All Those Penalties an Issue to Dorrell

UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell was pleased with the progress the Bruins made on offense, defense and special teams last Saturday in a 46-16 victory over Washington, but there is one phase of the game the team regressed in, causing Dorrell great concern.

UCLA committed nine penalties, including four personal fouls, for 113 yards in a 20-10 victory over San Diego State on Sept. 27, and against the Huskies last week, the Bruins were flagged 13 times, including four personal fouls, for 127 yards.

“We’re having issues there,” Dorrell said. “As we watch the tape, we see things happen, and some [of the penalties] are discretionary. That’s something we have to continue to harp on. I don’t think most of the penalties were malicious -- most were holding or pass-interference calls.

“I don’t want to discourage them from playing hard, and sometimes the penalties are a product of playing hard, but it’s also something you can correct. You have to play hard and play smart, and when you do, those issues will subside.”

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Dorrell hopes to give quarterback Matt Moore, the starter until he suffered a knee injury in the season opener at Colorado, some playing time today, but offensive coordinator Steve Axman said there is no predetermined quarterback schedule.

“Why would I want to worry about fitting a guy in on the third play or the third series?” Axman said. “I’m worried about beating Arizona, making sure our offense is ready to go.... I feel very confident that both quarterbacks could do a great job.”

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More than a dozen coaches, including Axman, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and Fresno State Coach Pat Hill, have been mentioned as candidates for the Arizona job, which opened when the school fired John Mackovic two weeks ago.

One coach rarely mentioned is Mike Hankwitz, the Wildcat defensive coordinator who became interim coach after Mackovic’s dismissal. Hankwitz, who joined Mackovic’s staff last spring, hopes to be considered for the permanent job, which Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood wants to fill by Dec. 1, but he’s not campaigning for it.

“I’m not worried about that,” Hankwitz said. “I just want to do the best job I can do and let [the administration] handle that situation. If you’re always worried about your next job, you may not get there because you didn’t concentrate enough on the job you’re doing now.”