They Need to Get a Grip

It was lighthearted sarcasm, with UCLA still flush with excitement and relief after a 6-3 victory that wasn’t safe until Illinois missed a field goal at the end.

“What a blowout, huh?” Coach Karl Dorrell said.

Funny he should mention that word.

For long stretches during UCLA’s parade of dropped balls and sputtering drives Saturday, the mind wandered: What on earth will Oklahoma’s defense do to this team?

Illinois sacked Drew Olson five times, so, well, is Brian Callahan warmed up yet?

Oklahoma, ranked No. 1, is famous for its defense. The Bruins couldn’t score a touchdown against Illinois. What can they expect to do against an Oklahoma unit led by two first-team All-Americans, linebacker Teddy Lehman and tackle Tommie Harris?

Never mind if linebacker Lance Mitchell might be out for the season after a knee injury Saturday; the Sooners have more.

“We’ve got to get these things fixed, because we have a big-time opponent next week, and six points is not going to get the job done,” UCLA receiver Craig Bragg said.

Oklahoma’s biggest test so far was a 20-13 victory over Alabama in which the Sooners racked up six sacks. The latest display was against Fresno State Saturday.

The 52-28 score might not sound so awful -- that’s four Fresno touchdowns, two more than UCLA has scored all season.

But the score was 38-0 at halftime. Fresno State had only two first downs and 43 yards at halftime, and still had only 23 yards rushing when the fourth quarter began.

“We seemed to be in the shadows of our goalposts every time we turned around,” Fresno State Coach Pat Hill said after the game.

Even though the Bruins hadn’t started looking at film of Oklahoma yet, everybody seemed to know what’s coming.

“I mean, I’ve already got a good idea,” Olson said. “A lot of blitzes. Just an awesome, sound defense, in every aspect, in every area. It’s going to be tough.

“We’ve just got to be ‘on’ that day, to play with them and, you know, go out and get a win.”

It was a game effort at leadership by Olson, but he didn’t sound convincing about that “win” part.

“This is the biggest challenge you’ve got in college football right now, going against the No. 1 team. It’s a great opportunity to go out there and play in an environment like Oklahoma and to have a chance to play with the No. 1 team,” Olson said. “Everyone’s excited.”

The last time UCLA played a top-ranked team, it was also the Sooners, in 1986.

Oklahoma won, 38-3 -- and that Bruin team was ranked No. 4 in the nation.

The priority this week will be trying to clean up the problem with dropped balls. Bragg dropped an almost sure touchdown, and Junior Taylor dropped a pass in the end zone that hit him in the chest. Tight end Marcedes Lewis had his share as well.

“All the dropped balls and dropped TDs that we made today are going to have to be caught,” Lewis said.

The problem is easier to describe than to fix.

“I think most of the time when receivers drop balls, they just don’t look it in,” Lewis said.

It’s particularly uncomfortable for the Bruins that their head coach is a former receiver and receiving coach. Assistant Jon Embree is looking for ways to solve the problem. He’ll be breaking out tennis balls once again, some of them painted with dots.

“You’re trying to get the eyes to follow the ball,” he said. “A couple have tried to run before they have it. A few others have been hand placement. We have to work on finishing.”

They’ll keep trying. They’ve got no choice.

“I’ll keep throwing it to them,” Olson said. “As long as they’re open, I’m not going to shy away from any receivers just because I think they might drop it.”

Bragg could only shake his head.

“You can’t explain the drops,” he said. “[Oklahoma] is the top team in the country. To stand a chance against them, we have to play our best.”

With all the tennis balls he’s about to see, he might want to take a racket to practice, though the way the Bruins have played, a glove would be better.

“If you have a trick, let me know,” Bragg said.

“Whoever has something, I’m willing to try it.”