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Sunday, October 10 Updated: October 18, 12:55 PM ET Bowl-bound Bruins? |
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(Editor's note: UCLA wide receiver Danny Farmer will file a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season. For more information on the Bruins, visit the official UCLA site.) Oct. 13, 1999 The Oregon game (a 34-29 UCLA victory) was a lot of fun for me because I've played against the Ducks' defensive secondary for three years straight now. There are three guys in that secondary that I have a lot of respect for and we have a pretty good relationship on the field.
If you break down the game, if you looked at our offense, we played well in the first half as well as throughout the third quarter. We were up 34-10 and yeah, we still made some mistake. But then they had two interceptions and one for a touchdown that really got the game turned around back in their favor. The offense played well and we were on our way to scoring 41 points, but obviously the interception for 81 yards really gave Oregon a boost. Defensively, I though we played a heck of a game. Our defense was playing with a short field on two occasions with fumbles on special teams. I think something we are going to have to work on this week (against Cal) is ball security, namely on special teams. Two fumbles is unacceptable, so it's something we're going to have to work on and continue to get better at as the year goes on. Looking ahead to the Bears, they gave us a pretty good game last year. The score was 28-16, I think. Their defense played great and I know they have a lot of guys back on defense, so it's going to be a challenge for our offensive line because their front seven is very tough. Hopefully we can mix up the offense and score some points and hopefully have our defense stop their offense.
They have a freshman quarterback (Kyle Boller) that is very good, but also young. Hopefully if we rattle him a little bit early on that will help us out throughout the game. Personally, I think I've been able to get better throughout the year. My ankle has healed a lot. Just getting back in that Arizona State game made me feel comfortable within the offense. I think (quarterback) Cory Paus is getting more comfortable. Everyone is starting to settle down and we have an offensive line that is playing better and doing a lot of good things. Our added continuity on the offensive side of the ball has really helped me personally, and that's what I contribute to my recent success. Some people might not agree, but I think our chances at a bowl game are great. If we can get a little run here, I think we will be in good shape. Three of our final five games are at home so I think that's going to be a benefit for us. The Rose Bowl has really given us a home-field advantage for the first time in a long time, so I think those are going to be three good games. Hopefully if we win the rest of our games we can still get into the Rose Bowl. I don't think any one team is really locked into that position yet. There are a lot of teams that are going to be sparring until the end for that position. We just have to take it one game at a time and hope some other teams fall off, but I think our chances at a bowl game are very good. |
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