Dorrell to Put Himself in the Mix

Those who have criticized UCLA’s offense for being too conservative have some statistics to support their claim: Of 25 first-down plays in Saturday’s 23-20 overtime win over California, the Bruins ran on 21 of them, for 83 yards, an average of four yards a carry. The four first-down pass plays resulted in completions of 31, 28 and 19 yards and one sack.

“That was glaring to me too,” UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell said Monday. “We’re going to try to be more balanced in everything we do.... We’re going to try to do some things to generate more offense. You’re always going to try to run the football, but we have to do a better job of mixing things.”

Dorrell, a former Bruin receiver whose coaching background is on offense, is so concerned about the imbalance that he will be more active in play-calling against Arizona State on Saturday night.

Offensive coordinator Steve Axman will still call the plays, but with Matt Moore replacing Drew Olson at quarterback, Moore’s first start since the season opener against Colorado, Dorrell will provide more input.

“I do have a play-caller,” Dorrell said, “but I’m naturally an offensive guy, and I want to make sure we’re doing the best things for Matt to be able to help us. I’ll probably oversee everything, make sure we’re doing things that are in our best interests of being successful.”

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Defensive tackle Rodney Leisle, who suffered a bruised left clavicle in the fourth quarter against Cal, and cornerback Matt Ware, who sat out the Cal game because of a sprained left ankle, are questionable for the Arizona State game.

The loss of either player would be difficult for UCLA to absorb because the Sun Devils, after losing consecutive games to Iowa, Oregon State and USC, are on an offensive roll, averaging 547.5 total yards and 373 yards passing in their last two games, a 59-14 rout of Oregon and a 33-31 last-second win over North Carolina.

Arizona State features one of the Pacific 10 Conference’s best quarterbacks in Andrew Walter, who has completed 148 of 271 passes for 1,921 yards and 15 touchdowns, and receiver Derek Hagan, who has 26 catches for 463 yards and two touchdowns in his last three games.

Though Ware is a junior who had started every game since the beginning of his freshman year and Leisle is a senior four-year starter, Dorrell said he would be hesitant to allow either to play against the Sun Devils if they don’t practice this week.

“From my experience, when kids don’t practice and then they play, it hurts you,” Dorrell said. “We need to see them practice to see where they’re at. Some coaches don’t mind operating under that philosophy, but I’m more old-school. I think you need to practice before you play.”

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UCLA’s Nov. 1 game at Stanford will kick off at 12:30 p.m. and will be broadcast by Fox Sports Net.