Dorrell Chooses to Stay Positive

UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell wasn’t talkative after the Bruins’ disappointing 48-42 loss at Arizona State on Saturday, but he had plenty to say about his team at his weekly news conference Monday.

Although the Bruins have lost their last two games, Dorrell said he was inspired by the character his team displayed against the Sun Devils. Twice the Bruins rallied from double-digit deficits, only to lose when they blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead.

“We’re at the point now where we know what we’re capable of doing,” said Dorrell, whose Bruins are 2-2 in Pacific 10 Conference play heading into Saturday’s game against Stanford at the Rose Bowl. “This is two weeks in a row where we played ranked teams. The Cal game, we battled but didn’t get it close at the end, where it should have been. The Arizona State game, we had a chance to win the game but didn’t finish.”

Dorrell praised his defense, which kept the Sun Devils to 121 yards rushing, only the second time UCLA has limited an opponent to fewer than 200 on the ground this season. The second-year coach also said that redshirt freshman cornerback Trey Brown would get his first start this week after playing well in the second half against the Sun Devils. Although Brown was beaten for a key touchdown late in the game, Dorrell said Brown had earned the nod over junior Marcus Cassel. Freshman guard Shannon Tevaga also impressed Dorrell. In his first start, Tevaga helped ignite a sluggish running game with power blocking.

The Bruins rushed for 210 yards against Arizona State, their highest total on the ground since Maurice Drew’s record-breaking game at Washington on Sept. 18. Dorrell said freshman Chris Markey, who provided a spark with 80 yards in five carries, also had earned more playing time.

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In limited action, Craig Bragg caught a pass for 28 yards against the Sun Devils after sitting out three games because of a shoulder injury. Bragg, who wore a brace Saturday, will get more playing time this week, but because of the emergence of fellow senior Tab Perry and receivers Junior Taylor, Joe Cowan, Marcus Everett and Brandon Breazell, Dorrell said Bragg’s role would be reduced. Perry had his best game in two years with five catches for 66 yards, including a touchdown, and has caught eight passes for 127 yards the last two games. He also scored on a fumble recovery Saturday after a 32-yard run by Manuel White.

“It’s just taken some time,” said Perry, who was academically ineligible last season and rejoined the team in August. “The first couple of games ... I wasn’t really in there for any passes. But when Craig went down, I became fortunate enough to be more involved.”