'Pistol' less than his norm

By Chris Foster

Nov. 26, 2010 12 AM PT

UCLA’s passing game seems pistol-whipped.

The Bruins have five touchdown passes this season, a day’s work for Matt Leinart at USC under Norm Chow, who is now UCLA’s offensive coordinator.

The Bruins have topped 200 yards passing in a game only once, an eyebrow-raiser given the pass-happy genes residing in UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel.

Neuheisel offered reasons for the “pistol” offense’s firing blanks. There was the overemphasis on the running game while installing the offense, as well as the injuries -- particularly to starting quarterback Kevin Prince.

But he also said, “You can attribute it to just ineffectiveness at choosing when and where to do it.”

Since Chow calls the plays, the “ineffectiveness” seems to have been put at his office door.

Finding a more famous college assistant coach would be difficult. Chow has been associated with overworked scoreboards throughout most of his 26 seasons as an offensive coordinator on the college level.

The Bruins are averaging 19.4 points a game this season after averaging 22.0 in 2009 and 17.7 in 2008 -- the three lowest averages of Chow’s career.

But during those three seasons, the Bruins have had three starting quarterbacks and an offensive line that has been an ongoing rebuilding project worthy of a government grant. Only one player on the current line was a starter last season.

“We haven’t protected well enough,” Neuheisel said of the Bruins this season. “We haven’t thrown the ball down the field well enough. We haven’t caught it well enough.”

All the while, the giddiness UCLA fans felt when Chow was hired in 2008 has dissipated. Back-room concerns from boosters and Internet carping by fans seemed to coincide with Neuheisel’s failure to back Chow during a news conference Monday.

Chow was recently awarded a two-year contract extension, but when Neuheisel was repeatedly asked about the coach’s future, he said it would be “evaluated” at the end of the season.

Chow passes on such questions, and he said he had no concerns whether his legacy had been damaged by three seasons in Westwood.

“I never really sat back and thought about it,” Chow said. “There were some awfully good times, which you can remember fondly. But not specifics, more the people you were with.”

The pistol was a staff decision, all say. But Chow is a proponent of quarterbacks’ playing under center, a scheme that produced three Heisman Trophy winners and three national championships. The quarterback is four yards deep in the pistol.

Chow said the new offense was “an adjustment,” but “something needed to be done, and we thought it would give us the best chance.” The Bruins improved their running game, averaging just over 185 yards this season.

“The biggest change for me was, I was never a shotgun believer,” Chow said. “I felt like the footwork for a quarterback was messed up. I think most guys, older guys, I guess, who had a hard time dealing with the shotgun, had those frustrations.”

The Bruins kept many of the same passing schemes from 2009, trying to make them mesh with the pistol.

“A passing game is simple concepts,” Chow said. “I think we have most of the concepts that we always believed in.”

But, he said, “You need different types of protections than [the pistol] has. At times, it does very well. Other times, it’s not so well.”

UCLA ranks last in passing efficiency among the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The Bruins are 117th in passing offense.

The concern was such that, before UCLA’s game against Washington, Neuheisel sent Chow, offensive line coach Bob Palcic and running backs coach Wayne Moses to Reno to meet Nevada Coach Chris Ault, inventor of the pistol.

They did not return with quarterback Colin Kaepernick, master craftsman of the Nevada offense, so there was no quick fix.

UCLA gained 163 total yards in a 24-7 loss to Washington.

“We just wanted to see if there was anything else we could figure out, if there was some new wrinkle,” Neuheisel said. “It was also an opportunity to give them some of our problems and see what the solutions are.”

And the solutions were?

“They didn’t give us the Grail,” Neuheisel said.

Asked specifics about what is wrong, Neuheisel said, “To pore over that question now and not get ready for the next game is a difficult thing to do.”

That would indicate answers could come after the season. Where this will leave Chow, and his reputation, remains to be seen.

“I never worry about that stuff,” Chow said. “You just look around every day and do the things you do, the things you think you do best.”

chris.foster@latimes.com

twitter.com/cfosterlatimes

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Bruins’ offensive woes

*--* Off. category Avg. Rank Passing yards 114.2 117th Rushing yards 185.8 31st Points scored 19.4 104th *--*

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Fighting for scraps

While the national championship chase heats up elsewhere Friday, UCLA and Arizona State will be fighting to stay in the hunt for a second-tier bowl game. UCLA can, at worst, secure a third consecutive eighth-place finish in the Pacific 10 Conference with a victory over the Sun Devils. Staff writer Chris Foster looks at the game’s matchups and issues:

PASS, FAIL

UCLA is No. 117 out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in passing yardage. The only teams below the Bruins are Georgia Tech, Army and Navy, which all run triple-option offenses. Directly above is Air Force, another triple-option team. Even the Marines do more through the air than UCLA.

The Bruins rank last in the nation in passing efficiency, not at all the results expected from a Rick Neuheisel-Norm Chow partnership considering their pass-happy resumes.

As a result, opponents have been able to disarm the “pistol” offense’s running component. Washington all but sat up and begged the Bruins to pass after the first quarter in a 24-7 Huskies victory last week.

Arizona State is a contrast to UCLA. The Sun Devils’ offense needs more from its running attack, and is starting to get it. Cameron Marshall has averaged 7.2 and 6.2 yards per carry the last two games. He had 94 yards rushing in a 17-13 loss to Stanford two weeks ago.

PROTECT BREHAUT

UCLA quarterback Richard Brehaut needs to remain upright.

Granted, Brehaut is struggling to grow into the job after Kevin Prince was lost for the season, but the other options were not a pretty sight for the Bruins against Washington.

When Brehaut left with a concussion, junior college transfer Darius Bell demonstrated he was not yet ready for the level of competition. That resulted in walk-on Clayton Tunney being tossed to the Huskies.

A good day for Brehaut means no headaches caused by hits on the field or from Neuheisel’s screaming on the sideline.

HERE, YOU TAKE IT

UCLA ranks 117th nationally in turnover margin at minus-10. Arizona State is No. 109 at minus-seven.

The Bruins’ mistakes were catastrophic in the loss to Washington last week. The Huskies intercepted a Brehaut pass, turning the momentum their way in the second quarter. The Huskies intercepted a Bell pass and returned it for a touchdown, clinching the victory.

Meanwhile, Arizona State quarterback Steven Threet has been the gift that keeps on giving, averaging 1.8 turnovers a game by himself -- 16 interceptions, two fumbles.

BURFICT FACTOR

Arizona State’s Vontaze Burfict is as talented a linebacker as there is in college football. He also has major composure problems.

He had 10 tackles against Stanford as the Sun Devils nearly pulled off an upset. He also had three major penalties for 45 yards the Cardinal didn’t have to earn.

One never knows which team gets the boost when Burfict impacts a game.

LAST CHANCE

The loser of this game does not go to a bowl game.

UCLA is guaranteed a losing record in conference play for a third consecutive season, something that has not happened to the Bruins since 1943-45. But much will be forgiven by fans and boosters if the Bruins close with victories over Arizona State and USC.

Arizona State has spiraled since Coach Dennis Erickson arrived, from a 10-3 record in 2007 to 5-7 in 2008 to 4-8 last season. A couple of victories and a waiver from the NCAA to accept two victories over non-FBS teams (Portland State, Northern Arizona) would make the Sun Devils bowl eligible and turn down the heat in Tempe.

chris.foster@latimes.com

*--* PER GAME UCLA ASU Points scored 19.4 30.2 Points given up 28.1 23.7 Passing offense 114.2 278.6 Rushing offense 185.8 133.8 Passing defense 198.8 235.6 Rushing defense 198.4 119.0 *--*

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S BIG THREE TO WATCH

No. 2 Auburn (11-0) at No. 9 Alabama (9-2)

TV: Channel 2, 11:30 a.m.

No. 20 Arizona (7-3) at No. 1 Oregon (10-0)

TV: ESPN, 4 p.m.

No. 3 Boise St. (10-0) at No. 19 Nevada (10-1)

TV: ESPN, 7:15 p.m.