Dorrell Wants to Get More Experience for Freshmen

In UCLA’s victory over Utah last week, seven true freshmen played for the Bruins: running back Chane Moline, offensive lineman Micah Kia, wide receivers Terrence Austin and Dominique Johnson, and defensive backs Alterraun Verner, Jeremy McGee and Christian Ramirez.

Coach Karl Dorrell said he would like to get more playing time for them tonight against Rice, especially with the Bruins having a bye next week.

“We have to take advantage of these opportunities to practice and to play in games because we have a lot of young players who are playing,” Dorrell said. “They can use the playing time and experience. They have to keep getting better.”

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UCLA twin linebackers Korey and Kyle Bosworth are from Plano, Texas, and have had tonight’s game circled on their calendar for months. Both were recruited by Rice and are excited about playing against athletes they know from high school.

“It’s going to be fun for us because most of the guys on our team, they are from here and when they play against Pac-10 teams, they are facing guys they’ve played against in high school,” Kyle Bosworth said. “That’s not the case with us, but it will be against Rice.”

Added Korey Bosworth: “We know guys who play for Rice. We’ve played against some of them and defensive back Joe Turner was on our team in high school.”

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Dorrell on quarterback Ben Olson, who completed 25 passes to 10 different receivers against Utah last week: “He’s pretty confident with all” of UCLA’s pass catchers. “He’s trying to get them all to understand that, ‘Hey, the ball’s coming to you’ even if you are backside on a play and you think that you’re not involved in the play and your route doesn’t count.

“Ben doesn’t let you do that. He reads defenses well and he’s throwing to receivers who may not be primary targets. He’s making everybody kind of stay on their toes about what their responsibilities are. But that’s what great quarterbacks do.”

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From ricefootball.net: “Not many UCLA Bruin fans may be familiar with Rice, its rank among American universities, its history and its traditions, beyond a vague notion that its football teams have been NCAA also-rans for decades, that it plays pretty darn good baseball, and that the school’s name appears to provide fodder for bad jokes and shaky allusions to breakfast cereals.... Any football game involving Rice and a large state university is by its nature a matchup of David versus Goliath -- Rice’s being by most counts the smallest university in NCAA Division I-A football competition, boasting all of 2,750 undergraduate students.”

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Rice senior Marcus Rucker will start at linebacker one year after playing running back for the Owls against UCLA. Rucker ran for a four-yard touchdown in the Bruins’ 63-21 victory at the Rose Bowl last season.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

KEYS TO THE GAME

1 Start fast: UCLA had five come-from-behind victories last season. In last week’s 31-10 victory over Utah, UCLA played a strong first half but led by only four points at intermission. The Bruins need to establish control at the beginning against Rice, which scored 27 first-half points in a 31-30 loss to Houston last week.

2 Slow down Smith: The Bruins defense will have a difficult time stopping Rice running back Quinton Smith, who has speed and power. The Owls like to get the ball to Smith as much as possible, either as a runner or receiver. Rice has a veteran offensive line that has started 12 consecutive games. UCLA’s defense gave up at least 140 yards on the ground in every game last season. In the win over Utah last week, the Bruins gave up only 112.

3 Power running: Against Utah, the Bruins had only 107 yards rushing. UCLA needs to run the ball with consistency tonight, but it will not be easy. Rice gave up only 96 yards on the ground against Houston and first-year Coach Todd Graham said the Owls would again concentrate on stopping the run against the Bruins.

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--LONNIE WHITE

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Rice (0-1)

at UCLA (1-0)

Today, 7 p.m., at the Rose Bowl

TV: FSN Prime Ticket. Radio: 570

*--* UCLA CATEGORY RICE 31.0 Scoring 30.0 10.0 Points Given Up 31.0 318.0 Passing Offense 152.0 107.0 Rushing Offense 131.0 425.0 Total offense 283.0 175.0 Passing Defense 233.0 112.0 Rushing Defense 96.0 287.0 Total Defense 329.0

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