic Ben Ball defense, rebound the ball, and show grit and fight, erasing that deficit and going up by against the Horns.

Bruins fell short at the end. They have a lot of work to do. They need to figure out a way to solve their FT issues (which killed them tonight), hustle for the entire game for boards and loose ball (taking their cues from AA2), and for freshmen like JH and JM get in better game shape.

They will get it done. They will get better. From what I saw in the second half tonight, I am optimistic about how this team develops through rest of this season. There is so much room for improvement and we know CBH and his staff are going to make sure our Ben Ball warriors do just.

Fire away with your post game thoughts.

GO BRUINS.

Let’s get the party started in a huge week in Bruin Nation.

As we have been discussing this week for our Ben Ball warriors to pull of an upset against one of the better teams in the country and possibly the best team in the Big-12, it will be up to DC and his backcourt mates to come up with a huge game:

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Frank Franklin II (via ESPN)

To check out all of notes on Texas Longhorns check out our game coverage here. Bruin Basketball report also has its game preview up.

The tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm PST.  It will be on ESPN2. You can also track it on our official site.

Our guys have been amped up for this game for a while calling it a "test". Should be interesting to see how they perform in this big quiz (I wouldn’t call it a mid-term yet since this is only the 6^th game of the season) to see what they have learned in first few weeks in Professor Howland’s classroom.

Fire away.

GO BRUINS.

Steve Dilbeck from the Daily News today tried to push a myth by putting the blame of Karl Dorrell hire on Dan Guerrero:

UCLA is a 30-point underdog Saturday at home against USC, and it's only that close because the Bruins have a respectable defense. It might be best to cover the eyes.

The perpetrator responsible for this shallow talent pool is easy to identify - Karl Dorrell.

Responsibility, however, trickles up.

Dorrell was overmatched from Day One, a fine man and assistant, who never before had been a head coach at any level.

He was officially hired by athletic director Dan Guerrero.

Guerrero has been UCLA's AD for almost six years, and I'm not sure I can remember a single bad word ever written about him.

He is extremely likeable. Intelligent, well spoken, passionate about UCLA, and by most any measure, an excellent athletic director.

Yet this is one enormous black hole in his otherwise spotless resume, and that's his first major hire at UCLA - Dorrell.

Nice try Steve but the problem with that assertion is it’s fiction. Over the years we have written numerous times on how Dan Guerrero and Bob Field (the former UCLA DC under Toledo and Donahue, who was working as a Morgan Center administrator and leading the charge on head coach search when Toledo was fired in 2002) really wanted to hire one guy. It was Mike Riley (the current head coach of Oregon State). You can look through our archives and find that story but here is an LA Times report from December of 2002 on how close UCLA and Riley was to a potential deal:

Many people close to the coaching search believe that, ultimately, Riley will be the guy. UCLA began courting him last Monday, just hours after Athletic Director Dan Guerrero fired Toledo, the Bruin coach of seven years. Guerrero and assistant athletic director Bob Field flew to New Orleans last Monday evening and conducted a four-hour interview with Riley.

“I’m obviously interested in it,” Riley said. “They are taking their time, and that’s the smart way to handle it. [The time frame] could be short, and it could be long.”

And guess who was in Riley’s corner:

It also doesn’t hurt that Riley has had a long relationship with Field, who has emerged as Guerrero’s most trusted football advisor. Field was a young assistant at Alabama when Riley played there in the early 1970s and the two men have remained in contact.

Field, a longtime former UCLA assistant nudged from his defensive coordinator position by Toledo after the 2000 season, is familiar with all the top candidates. He was a UCLA assistant along with Robinson under Terry Donahue in the 1980s – a period when Dorrell was a standout receiver.

Riley, sources said, also has the strong backing of Bobby Beathard, a respected former NFL general manager who hired Riley with the Chargers.

Beathard’s son, Jeff, played under Riley in Winnipeg. Guerrero, in his first year as athletic director, considers it a plus that Riley does not have strong ties to UCLA, sources said. Dorrell has the backing of many players from the Bruin glory days in the 1980s, but such strong support from one segment of alumni might make Guerrero wary.

According to that report Riley to UCLA deal was so close that Riley had already turned down an offer from University of Alabama to become their head coach:

“I’m obviously interested in it,” he said. [Riley's comment on UCLA job. -BN Ed.]

Riley turned down a lucrative long-term offer Thursday from Alabama, his alma mater.

“That decision was made independent of this one,” he said. “It had nothing to do with UCLA and what they wanted to do.”

Riley’s wife and two children have lived in Southern California since he was an assistant at USC from 1993-96 and currently live in Solana Beach near San Diego.

Sources said UCLA is prepared to make a contract offer to Riley worth $700,000 to $800,000, plus incentives. The deal is thought to be for six or seven years and would include a rollover clause, meaning that another year is added to the deal every year the coach is retained.

It was all but official even though Riley politely declined the claim that rejection of Alabama had nothing do to with the UCLA job which was all but his. He wanted it. DG/Field wanted him. It was all lined up perfectly for all parties involved.

So what happened? As we have blogged before Karl Dorrell wore a spiffy suit and impressed then UCLA Chancellor – Al Carnesale (who had no clue re. college  athletics) and Pete Blackman – in an interview and effectively punched his ticket for the head coaching gig in Westwood:

Riley's near-30-year relationship with Field and his experience as a head coach -- something Dorrell and Robinson lacked -- was taken as a sign by many that UCLA would hire Riley. That speculation was further fueled last week when Riley turned down a more lucrative offer from his alma mater, Alabama, and no other proven commodities had surfaced in the UCLA search.

Even if there were many who were lukewarm about Riley -- he did not have a winning record in his five seasons at Oregon State and San Diego -- few thought there was a more likely hire.

However, according to a source close to the search, Dorrell, dressed in a stylish dark suit and white shirt, had an extremely impressive interview with Carnesale and vice chancellor Pete Blackman on Tuesday.

"The bottom line is, Karl kicked (tail) in the interview," said the source close to the search. "He really showed passion and demonstrated from a philosophical standpoint the importance of discipline, what it means to be a Bruin, what it means to wear that uniform, to go to school and graduate from here and to beat SC and win Pac-10 championships."

Dorrell, as he prepared Tuesday to return home, thought he left a good impression, too.

"It was very positive, he said. "I told them I could redirect the program back to the level it should have been and bring the toughness, discipline and integrity that the program should have."

So while DG and Bob Field wanted to Riley, it was the UCLA’s Murphy Hall brass – Carnsale and Blackman – who called for Karl Dorrell’s hire.

Sure DG is going to take responsibility for the Dorrell hire in public now because he is too classy to point the fingers at Carnesale and Blackman. But that doesn't mean Dilbeck can get away by not sharing the real story behind how that process went down. The least he could is point to the public reports available at the time (like the ones linked above and discussed here over the years) and read the tea leaves like a competent college football observer would to make a reasonable inference that DG really wanted to go with Riley but was ultimately overrruled by Carnesale and Blackman.

One might argue that it was Dan Guerrerro's responsibility to speak up if he really wanted Riley over Dorrell. That's a legit point but that doesn't take into the reality of DG operating in a stale, bureaucratic world of UCLA administration in his first year on the job where he came in with the original focus of canning Steve Lavin and hiring a great basketball coach to replace him. That's what he had been working on all year and it was fairly well known that Lavin was a dead man walking and that DG was focused on getting replacement candidates lined up. DG was not expecting to hire a football coach in his first year and when the firing had to happen, he really wanted to hire Mike Riley, which in hind sight looks like would have been a solid choice.

I am going to withhold judgment on Dan Guerrero for now. I will wait to see how the CRN’s tenure works out in next 2-3 years. I am very hopeful from what I have seen this year but I will still hold the final judgment on this until I see tangible data points in next two years. I also have serious concerns about the pace of Pauley’s restoration.

However, it is completely unfair to point the fingers at him for the debacle that was Karl Dorrell. If Dilbeck is an intellectually honest columnist, he would provide his readers the whole story. But given the track record of these columnists and reporters in Southern California’s joke of a traditional media, I am not going to hold my breath.

GO BRUINS.

Let’s pick up where we left off re keys to Bruin immortality. For Bruins to get it done they will need a dominating performance from our defense. The center piece to all of our defensive strategery will be none other than Brian Price. The other Brian – Dohn – has an inspiring profile on the AA of CRN’s football program. Price knows what he needs to do to bring us Bruin glory on Saturday:

"Dominating," Price said of what he needs to be Saturday. "Doing what I do, and that's being a playmaker. I have to give momentum to the team, get the team hyped. If I go out and don't make any plays, I don't think anybody else will."

If you are still wondering (regular readers of our daily Bruin scrapbook shouldn’t have to) why I used the initials – "AA" – for Price, here is a clue:

"My job is to get this program turned around," Price said. "That's why I came here. I want to be one of the guys that got it started. I'm happy where I am, building a program. You get a lot more respect with people saying, `Brian Price had something to do with this team going undefeated this year,' and building this program to where we can be unstoppable."

In his two seasons, UCLA is 10-14. "Guys come and go over there (at USC)," Price said. "I want to be the guy that helped get this started. I've got the shovel in my hand to set the foundation."

Price is used to persevering through adversity. His personal life is filled with tragedy, including the death of two brothers to gun violence, while growing up in a tough area within walking distance of Crenshaw High.

He was also the most highly touted recruit in UCLA's 2007 class, but nearly didn't make it onto the field because of paperwork issues. He was not allowed to practice for six weeks, until the NCAA Clearinghouse certified him.

However, despite missing the first three games of the season, he still earned freshman All-America honors after seven of his 14 tackles took place behind the line of scrimmage. He built off that success to become one of the top defensive tackles in the West this season.

Still wondering who I am comparing Price to? :-)

Price is special enough that he is constantly admired by a legendary Bruin (who is now in enemy’s clothing and hated by messageboard denizens, even though he has the support of majority of Bruin Nation if he were to make a return to UCLA as a Bruin DC) who was spurned by Price in a big way on the recruiting trail:

"On the defensive line, it's really rare to find someone with his toughness and passion and focus," Norton said. "He really wants to be a great player. You could tell right away he was very passionate and very bright. You knew that no matter what team he went to, he was going to make it better. He's a difference-maker." […]

"He was the type of kid that you knew early on that he would make people around him better," Norton said. "They say when you build a defense, you build it from the inside out. He's a player you can build around. Watching him play (this year), you can see his energy, his motor. And as good as he is now, you know he's still improving."

We will have another discussion on Norton when that time comes. However, I do believe his comments re. Price means something considering his track record as Bruin/Cowboys/Niners legend and the role he has played in putting together one of the more ferocious defenses in college football.

Of course Price will not be able to win the game by himself. He and his fellow warriors in our front-7 are going to need a lot of help from our defensive backfield, that has matured and progressed through this difficult season. And one of the key cogs in that backfield is none other than Norris. Kevin Pearson from the Press Enterprise has a great story on the senior Bruin CB. While Norris has been coming along despite his struggles on the field, he is trying to achieve something special off the field (making all the South Campus BNers proud):

With his sights set on perhaps being an orthopedic surgeon or neurosurgeon, Norris is majoring in physiological science and is planning to take the MCAT tests in the summer to complete his applications to medical school, if his dream of playing professional football does not immediately come true.

Unlike most athletes who select majors that fit into their athletic schedule, Norris did the opposite. Last season he missed team meetings and showed up late to practice twice a week because a key class in his major overlapped with football.

While teammates were reviewing film, Norris was learning about the embryonic muscular-skeletal system. While teammates were warming up, he was wrapping up lectures on cellular biology.

"I was trying to show people that you don't have to do a history or sociology degree," he said. "People are doing that not because they want to, but because they think they won't have time to play their sport and do a challenging major.

"A lot of people said it wouldn't work and you couldn't do it at this institution, where there is a lot of emphasis on the sciences and a lot of people are trying to get into medical school."

Simply amazing what our athletes go through in school. Best of luck to Michael. As for his on field work, from the same article here are some validation from his team-mates and coach:

"The guy has been amazing all season," corner Alterraun Verner said. "He's been very instrumental in this defense."

Norris has played every defensive snap this season, intercepting passes in the past two games and ranking 23rd in Division I-A in passes defended (1.18 per game).

"Without him we'd be in a world of trouble," defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said.

We are going to need Norris to step up in a huge way on Saturday. No doubt DWalk is going to bring a lot of heat on Sanchez. That will probably mean ATV and Norris will be left on their islands a lot on Saturday afternoon. We know Sanchez (or his replacement should he gets knocked out of the game) will not be testing ATV as much as they will go after Norris. Hopefully the kid can hang in there with those explosive Trojan semi pro athletes.

On the other side of the field, no one (for good reasons) is giving our offense any kind of chance. I am seeing predictions of our offensive getting shutout and or held in single digit all over Bruin message boards. Kahlil Bell is staying defiant amidst all the gloom and doom:

"We've seen certain things against them that have been effective," Bruins running back Kahlil Bell said. "We'll take that and watch what's worked and what hasn't worked and try to implement our offense. Their defense is very good - I'm not taking anything away from them - but last time I checked they bleed like I do.

"They're just guys like us. Everyone wants to put them all up on a pedestal. Last time I checked, they put their pants on one leg at a time just like I do. I'm not taking anything away from them. I respect what they do and what they've been doing on defense, but come Saturday it's time to play and all that stuff goes out the window."

Meanwhile, freshman Baca is just excited about Saturday:

Freshman offensive lineman Jeff Baca will play in the rivalry for the first time. He knows all about Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, Fili Moala and Co., and he's excited for the Bruins to test their mettle against them.

"They're the No. 1 defense in the nation right now," Baca said. "Statistically, they're amazing. They've got a bunch of guys going to the NFL next year. That's my dream to get to that point. Now, I'm playing up against these guys as a young guy. It's a huge task, and it's a great opportunity."

Just like Baca I am starting to feel that rush too. It happens every time no matter what the odds. Can’t wait to see our boys storm out of the gates and see who emerges as the next Bruin hero(es). Who's got next?

GO BRUINS.

So our huge triple header week – Ben Ball v. Texas, Soccer Final-4 v. UNC & Southern Cal – gets officially started tonight in Austin. Per Dohn’s game reports our players are putting a lot of stock into this marquee non conference matchup early in this season calling it a big test:

"Last year we were more half-court set, and this year we're more up-and-down, motion because of the quickness that we have," Bruins senior center Alfred Aboya said. "This will be a test for us because they're a great team and they love to pressure, and they're playing at home. This game will really tell us about who UCLA is in 2008-09."

Texas plays with pressure defense, capitalizing on teams that dribble too much by extending their defense in half-court situations. The Longhorns also possess length - five of their top eight players are 6-foot-7 or taller - and athleticism.

Bruins senior point guard Darren Collison said the amount of practice time since playing in the Coaches vs. Cancer classic, during which UCLA lost to unranked Michigan two weeks ago, should be evident.

I appreciate the fact that DC and AA2 are saying all the right things in press. However, we also have to keep things in perspective. I think our young team is going to evolve a lot as we go through rest of this season. I will keep harping back to 2005-06 when we suffered losses against California and Washington at Pauley during first half of the season. I fully expect tough games like that early this season and this seems to be one of the games in which we are going to be clear underdogs.

One of the major adjustments our five freshmen will go through this season is learning to play in a hostile college road game. We can’t expect all freshmen to put on Kevin Love at Oregon performance in his first true collegiate road trip. For kids like JH and ML tonight could be an eye opening experience:

For freshmen such as Jrue Holiday and Malcolm Lee, this will be the first real taste of college basketball on the road. Though Texas fans are still focused on football, Frank Erwin Center should be loud.

"These young guys are going to learn what it's like to play in a hostile situation," junior swingman Michael Roll said. "And we're obviously going to have that during the Pac-10 season."

The upperclassmen have been slipping hints to the newcomers: Ignore the taunts. Listen harder to calls from teammates.

FYI Texas fans are fired up for this home game and are planning to arrive early and be as raucous as they can be.

Hopefully our guys are ready for this mega test. The game is scheduled to start around 6 pm PST on ESPN2. Our game thread will go up about half an hour before the tip-off.

GO BRUINS.

Ted Millers provides the obvious key for a Bruin victory on Saturday:

For that upset to happen, one thing absolutely must occur: UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft has to play well.

That's a big if. Craft has thrown 12 interceptions in the past four games with no touchdowns. His post-pick trudges to the sidelines for another harangue from Neuheisel have provided must-see moments for the television audience.

"Kevin Craft has been tougher than nails and has been a try-hard kid," Neuheisel said. "Unfortunately, we had to put too much on his shoulders."

As in, Craft has had little help on an offense that can't run or block or get open very well.

The offensive ineptitude is why a pretty solid defense doesn't have great numbers, but Harwell says he only has love for Craft.

"I told him we believe in him," Harwell said. "Yeah, it's frustrating when he throws interceptions. But we're a team and we have his back. If he gives great effort, we can't ask for anything more."

It figures to take more than just great effort or relentless optimism for the Bruins to prevail.

So what is it going to take besides Craft playing a mistake free game, winning the turnover battle and the defense putting together a monster effort on Saturday afternoon. Here are some other keys I think could come in very handy for our boys at the Rose Bowl:

• First Drive: Not sure how many of you have noticed this. Our offense has actually gotten off to a pretty good start in our last three games. Against Arizona State we put together an 11 play first drive going 54 yards netting a FG. Against Washington that first drive went on for 12 plays netting 80 yards and a rushing TD. The week before against Oregon State we drove for 79 yards in 6 plays for a FG in the first drive as well. For some reason our offense has actually come out looking very solid and in sync in these last three games. I am not sure what Chow has been doing (because no one has really asked him about it) but some thing has clearly been working. Is he scripting our first drive ala Bill Walsh (who used to script the first 25 plays)?  Whatever it is he is doing, we desperately need our offensive to continue that on Sat. It would be a huge psychological boost for our entire team and our crowd if our guys can go up on scoreboard first and preferably punch it it. What will not be fun if we go three and out in our first drive.
  
  
• Agassi Strategy: Let me see if I can articulate this the right way. How many of you remember Andre Agassi's tennis game? Yes, Agassi was an extremely talented athlete (and we know the talent issue in our offense) who was one of the best in his game. But there is a particular aspect of his game/strategery that made him so effective. He always found a way to use his opponent's strenght and turn it against them. In those classic Sampras/Agassi matchups, Pete would serve up booming rockets and all Agassi would do is use the power and speed of those serves with perfect well placed returns. I think we have to think about something similar while we are on offense. We know how those guys have 5 star All Americans in every positions, who are going to come after our backs like raging bulls in a china shop. Well let's use their speed against them through screen plays and misdirections. We are not going to do much by running right at them. Why not use their speed and aggressive and find the perfect spots to counterpunch.
  
  
• Minimize big plays: On defense it will have to start with minimizing big plays. They have their stable of productive running backs. The guy that comes closest to be their latest edition of Reggie Bush is Joe McKnight. Walker's troops will have to bottle up McKnight who can be dangerous both as a rusher and receiver. We can't have McKnight going off for huge plays because if he breaks one it has the potential to create that avalanche.
  
  
• Blow up Sanchez: Mentioned this multiple times already this week. I am sure given how Walker schemed last two years this will be a point of emphasis. Our guys will have to come at this guy from all direction and drive him to the turf. They will need to get this guy's jersey dirty and it doesn't matter if they are getting sacks. They will need to attack him on every play (without committing silly penalties)
  
  
• Mind games: No doubt those guys are going to be talking before the game and all game long. That's what they do. They will be taunting after their big hits. Our guys should lock in the image of Cowan's reaction to that deadly hit he took two years ago at the Rose Bowl. Get right back up like a warrior not giving them an ounce of satisfaction.
  
  
• Special Teams: Coverage, coverage and coverage. Can't let those guys get good field positions from kick returns. Everyone points to Craft needing a big game. We will need huge games from all of our kickers which will entail getting off deep kicks (a tall order given what we have gotten from Rotstein all season) and enough hang time (can't have Perez doing line drives) letting our coverage guys get down the field.

All of this is of course easier said than done. But we know it's been done before:

Photo Credit: LA Times

If we are going to win on Saturday, we will need to have some one new to step up and get immortalized as the latest Bruin legend. Who do you think it might be?

Any thoughts on other keys to a Bruin victory or should I say immortality?

GO BRUINS.

We will start this Humpday edition of Spaulding Roundup with a note on Kevin Craft. His coaches and his team-mates are rallying behind him:

If people watch the games, they would realize he takes a butt-kicking every single game," Bell said. "But he keeps getting up."

Arizona State returned three interceptions and a Craft fumble for touchdowns Friday in a 34-9 win over the Bruins, and Craft says he wants to rectify UCLA's 4-7 season when it faces USC on Saturday.

"I'm going to be harder on myself than anybody is," Craft said. "If I come to the side and get yelled at, I'm harder on myself than any of that. I want it just as bad." […]

Teammates and Coach Rick Neuheisel expressed admiration for Craft's weathering season-long criticism, for not pointing fingers and for wanting to improve.

"As a football coach, it's not good enough," Neuheisel said of the performance of Craft, who has had 12 passes intercepted in his last four games with no touchdowns. "We can't play quarterback that way and be successful and be the team we want to be. But as a person who's played the position and a person who admires courage and so forth, I can't tell you enough how much I admire Kevin Craft."

One of the reasons I love the college game so much more than the pros is the feeling of real emotions and passion that I have never sensed in the NFL. Here is a kid who has been subjected to so much pain on the field and ridicule off the field, yet somehow, someway he has managed to not exude any negative vibe the entire season.

Lot of people (justifiably frustrated during those maddening pick-6s and TOs) have called Craft the worst QB ever to put on a Bruin uniform. Well there is no question he has ways to go in terms of emerging as a serviceable QB (and he might next year … we will see how spring ball and Fall practice turns out). But I will take a kid like Craft over someone like Matt Moore, who at the first sign of adversity went public re. his frustrations with playing time. I will take Craft over a kid like Bret Johnson, who not only pouted when he was clearly beaten out by a superior talent in Tommy Maddox, but transferred out and then turned his entire family against our program. And I will also take a kid like Craft over QBs like Ryan Fien, Rob Walker who never showed half the courage Craft has shown this year playing behind this offensive line. Rob Walker had the luxury to QB behind a line featuring the likes of Ogden and Parker. As for Craft, you know the story.

I have no idea right now how Craft will perform on Saturday. It is certainly encouraging to hear how his team-mates are rallying behind him. We will see how it works out … after all if he and our entire team was going to quit … they would have done it after the 4 interceptions he threw against Tennessee or following 0-59.

As for the team, no doubt they are hearing the ridicule and snickers that is taking place all around LA and around the country. They are not saying much this game week:

Through clenched smiles, UCLA players said it did not matter that USC coach Pete Carroll was willing to waste a timeout per half so the Trojans could wear cardinal jerseys for Saturday's game against the blue-jersey clad Bruins.

And through those clenched smiles, and with balled up fists, several players talked about a gag order on making potentially inflammatory comments about the fifth-ranked Trojans.

"The home uniforms aren't going to make us play harder. It's not going to make them give the game to us," UCLA fifth-year senior defensive tackle Brigham Harwell said. "I wish I could tell you something, but I can't. Put it this way: We're ready for a fight on Saturday."

While CRN is calmly addressing all the nonsense around that monopoly ad:

"If anything, it was premature," Neuheisel said. "But, it's out there, and I stand behind it. Certainly, we're not backing down from that's what we want to have happen, and what we're working towards." […]

Neuheisel said he can see the monopoly coming to an end, first through recruiting and then through developing the players.

"Yeah, absolutely, because I'm on the phone," he said. "I get to hear the conversations (with recruits). It's terrific.

"I would say we'll be a lot closer next year, and then in two years we'll be viable. And I say that because it's a strength issue. We need to get stronger, and a year from now we're still going to be dealing with a lot of freshmen and sophomores.

"Two years from now it will be sophomores and juniors, and then I believe we'll be very, very competitive."

BTW article also mentioned how CRN found out about that ad after his wife saw it in the paper and called him to let him know about. Yet that hasn't stopped people from smearing him over it.

I guess that simple idea of “patience” will be lost on many people, just like it was until the Gonzaga game during Ben Howland era. The bandwagon wasn’t exactly the way it is today until we experienced that magical moment in Oakland.

Anyway, we will end the roundup by closing on this note re. jersey-gate:

After USC announced on Monday that it would wear its home jerseys, the Trojans were expected to lose a timeout in each half as a penalty. But after the Pac-10 appealed to the NCAA rules committee, it was interpreted Tuesday that they would lose a timeout in only one half.

Neuheisel had previously agreed to call a timeout as soon as the game started but was unwilling to lose one in the second half. He said Tuesday that he would speak to officials about the best time to call it.

"Either that or ABC will tell me this is an important commercial and this is where they want it," Neuheisel said. "It was genius of (USC coach Pete Carroll) to say he was going to take a timeout in both halves and then find a way not to. That was genius."

The only thing that would have CRN’s take on the situation perfect, was to call Pom Pom a “physical genius.” But hey … calling the Humanitarian a “genius” will do just fine.

GO BRUINS.