Change of Signals: Olson Will Start

Karl Dorrell is not a big fan of trick plays, but that was some reverse the UCLA football coach ran Monday.

Two days after saying sophomore Matt Moore was his quarterback, that there was “no controversy” surrounding the position, Dorrell named sophomore Drew Olson his starter for Saturday’s game against Oregon, the second time the Bruins have switched quarterbacks in the last three weeks.

This time, Moore did not lose the job to injury, as he did after he suffered a bruised left knee in the season opener at Colorado. This decision -- made with only two games left in the regular season -- was about Moore’s inability to fully grasp UCLA’s West Coast offense and to make the right reads required to execute the passing game.

“Matt has done some good things for us, but he hasn’t been as consistent as we hoped,” said Dorrell, who said he made the decision late Sunday after evaluating film from Saturday night’s 31-13 loss at Washington State.

“He is not the only reason the offense has struggled, but I do know that when Drew started, he did some good things for us, and we were winning. Given the state of the position and the comfort level Drew has in our system now, this is the direction we’re going.”

Olson guided the Bruins to four consecutive victories, completing 58 of 94 passes for 878 yards with four touchdowns against San Diego State, Washington, Arizona and California, before relinquishing the job to Moore on Oct. 25 against Arizona State.

Moore completed 10 of 17 passes for 186 yards in the first half of a 20-13 victory over the Sun Devils, but since then, the Newhall Hart High product has completed 34 of 71 passes for 287 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Moore, who has started only four Division I games, was sacked eight times in a 21-14 loss at Stanford on Nov. 1 and completed 11 of 29 passes for 138 yards against Washington State.

He fumbled twice against the Cougars, losing one, had two passes intercepted and overthrew a receiver on a potential touchdown pass. He also tried to force several passes into double coverage, and several other passes were underthrown.

“It wasn’t anything specific -- it was a feel thing,” Dorrell said. “I don’t think Matt felt comfortable with certain things we were doing offensively, and that showed....

“He’s been in some tough circumstances the last two games, with all the blitzing [Stanford and Washington State did], and he’ll get better. But Drew seems to have a little better handle on what we’re doing, and that’s why we made the change.”

Olson, who has started 11 college games, relieved Moore in the fourth quarter at Stanford and completed five of 12 passes for 94 yards, leading a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took only 1 minute 18 seconds. He replaced Moore in the fourth quarter against Washington State and completed seven of 12 passes for 82 yards.

“Matt was understanding [of the decision],” Dorrell said. “He’s as frustrated as anyone on the team, but he understands the issues involved. He got his opportunities to direct the offense like he did at the beginning of the season.”

He didn’t do much with them. With Moore at the helm, the Bruins have lost two straight and struggled to move the ball with any consistency. Olson wasn’t exactly the second coming of Troy Aikman either, but UCLA did average 28.3 points during his four-game winning streak, and the Bruins were on a roll when he was replaced.

“Hindsight is always a crystal ball,” Dorrell said. “Was it the right decision to make a change to begin with? Well, Matt was the starter for the first game, and he played well in that first quarter. Given the situation again, I’m not sure I wouldn’t react the same way.

“But I do know that we’re at a point of the season where we need to do what’s best for this team and this offense.... Drew has a lot of starts and a better feel for what we’re trying to get accomplished on offense. Matt understands what we’re doing, but the feel for what we’re doing is not quite as natural.”