That’s 6-3 if You’re Scoring at Home

Welcome to the new brand of UCLA football, otherwise known as punt, pass (incomplete) and kick.

It’s only two games into the Karl Dorrell era and Bruin ball is noticeably different.

It’s really, really boring now.

Gone, apparently, are the days of 48-47 shootouts and gadget plays and fans yelling “Wow, did you see how many tackles we missed on that play?”

The players still get in trouble off the field, so that much hasn’t changed yet.

UCLA docked its fourth player Saturday, benching Matt Clark for academic failures, the announcement coming on plain, white parchment in the Rose Bowl press box.

So, if you’re keeping score in the Dorrell era, that’s two players punished for academics (Tab Perry and Clark) and two sidelined by alcohol-related arrests (Marcus Cassel and John Sciarra).

At least in the old days, the Bruins used to mix in touchdown bombs with the police reports.

But what do we make of a 6-3 victory over Illinois in which the Bruins only had one more completed pass (11) than punts?

What do we make of a UCLA that won with its defense of, all things, and two boots from its kicker?

Where were those wrap-up tackles when UCLA needed them in 1998 against Miami?

Dorrell christened this a new era at UCLA as he collected his first career win, but we had no idea it was going to be a throwback to Harvard-Yale and Walter Camp.

A win is a win is a win, but how do you sell 6-3 to the masses?

“I don’t know if it sells anywhere in America right now,” Bruin senior defensive end Mat Ball said. “I even want to see touchdowns, I don’t like when games go low scoring.”

This is not quite the same place Ball enrolled.

“When I was finishing up my high school career and they had Cade McNown and it was just all offense and all offense and the defense was just buckling,” Ball said. “So now it’s like a complete reversal of fortunes if you will into the 6-3 era.”

And this passes for football?

“I don’t know if we’re going to get a packed house every time, but we’ll take our style of play,” Ball said.

By style, of course, he means “crew cut.”

Dorrell, remember, was brought in this year to clean up the 8-5 mess Bob Toledo left behind and shore up the loose ends of a program that had reputedly run amok.

But we can’t really say what this new brand has wrought.

There’s a new deputy in town, but it’s hard say whether this one is better or is the type you give only one bullet and make him keep it in his pocket.

If you had to sum up the UCLA offense against Illinois in a word, it would be “stinks.”

In eight quarters this year, the Bruins have scored two touchdowns. This would be in contrast to say, 1998, when UCLA scored 30 or more points in 10 games.

On Saturday, the UCLA offense spent the night in grind mode. The only thing worse than the ugly passes were the several good ones dropped by open receivers.

“At some point, our defense will get clicking,” Dorrell said.

Next week might be nice ... at Oklahoma.

But how about that defense?

This is essentially the same group that gave up 100 points in their last two Pacific-10 conference games last season against Washington State and USC.

Against Illinois, UCLA held what was supposed to be a potent offense to three points and 283 yards.

To put it in context, in the last four years under Coach Ron Turner, Illinois has averaged 415 yards and 30.2 points per game.

This year’s UCLA defense, under first-year coordinator Larry Kerr, has an edge to it.

The Bruins run a simplified scheme, based on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Players say they have more freedom to showcase their individual talents.

“We’re stuffing the run and doing what we’re supposed to do,” defensive tackle Rodney Leisle said. “Doing what you’re supposed to do makes the defense work. And we’re all filling our gaps, playing two-deep coverage, and it stops them.

“I don’t know. I can’t explain it. He [Kerr] just lets us loose.”

We’re not sure how far the Bruins can go with this philosophical flip-flop.

You might be able to hang with Colorado with it, and defeat an average Illinois team, but what happens when you take this act next week into Norman?

And anyone who ever walked a block around the Pac-10 knows that you can’t win with field goals.

For now, though, this is where UCLA is at. As we’ve never said before, the Bruins will go as far as the defense will take them.

Unexpected, sure.

“I’m very surprised,” Ball said of the defensive effort. “It’s like a surprise package you receive on your doorstep. We’ll take it.”

But can UCLA fans accept the onset of an era when kicker Justin Medlock is your most valuable player, a new dawn when fans treasure the spiraling punt and the jarring tackle, sprinkled in with a field goal here and there?

“I think they can get used to it,” linebacker Brandon Chillar said of Bruin followers. “They’ll have to adjust.”

Two games deep into the Karl Dorrell era, Bruin fans may have no choice.