Will Someone--Anyone--Come to Defense of Bruins?

In the wake of the devastation inflicted on the UCLA defense by Hurricane Edgerrin and the Miami offense, does the UCLA football program qualify to receive federal disaster assistance from FEMA to help rebuild the defense?

WILBUR BABB JR.

Los Angeles

*

UCLA’s game against Miami Sept. 26 was canceled because of a natural disaster, Hurricane Georges.

UCLA’s game against Miami Dec. 5 was lost because of a coaching disaster, Nick Aliotti.

WESLEY WELLMAN

Santa Monica

*

How appropriate that Nick Aliotti’s Swiss-cheese defense results in a UCLA rematch against Wisconsin.

SCOTT UNGER

Los Angeles

*

What? The Bruins have a defensive coordinator?

JOE BLEEDEN

Los Angeles

*

The hard, cold truth is that the UCLA football program has not grown beyond this: USC remains UCLA’s biggest game, always inspiring the Bruins to play with a gutty determination regardless of their record. That the defense couldn’t match the same effort and intensity against Miami with the national championship on the line as they did when playing Troy a mere two weeks earlier is therefore no surprise.

CARLO PACIULLI

Arcadia

*

Well, East Coast fans finally got to see UCLA football first-hand. And they learned what we have known all season: The UCLA secondary couldn’t cover a pot of boiling water.

STEVE NELSON

Diamond Bar

*

That UCLA’s football team--a team whose defense gave up 27-plus points and 430-plus yards a game--could even be considered for a national championship is a joke. National champions are complete teams who dominate their opponents, not teams who hope to win by having the ball last. UCLA is lucky it played only the third-best team in Florida.

BRIAN FERGUSON

Diamond Bar

*

For me, the most telling moment from the telecast of UCLA’s loss to Miami occurred several minutes after the final gun sounded. As Cade McNown slowly trotted off the field, undoubtedly dejected and frustrated by a loss for which he was singularly not responsible, a shirtless Hurricane fan planted himself directly in front of the Bruin quarterback.

His body painted in Hurricane orange, the fan pounded his chest and extended his gut toward McNown in a shabby and blatant taunt. McNown had just thrown for 513 yards and five touchdowns, and run for another score, only to watch his team’s 20-game winning streak and national title hopes evaporate in a cloud of defensive ineptitude. In this moment of utter despondency, confronted by a callous dirt bag, what did McNown do? He refused to bite; he didn’t trash talk, he didn’t gesture, he didn’t even acknowledge the presence of the human debris in his path.

In an age when athletes strangle their coaches, jump into the stands to attack fans, and hurl people through glass windows, McNown refrained. And with that choice, he reminded us that true grace is revealed through adversity.

Headlines to the contrary, once again Cade McNown had won.

STEVE ASTOR

Glendale

*

What a great game! It would be easier to lose to Miami, but it feels like we lost to the guys in black and white stripes. How they could miss the number of times Danny Farmer got pushed around, then make a critical turnover call when even the replay showed the ball was dead takes the agony of defeat to a new low level. Are football referees taking lessons from hockey officials?

MARYANN WELLS BOGNER

Anaheim

*

Given that college sports programs are in reality a business, after a decent period of time has passed, UCLA will announce that its defensive coordinator will be relieved of future responsibilities, or that he has asked for “premature retirement” or will be pursuing other opportunities, or he will be fired.

This will be followed by a standard disclaimer along the lines of, “This action has nothing to with the sterling performance turned in during UCLA’s 10-1 Pac-10 championship. UCLA wishes the coach well in his new status.”

And we wonder why life is so full of hypocrisy.

ROBERT ARONOFF

South Pasadena

*

Roses are red

Uniforms are baby blue

Cade McNown is awesome

But you need a defense too.

Roses are red

And it would be funny

if UCLA loses the Rose Bowl.

For that I’d pay money.

MICHELLE VOLONTE

Torrance