It’s Been Olson’s Show All the Way

Last season, Drew Olson battled Matt Moore for playing time from the start of training camp until he won the job for good over the final three games.

This season, Olson has been UCLA’s iron man quarterback, taking all but five snaps in 11 games -- a situation offensive coordinator Tom Cable says is not always a good thing.

“I personally think that it’s a negative because competition is what fuels good college teams,” Cable said. “It’s something that helps a program grow.”

Olson said he understands the positives that come from competition because “you’re always pushing yourself to get better in order to get a chance to play.”

But Olson does not have to be asked twice about which scenario he favors.

“It’s a little bit easier on the mind when you know you’re the guy because your focus is different,” said Olson, who in the Bruins’ last seven games has completed 134 of 226 passes (59.3%) for 1,729 yards with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

“Sometimes, when you’re competing, you may worry about it too much and it affects your performance.”

Junior college transfer David Koral has been Olson’s backup all season and did not attempt a pass in limited appearances against Stanford and Arizona.

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Because many of his players had final exams during the last week, Coach Karl Dorrell had the Bruins practice only twice and did not start implementing a game plan for Thursday’s Las Vegas Bowl against Wyoming.

“We still have plenty of time to get ourselves ready,” said Dorrell, whose team arrived in town on Sunday night. “We wanted to make sure that the kids had the time necessary for them to do well in school.

“Now that school is over ... they can start focusing in on things they need to do in order to get ready.”

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Quarterback Ben Olson, a former Thousand Oaks High standout and Brigham Young University redshirt who is being recruited by the Bruins, attended UCLA’s 81-79 men’s basketball victory over Michigan on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion and could announce his decision as early as this week.

Olson, who has said UCLA and California were his top two choices, plans to start taking classes at his new school in January.

Because he spent the last two years on a Mormon mission in Canada, Olson is eligible to play next season.