Coach Continues to Back Offense

First-year Coach Karl Dorrell’s West Coast offense has been the roast -- not the toast -- of Westwood, with Bruin fans’ displeasure over the sluggish attack measured in the volume of boos emanating from the Rose Bowl during Saturday’s 31-13 loss to Oregon.

But despite UCLA’s struggles -- the Bruins rank 106th among 117 Division I-A teams in total offense (306.9 yards a game), 110th in rushing (101.4) and 95th in scoring (19.73 points) -- Dorrell has no plans to scrap his offense after one season.

“I believe in this system fully,” Dorrell said Monday in the wake of a three-game losing streak that has all but ruined UCLA’s once-promising season. “I drank the Kool-Aid -- whatever you want to call it. It will work. It wasn’t the most productive offense this year, but it gets better and better with more seasoning and experience.”

Some believe that the precision necessary to run the complicated West Coast scheme is too difficult for college players to master, holding up Notre Dame and Coach Tyrone Willingham’s struggling West Coast attack as Exhibit A in their argument.

But West Coast advocates cite USC Coach Pete Carroll, who installed a similar offense in 2001, when the Trojans, with future Heisman-winning quarterback Carson Palmer, struggled to a 6-6 record. Now look at the Trojans: ranked second nationally and averaging 40.7 points a game, fifth highest in the country.

“I did expect struggles, but I thought at this point we would be doing much better,” Dorrell said. “We haven’t jumped [forward] in incremental steps, particularly in the last three weeks.... But given time and experience, things will work out.”

That UCLA has two relatively inexperienced sophomore quarterbacks, an inexperienced offensive line and questionable receiver depth hasn’t helped.

“In football it takes one person to mess up a play, and we’re not hitting on all cylinders,” flanker Ryan Smith said. “It starts in the trenches. We’ve got to protect the quarterback, the quarterback has to make the right reads and get rid of the ball on time, we have to get open and catch the ball. It’s execution of a lot of things.”

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Reserve linebacker Xavier Burgess, who pleaded not guilty Monday to five misdemeanor counts -- two of making criminal threats, one of battery and two of disturbing the peace -- stemming from an Oct. 27 altercation with a campus parking attendant, was reinstated to the team Monday after a three-week suspension.... Drew Olson will start at quarterback against USC on Saturday.... If Robert Chai (sprained left knee) can’t play Saturday, right guard Paul Mociler will start at center, and Kevin Brown will play guard.