DEFENDING THIS OFFENSIVE OUTING.Byline: STEVE DILBECK PASADENA - Hey, on the bright side, how about that UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX defense? That's correct, something positive can always be found even in the most dreadful of situations. Yep, the Bruins defense -- frighteningly bad last season -- has apparently been upgraded to pretty good. At least when matched against the absolutely woeful woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University. Nickname and mascot history Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams. . After collapsing in the second half against Washington last week, the mighty Bruins said they would come out all fired up Saturday ... and then went through the entire opening half without scoring an offensive point. Just imagine if they hadn't been so riled rile tr.v. riled, ril·ing, riles 1. To stir to anger. See Synonyms at annoy. 2. To stir up (liquid); roil. [Variant of roil.] Adj. 1. up. The Bruins were a blocked punt away from a scoreless first half. Not exactly college football at its most electrifying e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. . The final showed UCLA winning 31-0, a score more deceiving than Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. She rose to fame with her role in 1998's The Horse Whisperer and subsequently gained critical acclaim for her roles in Ghost World, Lost in Translation and wearing a potato sack. By end of the third quarter, the UCLA offense finally had accounted for one score. ``Offensively, we have to do better with our opportunities,'' UCLA quarterback Ben Olson For the American soccer player, see . Benjamen James Olson (born February 23, 1983 in Thousand Oaks, California) is a redshirt junior quarterback for the 2006 UCLA Bruins football team. said. ``We're learning. We'll get better.'' The UCLA defense held up its end, and it might need to get used to it. Stanford could neither run nor pass. Had trouble blocking, running, passing, catching, and mostly, holding onto the ball. Stanford turned the ball over five times. Certainly, the UCLA defense deserved credit for some of the Cardinal's offensive struggles, but it has to be recognized this is a truly bad Stanford team. Stanford is 0-5, having lost to the likes of San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. State and Navy. It has scored more than 10 points exactly once in five games. The Cardinal defense, meanwhile, has exhibited more holes than a colander. It entered the Rose Bowl having allowed an average of 39 points a game. Teams ran on them like driving cattle to market. They were ranked 119th in the country against the run, or as the other 118 teams say, dead last. The Bruins' early gameplan was, apparently, to move the ball a little and then self-destruct. The offense gained 220 yards in the first half and failed to score. ``We're stopping ourselves,'' Olson said. ``It's not like anyone is overwhelming us. It's just frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: , very frustrating.'' UCLA turned the ball over three times in the opening half. Olson looked less than confident early. Maybe he was still suffering from post-Huskies syndrome. Too often he appeared tentative or aimed the ball. He threw two interceptions, including one in the end zone. ``A couple of those balls got away from me,'' Olson said. ``I have no excuses. I have to get better, particularly in the red zone.'' The running attack was OK, but considering the opponent, still disappointing. The Bruins passed the ball more than they ran it, which was curious in itself. Gavin Ketchum blocked a Stanford punt and it was returned 12 yards for a touchdown by Eric McNeal with 10:23 left in the first quarter. Alas, that wrapped up the first-half scoring. When the Bruins left the Rose Bowl field at the half, the fans showered them with boos. Welcome home. Last week, the Bruins went cold against Washington because the UCLA braintrust supposedly went conservative. This week the Bruins just looked offensively challenged. If Stanford falls to Arizona next week, it has an excellent shot at finishing the season 0-12. The Cardinal is not good and not looking like it will be any time soon. The Cardinal would have had some semblance of upsetting the Bruins if they had anything that actually resembled an actual offense. Instead, they acted like UCLA the defense was trying to force-feed them spinach. They wanted nothing to do with them. UCLA finally discovered the end zone with 2:50 left in the third quarter, when freshman Chane Moline capped a 74-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and led 14-0 going into the fourth quarter. Bruins coach Karl Dorrell Karl Dorrell (born December 18, 1963 in Alameda, California) is the first black head coach in the history of the UCLA Bruins college football team, a position he took on December 18, 2002. was pleased his 3-1 Bruins kept forcing the action in the second half. ``We showed we improved on what happened last week,'' Dorrell said. ``I think this team will make a big push now.'' The Bruins added late fourth-quarter touchdowns and the final score looked impressive, but the offense still has a long ways to go. Last year the UCLA offense was terrific and the defense was cover- your-eyes material. Four games into this season, it's looking like it could be a serious role reversal In psychodrama, role reversal is a technique where the protagonist is asked, by the psychodrama director, to exchange roles with another person (an auxiliary ego) on the psychodrama stage. The former assumes as many of the roles of the other as possible and vice versa. . stephen.dilbeck@dailynews.com. (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: UCLA's Dennis Keyes, top, and Aaron Wittingham get to Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards Trent Edwards (born October 30, 1983, in Los Gatos, California) is an American football quarterback who starts for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bills in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Stanford. for a sack. Michael Owen
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