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Considering the powerful alumni, the history of winning sports programs and the major media market covering the team, patience is not something that UCLA is used to. With Pete Carroll and the team on the other side of town creating a dynasty, just treading water isn't sitting will in Westwood with four straight mediocre seasons.
Head coach Karl Dorrell knows he's in for an uphill battle for respectability in the town that worships and demands success, so he's doing everything possible not to make everyone more mad than they already are. When the school wanted to give him a vote of confidence with a contract extension and raise, Dorrell refused. He wants to prove it on the field first, and he has the team to do it with experience and talent on both sides of the ball.
The key will be for all the parts to finally succeed. There's speed and athleticism all over the place on offense and the entire offensive line returns, but there has to be more than just 19.1 points and 294.9 yards per game of production. To help matters, the defensive back seven and special teams should be the best in the Pac 10. So things are in place for a good year, but it's not going to be a USC season. Good will have to be good enough for now..
The Schedule: This schedule will be tougher than in it looks on paper, but a good team should be able to come up with seven wins without trouble. The toughest early game, Oklahoma State, is in L.A., while the Bruins get three weeks to rest up and prepare for USC at the end of the year showdown. At Cal and at ASU will be major midseason tests.
Best Offensive Players: Senior WR Craig Bragg. Somehow, Bragg has flown under the national radar despite leading UCLA in receiving in each of the last three seasons. He has 157 catches for 2,362 yards and 15 touchdowns for his career, and he was the only wide receiver who did anything last year. He can be a one-man gang, but he'll be more effective if he doesn't have to be.
Best Defensive Player: Junior LBs Spencer Havner and Justin London. The two should combine for around 200 tackles as the top producers at linebacker. Havner is the more versatile of the two moving from the outside to the inside, while London is just as strong at getting into the backfield and dropping into pass coverage.
Key player to a successful season: QB Drew Olson. The offense won't go anywhere if there's not more coming from the quarterbacks. Drew Olson and JUCO recruit David Koral are strong-armed passers who can get the ball deep to the fleet corps of receivers and all five starters return to the line, so there's no excuse for the Bruins to throw for only 15 touchdown passes again.
The season will be a success if ... UCLA wins eight games and/or beats USC. A big season won't mean as much if the Bruins get blasted by the Trojans again. They aren't good enough to win the Pac 10 title, but taking a major step and giving everyone hope for the future would be a good start.
Key game: Nov. 6 vs. Washington State. UCLA has to be nasty at home and must beat the Cougars with a road trip to Oregon and the showdown against USC coming after. By this point in the year, a win should at least clinch a bowl bid, and could be the battle for the league's number two spot.
2003 Fun Stats:
- Sacks: Opponents 51 - UCLA 30
- First half scoring: Opponents 217 - UCLA 88
- Fumbles: UCLA 33, lost 17 - Opponents 23, lost 12
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