UCLA’s Kevin Prince might have additional damage to knee
UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince will undergo surgery Saturday for a torn meniscus in his right knee, but it’s what else doctors might find that could jeopardize the remainder of his season.
After the Bruins’ embarrassing 60-13 loss to top-ranked Oregon on Thursday night, Prince said doctors were not sure of the extent of the damage.
As to the immediate future, Coach Rick Neuheisel said that Prince was “unlikely” for the Arizona game on Oct. 30 and that “we’ll see” for the Oregon State game the following week.
Prince was more downcast.
“There’s a possibility of some other things, but they won’t know until they get in there,” he said.
Prince has had pain and swelling in the knee since being injured against Texas on Sept. 25. Publicly, Neuheisel held fast to the idea that Prince might play against Oregon — despite two MRI exams of the knee and Prince’s inability to get through a full practice.
After the pregame announcement that Prince would have surgery, Neuheisel still sounded upbeat, telling ESPN’s sideline reporter that the sophomore quarterback “might be available” in an emergency situation.
And after the game, Neuheisel said there was a “chance” that Prince could have surgery on Saturday. When told that the surgery had been announced, Neuheisel said, “Yeah, yeah, we’ll know more once they are inside.”
The loss of Prince leaves the offense in Richard Brehaut’s hands. Brehaut turned the ball over three times against the Ducks, with an intercepted pass on the Bruins’ first drive and two fumbles, both of which came on sacks.
Brehaut, who was starting for the second time in his UCLA career, completed 16 of 23 passes for 159 yards. He was sacked three times and harassed often by the Ducks.
Neuheisel said it was “a great learning experience, but a painful one” for Brehaut.
Brehaut was less generous.
“The first thing that stands out in my mind is the three turnovers,” Brehaut said. “I can’t throw that ball like I did on that first drive. I can’t turn the ball over like that and expect us to win.”
National exposure
UCLA, trailing 32-3 at halftime, took the field for the second half, prompting ESPN play-by-play announcer Rece Davis to say, “UCLA, to their never-ending credit, is actually returning to the field.”
Larimore questionable
Middle linebacker Patrick Larimore was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam after dislocating his left shoulder.
“I was tackling someone on the sidelines downfield, and I think I got hit by one of our players and it popped out,” Larimore said.
Steve Sloan would take over for Larimore next Saturday.
By the numbers
In their three Pacific 10 Conference losses, UCLA has been outscored 130-20. The Bruins did beat last-place Washington State by 14 points, 42-28.
The Oregon mascot does as many pushups as Oregon has points after each Oregon score. By the end of Thursday’s game, the mascot had done 303 pushups.
UCLA has now lost seven consecutive games to No.1-ranked teams since beating Ohio State in the 1976 Rose Bowl.
twitter.com/cfosterlatimes
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.