Olson Has Reality Checklist

It’s almost disappointing that Ben Olson and the UCLA defense did so well Saturday. They surpassed so many expectations and gave the Bruins such tight control in their opening game that we didn’t get a chance to find out what’s basically the only remaining mystery about the Bruins’ new quarterback: how he’ll perform under fourth-quarter pressure on a do-or-die drive.

Olson sure met every other UCLA quarterbacking standard in his first full collegiate game.

Confidence? Check.

Arm strength? Check.

Finding different targets? Check.

Checking into the right play after reading the defense? Check.

It was such an effective debut that -- thanks to the defense’s second-half shutout -- when the Bruins took the field for the final two possessions in the fourth quarter Olson was on the Rose Bowl sidelines, his role in UCLA’s 31-10 victory over Utah finished.

“That’s fine with me,” Olson said. “If I could do that every game, that would be awesome.”

Apparently he likes action flicks more than tense drama. No matter your preference, give Olson great reviews.

“Just glancing at his stats, I think he had a very good game,” said UCLA offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda, a little smirk coming across his face because he knew the numbers couldn’t begin to give an accurate portrait.

Sure, the 318 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions were nice. And the .758 completion percentage (25 for 33) is actually misleading because receivers dropped at least three passes that Olson delivered right where he was supposed to.

What was so impressive was the way Olson ran things. His first seven passes went to different receivers, and he connected on his first nine passes out of the gate. He played with confidence from the very first snap, when the coaching staff decided to indoctrinate him with a pass play.

Olson was highly touted out of high school, but that was so long ago the press clippings are yellow and the Internet links don’t work. A redshirt season at Brigham Young, a two-year Mormon mission, a transfer sit-out and a year backing up Drew Olson after a thumb injury took him out of starting contention meant it had been five years since Ben Olson played a meaningful game.

When there’s any doubt at quarterback, that always tops the list of concerns about a team. But the Bruins also had to worry about replacing their top running and receiving threats and shoring up a shaky defense.

After the game, you heard so much talk in the UCLA locker room about needing to “answer those questions” you would have thought they just got finished taking the SAT.

“Today we proved a point, the whole team,” said flanker Brandon Breazell, who reached back to make a nice leaping grab on one of Olson’s few off-target passes. “But he proved the biggest point and let everybody know that he came to play and he’s no joke.”

Olson had the right timing on the quick throws. He showed patience in the pocket, and let the screens develop. (Speaking of screens, he needs better sunscreen. His skin was lobster-red by the first quarter. Apparently he’s better suited for the spotlight than sunlight. Try SPF 45, Ben).

“He looked fantastic,” UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell said -- talking about his play, not his skin.

In retrospect, Olson might have been the least of UCLA’s worries. All you had to do was listen to him.

“The world’s going to find out,” Olson said after a practice last week as he waited to do a phone interview.

“Oh, you’ve got something for us?” I asked.

“Not me, the whole team,” he said.

If the quarterback’s that confident, everyone else usually falls in line. You could say Olson’s cocky, but it’s in a good way.

“In a great way,” wide receiver Junior Taylor said. “He has that swagger, that inner character about him. But he’s very humble. He’s had a lot of pressure on him since he came back from his mission. And I think he’s handled it great, just from the way he came in from day one to now.

“I wasn’t shocked by his performance tonight. I won’t be shocked by what he does this whole season.”

The only time Olson looked awed by the experience was when he sat down at the table in the news conference room.

“Never been in here before,” he said.

As I looked at him, I kept glancing over at the giant Troy Aikman poster hanging on the wall and felt strangely comfortable making the visual comparison. It might have been Olson’s first time in the room, but everywhere he went Saturday he looked as if he belonged.

Extra Points

Look at it this way: At the last basketball world championship the U.S. finished sixth. This time it finished third. Progress.

Then again, you can’t overhaul the process, brag about how much things have changed, then roll out a team that still can’t defend the pick-and-roll or put together a cohesive offensive attack.

So I guess basketball remains on the list of national sports emergencies. I’m just not sure where we should prioritize it in a year that saw the U.S. soccer team sent home on the first flight back from the World Cup, the U.S. hockey team frozen out of the Olympic medal round and the American baseball team go down swinging on home turf in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.

Oh yeah, we’re also a week away from an American shutout in the tennis grand slam, and if the U.S. can’t bring home the Ryder Cup that’ll be seven years and counting.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande go to latimes.com/adandeblog.