Shaky Offensive Line Gets the Blame for Close Call

With center Mike McCloskey sidelined because of a shoulder sprain and replaced in the starting lineup by Robert Chai, offensive coordinator Tom Cable said seventh-ranked UCLA’s line struggled to get anything going in Saturday’s 30-27 overtime victory at Stanford.

“I would say we were really, really bad up front,” Cable said. “I think that rests squarely on the offensive line’s shoulders. It was really ugly. ... They whipped us for 3 1/2 quarters and then we found a way to do it. ... Before that, we looked like the Bad News Bears. So we’ve got some work to do.”

Sophomore guard Shannon Tevaga said Stanford’s defense was not the problem.

“We just were not playing with high intensity,” Tevaga said of the Bruins, who are 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference. “We just weren’t getting it done against the same looks and schemes we worked on in practice. It was all mental mistakes, none physical.”

UCLA finished with 372 yards in total offense against Stanford after being held to 147 for three quarters.

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Senior quarterback Drew Olson, who has 23 touchdown passes with only three interceptions this season, and junior running back Maurice Drew, UCLA’s all-time all-purpose yardage leader, have emerged as a dynamic one-two punch.

Olson is fifth in the nation in passing efficiency with a 165.3 rating and needs two touchdown passes to tie Cade McNown’s single-season record. Drew leads the nation in punt returns (29.7 yards average), is third in scoring (13.5 points a game) and fourth in all-purpose yardage (184.25 average).

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Defensive coordinator Larry Kerr on Saturday’s win over Stanford: “It’s a team game, and there’s no doubt that our offense is our strongest part. But our defense had been getting it done. If not, the offense will have to go score 100 points every game.”

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UCLA is scoring 42.6 points a game, fifth-best in the nation, and a key has been the Bruins’ success once they get inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

“We’re so confident in our red-zone offense, it’s awesome,” said Olson of UCLA, which has scored 29 touchdowns with six field goals in 38 trips inside the red zone this season.

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UCLA moved up one spot to seventh in both the AP and coaches’ polls but remains behind one-loss Miami and Louisiana State.