UCLA midweek notes

 The Buffs are back under .500 and sitting at 0-4 in conference.  Coach MacIntyre continues to keep it positive but not sure if I can.  The Cal game on the 16^th will be basement battle. In the meantime there will be two huge road losses.  Here are a few mid-week tidbits before the team goes to LA to get thrashed by the Bruins:

§  Review of the tape: I still might be masochistic enough to watch this recording tonight on Halloween, how bad the lines are and what some of the younger players look like.

§  Line: UCLA is still ranked number 20 and is favored by 27 (opened at 24).

§  Team notes: No reason has been given at the time, but Sunday night practice was cancelled. They are a little banged up, played late Saturday and have been practicing well.  The team still watched film of the loss and of UCLA and lifted some weights. This time is often dedicated to conditioning and to younger players getting some reps, and not any huge game prep, so I don’t believe it to be a big deal. 

§  The team practiced inside the bubble the last couple days with the crappy weather, I guess since they know they won’t be facing that this week in SoCal, but kinda wimpy in my opinion.

§  Saturday was the first time since Arizona’s 2011 trip to Boulder that the Buffs did not give up a sack.  Let’s not freak out about the offensive line just yet though, as the Wildcats did not blitz that often, and more credit should go to Sefo, who was poised in the pocket, always kept his eyes downfield, was able to scramble a few times and usually was able to throw the ball away.

§  While MacIntyre defended the terrible fake punt from the 15, punter Darragh O’Neill came out and said it was his decision, not the coaches.  Either way, it was a stupid move, and it is the coaching staff’s duty, here specifically Toby Neinas and MacInytre himself, to make sure players know when it is and when it is not an acceptable situation to call for a fake, no matter what you think you see.

§  We should see a little more of defensive lineman Samson Kafovalu, who can play inside and out.  He has gotten his proverbial shit together and back on the good graces of the coaching staff, although he still has to check in daily with MacIntyre.

§  The biggest lineup change of late has to be that of Woodson Greer (also got himself together after almost “flunking out”) surpassing Derrick Webb as the second LB in the nickel package.  Webb is one of three captains who are not playing much (Connor Wood and LB Paul Vigo), but is taking it well and still going all out on special teams.  The two LBs will alternate some moving forward, both to keep them fresh as each plays special teams, and to take advantage of their strengths. They will both be on the field together if teams lineup in traditional non-spread formations, but MacIntyre quipped, “I don’t even know if schools that do that even exist anymore.” [The youth is taking over more and more, especially at the lower echelon Pac12 teams.  At Cal, Sonny Dykes has only one starter that comes from the team’s 2009 and 2010 recruiting classes, that’s their fourth and fifth year seniors and some juniors.]

§  Injuries: Paul Richardson sprained an ankle late against Arizona and was in a boot but claims to be fine. Everyone is saying he is “feeling much better” (have read that phrase like fifty times) and will probably play, going back home to LA, in the Rose Bowl, against his momentary former team and many friends, but I’ll admit I am a little worried that he doesn’t play or is just not effective. On Tuesday MacIntyre said, “He’s a skinny little guy so a little ankle does hurt him a little bit. I know he wants to play…hopefully he’ll be able to go because we definitely need him. It’s definitely still day-to-day.” P-Rich tweeted Wednesday that he is planning to play.

§  RB Michael Adkins, who has given the offense some spunk, suffered a concussion and is questionable.  He had not practiced as of Wednesday so I doubt he can clear all concussion tests before Saturday.

§  Alex Wood has not yet been cleared from his concussion.  Josh Ford is practicing but not ready yet.

§  Some credit needs to be given to Dave Forman, who brought in an entirely new conditioning and weightlifting regiment and has kept this space very small as the team has had very few injuries this season (everyone collectively knock on any nearby wood please), and most pleasantly surprising, Parker Orms has not been listed at all (more wood-knocking).

§  UCLA is actually carrying a lot of injuries, but many of those could be back, or Jim Mora may just decide to rest them one more week.  Numerous Bruin offensive linemen have been out, forcing them to start three true freshmen.  RB Jordon James has missed three weeks and two of his backups Steven Manfro and Damein Thigpen are are banged up, but Paul Perkins and Malcolm Jones have performed well, LB Eric Kendricks and DE Ellis McCarthy were injured last week but should be available this week.

§  Connections: Gus Handler’s little brother Sam is a redshirt freshman for UCLA.  There are quite a few players from California, so there will also be quite a bit of friendly banter on the field with old friends, teammates and rivals.

§  Honors, mentions and recognitions: Addison Gillam still leads league with 9.3 tackles per game.

§  Coach MacIntyre praised Parker Orms for his effort and attitude (13 tackles and tears after the game) “played his absolute heart out” (he also pointed out his two missed tackles that ended up going for almost 100 yards more, although on one “another guys should have been overlapping” to finish it).

§  P-Rich is still third in the nation in yards per game with 130.6 (still 2^nd in Pac12 behind Cooks). He has accounted for 38% of the team’s offense with 50 catches for 914 yards and 7 TDs (plus a few rushes and the TD pass), closing in on CU single season records of 78 catches (DJ Hacket, 2003), 1,149 yards (Charles E. Johnson, 1992)  and 11 TDs (Derek McCoy, 2003).

§  2014 recruiting: It sure would be nice to get some new commits, adding to the current 14 and giving us a little hope for the future. Here is Stuart’s latest update: http://www.cuatthegame.com/2013/recruiting-prospects-2014/

§  The Camera’s “Monday Afternoon Drive” on recruit’s high school results: http://www.buffzone.com/cu-news/ci_24405104/afternoon-drive-cu-commit-defensive-lineman-lopez-records

§  There are five defensive line commits so far (although one will take a mission before coming to Boulder) and a couple of them should certainly play next year. 

§  TE Dylan Keeney is almost a shoe-in for playing time next year as that is the weakest and thinnest position grouping on the team, and it will lose two seniors. They will almost assuredly sign at least two tight ends. (How bad was Austin Ray?)

§  Other Notes: With nebraska’s loss to the Golden Gophers, the fuskers joined the Bottom Ten this week, so we got that goin’ for us. Not a good week for the Pelini’s with Bo’s choke then brother Carl resigns as head coach at FAU along with his DC for openingly smoking pot at a party; he should try to get hired in the Pac12 next.

§  Pacific Takes Fantasy League: I am too thin at too many positions and lost a fairly close one with no real QB or TE, plus De’Anthony Thomas only playing on a limited basis and Jordon James still out.  I dropped all defense because the scoring goes negative when a team gives up 28+ points, which is almost always not that we are in conference play. Next week I have a ton of byes-so does everyone, but my team will be hard-pressed to win again.  However, I am tied with three others for second best record in league full of parity.