Bruins Are Going Back for Moore

Drew Olson, you’ve just helped guide UCLA’s football team to four straight victories, what are you going to do next?

Warm the bench.

Olson, the Bruins’ sophomore quarterback, got a pat on the back and a pink slip Monday from Coach Karl Dorrell, who announced that sophomore Matt Moore would start at quarterback Saturday night against Arizona State.

“It was a hard decision,” Dorrell said. “It was a close competition through fall camp, and both are very capable quarterbacks who can win. Drew has done some good things for our offense. Given the nature of the position, I told both of them this probably won’t be the last time for any of this.”

Moore, the 6-foot-4, 184-pound former Newhall Hart High player, won the starting spot in late August but was knocked out in the first quarter of the season opener Sept. 6 at Colorado by a severely bruised bone in his left knee.

Dorrell said at the time, “In general, I don’t think a guy loses his job because of injury,” but when Moore returned against Washington on Oct. 4, Olson started and completed 16 of 24 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns in a 46-16 UCLA victory.

Olson started again Oct. 11 at Arizona, completing 15 of 22 passes for 189 yards in a 24-21 win, and the better he got, the tougher it was for Dorrell to pull him for Moore.

Olson regressed against California last Saturday, completing nine of 20 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-20 overtime victory, badly under-throwing one receiver on a bomb, getting sacked six times and putting at least a shred of doubt in the minds of UCLA coaches.

But Olson’s struggles weren’t the primary reason he was demoted, Dorrell said. It was more a matter of Moore’s fully recovering from his injury and regaining the rhythm that had impressed Bruin coaches enough to award him the job in the first place.

“In the grand scheme of things, it was just a matter of time before this happened,” Dorrell said. “I wanted to make sure Matt was at the physical and mental level he was at before his injury. He was getting used to the knee brace, throwing, getting his timing down, all that stuff.

“He plays best when he gets the repetitions as a starter in practice, so to me, we think this decision is in the best interest of where we’re trying to get to in the last five games.”

Dorrell wouldn’t say it, but there is a feeling around the program that although Olson is a solid quarterback who can lead the Bruins past middle-of-the-pack teams such as Washington and Cal, Moore is the strong-armed gunslinger with the potential to lift UCLA into Pacific 10 Conference championship contention.

The Bruins (5-2, 3-0 in the Pac-10) have one of the conference’s best defenses, a big-play unit that has scored four of the team’s 19 touchdowns, but the offense has been inconsistent, mixing lengthy periods of impotence with an occasional big play. Could that change with Moore?

“He has his own unique qualities that helped him win the job to begin with,” Dorrell said. “He’s taller, he has a strong arm, he does a nice job of seeing downfield. I’m very comfortable with where he’s at now. I think he can step in and generate a spark on offense.”

Dorrell said he had not felt external pressure to make the switch, but there no doubt was internal pressure for him to keep his word to Moore.

Moore was so frustrated last week that he said he would have considered redshirting this season if he’d known he wasn’t going to play, but he refrained from making disparaging remarks about the staff.

UCLA did not practice Monday, and Moore and Olson, who were informed of the move in separate meetings with Dorrell on Monday morning, were not available for comment. Dorrell said Olson was disappointed.

“Like most competitors, no one likes to take that kind of news with a smile on his face,” Dorrell said. “He’s a competitor. He’s eager to prove he can get the job done. His response was exactly what I suspected, that of a competitive person. But both of these guys are team players, and both want to win.”

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Moore Activity

A closer look at Matt Moore’s sophomore season:

SEPT. 6

* After beating out Drew Olson for the starting job in the preseason, starts the opener at Colorado. Sustains a severe bone bruise in his left leg in the first quarter.

OCT. 4

* Plays the final two series of UCLA’s 46-16 victory over Washington, handing off twice and taking a knee twice.

OCT. 11

* Completes four of eight passes for 41 yards and is intercepted once in a 24-21 victory at Arizona.

OCT. 20

* UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell names Moore the starter for Saturday’s game against Arizona State.