Moore Tries to Flip Switch

UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell is hoping quarterback Matt Moore can provide a “spark” for the Bruin offense in tonight’s Pacific 10 Conference game against Arizona State in the Rose Bowl.

Moore, who reclaimed the starting job from fellow sophomore Drew Olson this week, is hoping for something a little more pyrotechnic.

“I want to light it up,” Moore said.

To which UCLA fans would respond: Pass this kid some matches.

The Bruin defense has been top-notch, a big-play unit capable of applying enough heat on opponents to keep UCLA in contention for the conference title and move the Bruins to within one victory of a bowl game, but the offense has been as flammable as a soggy newspaper.

UCLA ranks last in the conference -- and 112th among 117 Division I-A teams nationally -- in offense with an average of 284.9 yards a game.

The Bruins rank eighth in the conference and 79th nationally in scoring with a 22.4-point average, but five of their 19 touchdowns have been scored by their defense and special teams. That means the offense is averaging only 17.4 points a game.

In addition, three of those 19 touchdowns were set up by Bruin interceptions that gave UCLA possession on the opponents’ 23-, 11- and six-yard lines. Only nine of UCLA’s touchdowns have come on drives of 50 yards or more.

And tonight, the schedule gets noticeably tougher with a game against a sizzling Sun Devil team that is coming off victories over Oregon and North Carolina, games in which Arizona State averaged 46 points and 547.5 yards and got 724 yards passing and six touchdowns from quarterback Andrew Walter.

UCLA will close out the regular season with games at Stanford, at Washington State, against Oregon and at USC.

“We feel good about being 3-0 in conference, but at the same time, we need to get better,” flanker Ryan Smith said. “We escaped with a win [over California] again last week, but ASU has a great quarterback. We’re going to have to score some points, because I’m sure he’s going to do some things against our defense.”

UCLA has won four in a row -- over San Diego State, Washington, Arizona and Cal -- but in the last two victories, opponents missed field goals that could have tied the score in the final minutes.

That Dorrell would pull Olson during such a streak in favor of Moore, who started the season opener against Colorado but was knocked out in the first quarter by a knee injury, is an acknowledgment that the offense is underachieving.

“It’s nice coming in with four wins, with some momentum; it’s not like we’re going uphill, fighting,” Moore said. “But my thinking is, all right, let’s do it better. I’m not saying I’m better [than Olson], but it’s something to shoot for.”

Moore has watched the Bruins from the sidelines for six weeks and has an idea why the offense has been so inconsistent, but he wasn’t about to get too specific.

“I could tell you, but that would be calling out all of my teammates. Why would I want to do that?” Moore said. “It’s a lot of little things, like Tyler’s [Ebell’s 82-yard touchdown] run that was called back because of a penalty [against Cal], missing blocks ... penalties have been huge.”

Many believe UCLA has three talented running backs in Ebell, Manuel White and Maurice Drew, but the Bruins rank last in the Pac-10 and 114th nationally in rushing with a 90.3-yard average.

Though Olson can hit the long ball -- he threw touchdown passes of 42, 41, 40 and 31 yards -- UCLA is eighth in the conference in passing, with Olson completing 100 of 182 attempts for 1,280 yards and six touchdowns.

Dorrell couldn’t pinpoint one problem that is holding the offense back. The running game has been sporadic. Dropped passes were a problem in the Illinois game, a 6-3 victory. There have been pass protection issues. Communication between the sideline and the huddle was a problem earlier in the season.

“I wish it was one thing, but it’s not, and that’s making it hard for us,” Dorrell said. “There’s a lot of areas we can get better at. We’re struggling to make things work in every area.... Each opponent is getting tougher and tougher. We’re kind of at an urgent point where we need to get things done.”

Enter Moore, who, at 6 feet 4, is two inches taller than Olson and has a stronger arm and more of a gambler’s mentality, a combination of confidence and fearlessness that has led many UCLA followers to believe he has more of an upside than Olson.

But Dorrell was quick to point out that Moore shouldn’t be perceived as a cure for all that ails the Bruin offense.

“I hope that’s not the perception out there,” Dorrell said. “I wish it was -- he goes in and all of a sudden, everything works out.... He’s not going to be the so-called savior, but hopefully he can be a guy who gives us a spark.”

Or more.