This isn’t the right time to start picking on Dorrell

SAN FRANCISCO -- Just think how badly Florida State would’ve whooped USC.

Though the Seminoles had one of the worst offenses in the country -- indecisive most of the season on which quarterback to play -- the best thing going for them was they weren’t stuck playing with a rattled John David Booty.

The Trojans, armed with the motivation of winning and playing for the national championship, managed only nine points against the Bruins’ defense, making it appear as if UCLA had the smartest and most coveted defensive coordinator in the land and a great chance to dominate Florida State’s inept offense in the Emerald Bowl.

So much for appearances.

The Bruins were flattened in the second half against a Florida State team teetering on the .500 mark Wednesday night in AT&T; Park, losing 44-27 -- a season-ending sendoff that once again drops UCLA out of respectable sight.

The Seminoles outscored the Bruins, 31-7, in the third and fourth quarters, raising the question: What did Coach Bobby Bowden say to his team at halftime and will copies be available for Karl Dorrell to study?

AFTERWARD, DORRELL said “the score was no indication how close that game was,” but tell that to the Trojans, who were two tipped passes away from maybe being undefeated this season.

Spin it any way you want, it still was a devastating loss for UCLA’s hopes of capitalizing on its win over USC. Thanks for the memory, I guess.

More importantly, as wins go, it allowed Bowden to make it 30 years in a row without suffering a losing a season. Dorrell has two.

A loss like this, of course, is a second-guesser’s delight, especially for those who believe the Bruins can do little right under Dorrell. UCLA went for it on fourth and inches in the second half, appeared to pick up the first down, but then noticed a yellow flag on the field.

Details, details.

“The official’s explanation was our tight end was not completely set when our other tight end went into motion,” Dorrell said, which forced UCLA to punt -- Florida State blocking the kick and returning it for a touchdown.

UCLA would respond, rallying for the lead once again, but then be done in by a cornerback who slipped while trying to cover a Florida State receiver on fourth and nine.

The result: A go-ahead touchdown for the Seminoles, and was that Dorrell’s fault?

The winner talks about making plays, the loser about the mistakes made, and the Bruins had a bunch of them, keeping UCLA once again from living up to Dorrell’s boundless optimism.

He talked before this game about the importance of putting together back-to-back big wins, but now has lost three of four bowl games and the opportunity to catch his breath during the off-season.

For those folks who continue to maintain UCLA doesn’t have the right guy to coach its team, they will point to the second quarter and his so-called conservative play. They will say he should’ve had the Bruins go for it on fourth and one from the two-yard line late in the second quarter already up by a touchdown.

They will make the case it was the chance to bury Florida State as if they already knew how the final two quarters would play out.

Dorrell took the field goal, though, and the 10-point lead, and be honest, how many coaches would’ve done anything differently at that point in the game?

What would Pete Carroll have done?

Dorrell did it by the book against Notre Dame, too, lost and got hammered publicly because the Bruins haven’t been up to USC’s standards for some time now and had a chance to gain some major respect.

He took more control of the offense at a time when the season appeared lost, got the best out of backup Patrick Cowan while installing a controlled offensive attack that played to the Bruins’ defensive strength, and won three in a row.

He beat USC with Cowan at quarterback -- unthinkable for those Bruins followers who had Ben Olson pegged earlier as UCLA’s great savior.

When the Emerald Bowl began to slip away, though, it fell on Cowan to carry the day, something Dorrell obviously had been trying to avoid.

The Bruins were 18 yards away from trailing by three points with more than five minutes remaining, but UCLA was in a rush to rally and an errant Cowan pass was returned for a touchdown.

The naysayers will have almost nine months to make their case once again before Dorrell is really put on the spot, returning something like 20 starters and raising expectations of something better than this -- a 7-6 finish.

Next year might very well be a true test of his skills and what he has learned on the job, but right now -- coming off three big wins down the stretch to save the season, including a triumph over USC with a back-up quarterback -- it just doesn’t seem like the right time to pile on.

GIVEN FLORIDA State’s struggles recently, Bowden was asked if losing might impact his legacy.

“Losses are not fun and can drive you out of the game,” he said, but when it comes to jeopardizing his legacy as one of the game’s great coaches, “I can lose every game and I can’t lose my legacy. It’s already out there.”

AT TUESDAY’S Emerald Bowl luncheon -- with each table featuring a huge basket of different nut products, Florida State’s Buster Davis took the microphone and told the bowl boosters and sponsors, “I like Popeyes Chicken, shrimp or steak. Nothing against the Emerald Bowl, but I’m not excited about eating nuts.”

T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.