Scott Robinson
On the eve of the National Title Game between Alabama and LSU, two SEC powerhouses are set to face-off for their second match of the year. Parallel that to Westwood's turmoil and it makes it difficult not to cringe when thinking about the current state of UCLA football. A decade ago, busting out the UCLA sweatshirt or cap was one adorned with confidence. It was, without question, a respected and known program. Whereas today, wearing a Bruin emblem now sparks questions like: “Tough year, eh?” or “I liked Neuheisel, too bad he couldn’t pull it out.” It gets even tougher when running into a Trojan or Duck [I]jack[/I]—et: “At least it wasn’t a blow-out for the PAC-12 Championship.” And now, a new coach is scrambling to return the respectability attached to the trademarks of Westwood.
Numbers Don’t Lie
When looking forward to the inaugural season under Coach Jim L. Mora, there are a few major areas of improvement that can easily be gleaned when comparing UCLA to the truly competitive in college football.
And the 2011 stat sheets sure are incriminating:
[Offensive Categories]
[Defensive Categories]
Of course one stat is entirely avoidable with just a little focus: penalties. UCLA ranked 12th in most penalty yards for the 2011 season; that’s up from 35th in 2010 and 45th in 2009. Not exactly the kind of trajectory a team should be proud of.
Perhaps the most telling indictment against the Bruin program is the average attendance for 2011’s six home games at the Rose Bowl: 56,644. The capacity at the Pasadena venue is 92,542. Across town, Southern California’s Memorial Coliseum averaged 74,806 (with a capacity of 93,607). A half-filled stadium does not seem to be an atmosphere conducive to a top-of-the-line program. Looking to one like Oregon, we see their numbers aren’t particularly shattering. UCLA actually was only behind U of O in attendance by a few thousand patrons per game (at 59,344). However, their capacity is listed as 54,000—meaning some are lucky to stand while watching the Ducks. It must be nice to have a packed house.
It would have been one thing if UCLA was truly dominant in one given category—I don’t know, Rushing. But 72nd in Total Offense and 88th in Total Defense is deplorable. Let’s hope UCLA gets their full Mora’s worth with that $12 Million they coughed up.
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