As I said in the game thread, the way I see it, we are playing with house money for the rest of the season. Regardless of the outcome of the next two games, I am soooo proud of our boys, Skipper, and Jerry!!
Totally agree - at this point we are 3-4, with Foster at the helm we would have been 0-7. I watched the game on delayed tape, there were some positives, great passes at times - good tackling and it is terrific to see the long runs. Go Bruins
The vintage unis were cool…the football was pretty brutal, but a win is a win. Maryland was pretty bad, and the Bruins were fortunate that the calm, true freshman Terp QB that the TV guy kept raving about was wildly erratic and inaccurate most of the evening. Also, a few ghosts of Bruins past…multiple false starts, some disjointed play calling from little Jerry, and strange field goal follies courtesy of Tim Skipper. But again, a win is a win - but this one also reminded us that this team is far from the upper echelon, and are capable of being competitive only when they combine perfect execution with solid game management. Will be interested to see how they handle Indiana; at least we can assume they’ll see more competent officiating.
Final note - did agree with the analyst on one thing: Mikey Matthews is a decent receiver, but an exceptional actor…extracted two important PIs from this admittedly inept crew…although one of them felt like a obvious makeup call for the phantom block in the back. Well, as all the announcers seemed to be trained to say: You gotta love college football !
Typical Bruin fan mentality. It was Martin’s idea to relieve and replace Foster. Our win streak is because of Martin’s grand vision. You just don’t understand 4-D chess. Please try to get to his level. If you are having a hard time understanding how suspect contract extensions and enormous buy outs guided us to this precise moment, I question if you really understand super advanced relativistic coaching athletic scholars management.
You're full of shit. It wasn't Jarmond's idea. Foster only got fired because the fans kept emailing the Chancellor. Jarmond is a little bitch and blocks people who message him directly with any unfavorable feedback regarding coaches. He deserves no credit.
Hi Tamara, I get home late tonight. Starting with next weeks game I will be able to join our Bruin family for live comments. Looking forward to it. Have missed all of you the the care you have given me. Terry
SPTR lives! How does a field goal only burn 2 seconds????? The person starting the game clock get a share of Coach Franklin's buyout?
The secret to the game? My wife and I attended in our seats until midway through the 4th quarter. Under tremendous pressure from my chat friends we were forced to leave the inside of the stadium to take refuge in the Justin Wine garden. Upon leaving our seats victory was ensured. Attend the game 0 and 4. Watch on TV 3 and 0....... Not traveling to Indiana so there is hope!!!
This game was brutal to watch. Sloppy teams, really really bad officiating, some very questionable play calling on both sides of the ball for both teams.
Nonetheless, UCLA won and for confidence this does wonders for this team. They can win with exciting football but they showed today they can win ugly, and relying on the defense.
Talking about the much maligned defense, they were much better. They got multiple stops, and a couple of turnovers. Again, I wonder how much of this success is due to the opposing team not being very good, and how much of the success tonight was/is due to this defensive unit really improving.
As a footnote, a more aggressive play calling from UCLA would have probably put this game out of Maryland’s reach. I got the impression (most likely I am wrong here-but maybe I am not) that UCLA wasn’t being aggressive with their play calling, like they were trying to not show all their cards. I wonder if they were saving something for next week. Play calling got more aggressive the last 4 minutes of the game, where UCLA was down and had to really do something to win the game.
I will go on a limb and say UCLA pulls the upset next week. I hope I am right. 🤞🕯️
Agree that this was one of the most ugly and frustrating games I have seen. Jerry and/or Skipper put on their conservative hats for calling offenseive plays. Maryland is not very good but for some reason, the play calling was vanilla or we would have won by much more (I had bet on the bruins and gave 3 1/2 points--Grrr). Also, to me, Nico seems to revert to his early four game performances for long spans. He continually throws short and mid range passes at the ground in front of open receivers and then, throws an accurate long pass. Can not imagine what he was thinking when he threw the pick six. If the Bruins play up to their Penn State/Michigan State performances, they should keep the score respectable next week. If they play like they did against Maryland, Indiana will be playing their back up players before half time..
There were a few times early on against Penn St that UCLA found itself in an unfavorable field position, but the play calling was aggressive. Yesterday, I didn’t understand the field goal when you are looking at a 4th and 2 and moving the ball with some sort of success, and then you go for it on 4th and 10. That didn’t make much sense, I assume if UCLA would have lost, this would have been a talking point.
Yeah, I find the FG attempt indefensible. Didn't get it then and still don't now. Same for the 4th and 10 you brought up. Agreed absolutely on those instances!
That game certainly was frustrating and I think Jerry may have learned plenty while making excellent calls that were well-executed on that last drive. Maryland has a good defense and Jerry has now been scouted. Coyle’s defense was outstanding and even though Skipper made some curious decisions, his positive attitude filters down through the team.
I agree with the other comments here that the play calling was very conservative for much of the game, but I'm thinking that was in large part due to the offense being deep in their own territory many times and not wanting to make a mistake so close to their own goal line (like the pick six later) :</
I do wish that Jerry would bring back designed runs for Nico as it seems those have been completely from the mix in terms of play calls. I understand the fear of getting him hurt on a quarterback option or draw, but he seems to play better when he plays freely and he's also really good at avoiding hard hits at the end of his runs. He seems more likely to get hurt when the pocket collapses and he gets rolled up on. In short, he still needs development as a pocket passer, and seems to play better as a passer and a runner when given the freedom to move around.
The last drive was excellent football. Won't say I don't care about W's, but told my WAF rep I just want to see them compete at the highest level. They are competing! Heck, a few more and I might get my checkbook back out.
Wasn't pretty? First four games we were like the late night desperadoes slamming dirty Martis before the time bell rang in the hopes of latching onto *anything* coyote ugly before the lights came on!
A heart pulser not unlike upsetting Nebraska 20-17 on an Efram Herrera FG back in the 70s is like going taking the Homecoming queen out for a night cap before the boat sails on your Carribean cruise!
Pretty ugly contest, but good that the Bruins were able to survive their own trap game at home. The Terps' inability to close out games whenever they've had a late lead also apparently helped. Hope Iamaleava's knee is OK for next Saturday's game at #2 Indiana, which will be another breakfast time program (9am Pacific Time). Look forward to seeing if the Bruins can just be competitive enough to avoid being blown out.
Once upon a time, the discussion was quite heated on TMB. DD issued a plea and warning to be respectful of our coaches, and not to use derogatory names.
Accordingly, I never used "Alfie" until after he was fired. I tried to refrain from "Donut Dan." But I sprayed my beverage when I first read "Martin Guerrero" -- brilliant! (I forgot which of the sages here coined that moniker. Kudos!)
Thus, "Martin Guerrero" it is, although I am laden with guilt that it, too, is disrespectful...but is disrespectful to Dan Guerrero!
LOL, you definitely deserve a free jelly donut from both the current and former ADs! Regarding"Martin Guerrero" (and don't forget "Chip Alford" too)--you're welcome! :-)
I had gotten a big laugh a while back after reading: "I’m very confident in my ability to hire coaches that win championships. I’ve done it." I think that one quote says it all...
Still praying that the UCLA football program will eventually be rescued after enduring so many disappointing seasons of mediocrity and failure being enabled by apathy and incompetence. By the way, I just read that there are now 11 FBS HC vacancies (and counting). The folks across town are also pretty unhappy with their HC, especially after the dumb playcalling and loss at ND, which turned out to be the first "perfect weekend" for us Bruins fans this season.
Thank you from my 💙💛 for giving a P.S. shoutout to the illustrious slimey O donut, Jello 2.0 🤣
For those who love jelly donuts, my deepest apologies, especially to the Morgan crowd as their fragility is worrisome...
But take solace in knowing that neither Jello 2.0 nor the Morgan crowd would understand the deep meaning behind 'Martin Guerrero' so Bruin4ever is safe.
P.S. I will let Bruin4ever take care of the jelly donut handout...
Stan's Donuts was the best and brings back fond memories. How lucky to have also worked there! I remember the peanut butter pocket--that was my favorite. Yum!
I don't think DSF was remotely qualified to be a HC, and I think you give the current AD too much credit (he likes to steal credit, anyway!) because I could easily imagine there was little, if any, vetting done when he hired DSF to become Chip Alford's replacement. It seemed to be a very unprepared, last-minute, desperation hire of a former Bruins star who had already committed to working as a RB coach for the Raiders (he should have stayed there!) when viable HC candidates were no longer available. The prolonged apathy of the AD precluded the use of a HC search committee, which would have also shared some of the responsibility for finding a suitable replacement. Anyway, kudos to interim HC Skipper and his assistants for getting the most out of the players (they didn't abandon the ship) and creating some unexpected good news to cheer about after such a disastrous start to this lost season. They absolutely deserve some jelly donuts! :-)
If Tim Skipper can lead the team to respectable showings against Indiana and OH State and beat Nebraska, Washington, and SC, he definitely should be in the running for Head Coach. Considering how bare Chip Kelly left the cupboard and how poor recruiting was in Foster's first year, making a bowl game after an 0-4 start would be a monumental feat and it would show that he and his staff are able to go toe-to-toe with the other coaches in our conference.
I also find it pretty impressive that UCLA's coaching staff is flipping recruits to UCLA even though their own job securities are in question. If they have permanent jobs, I think they can do quite well with recruits. Tim Skipper is also just extremely personable so I don't think he'll have an issue schmoozing donors. The biggest knock against him is lack of significant experience at coordinator or HC level so this whole season is basically one long job interview for him.
As I said in the game thread, the way I see it, we are playing with house money for the rest of the season. Regardless of the outcome of the next two games, I am soooo proud of our boys, Skipper, and Jerry!!
Totally agree - at this point we are 3-4, with Foster at the helm we would have been 0-7. I watched the game on delayed tape, there were some positives, great passes at times - good tackling and it is terrific to see the long runs. Go Bruins
The vintage unis were cool…the football was pretty brutal, but a win is a win. Maryland was pretty bad, and the Bruins were fortunate that the calm, true freshman Terp QB that the TV guy kept raving about was wildly erratic and inaccurate most of the evening. Also, a few ghosts of Bruins past…multiple false starts, some disjointed play calling from little Jerry, and strange field goal follies courtesy of Tim Skipper. But again, a win is a win - but this one also reminded us that this team is far from the upper echelon, and are capable of being competitive only when they combine perfect execution with solid game management. Will be interested to see how they handle Indiana; at least we can assume they’ll see more competent officiating.
Final note - did agree with the analyst on one thing: Mikey Matthews is a decent receiver, but an exceptional actor…extracted two important PIs from this admittedly inept crew…although one of them felt like a obvious makeup call for the phantom block in the back. Well, as all the announcers seemed to be trained to say: You gotta love college football !
Always like those uniforms.
Thank God they fired Foster.
Martin Guerrero next.
FIRE THE FETUS! FIRE THE FETUS! FIRE THE FETUS! FIRE THE FETUS!
Typical Bruin fan mentality. It was Martin’s idea to relieve and replace Foster. Our win streak is because of Martin’s grand vision. You just don’t understand 4-D chess. Please try to get to his level. If you are having a hard time understanding how suspect contract extensions and enormous buy outs guided us to this precise moment, I question if you really understand super advanced relativistic coaching athletic scholars management.
You forgot to use the sarcasm font.
We don't have that font in super advanced relativistic coaching athletic scholars management. Every think is deadpan at the ol’ S.A.R.C.A.S.M.
You're full of shit. It wasn't Jarmond's idea. Foster only got fired because the fans kept emailing the Chancellor. Jarmond is a little bitch and blocks people who message him directly with any unfavorable feedback regarding coaches. He deserves no credit.
Gibby, I’m fairly sure Euler was joking.
He better be.
I think super advanced relativistic coaching athletic scholars management is the B-side of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious...
Dude, read the comment again! LOL
Read the room here, Gibby.
Come on Euler, Jelly 2.0 was playing 5-D chess, you don't give the slimey wonder enough credit 🤣
Hi Tamara, I get home late tonight. Starting with next weeks game I will be able to join our Bruin family for live comments. Looking forward to it. Have missed all of you the the care you have given me. Terry
💙💛 Until next time, my friend.
I can’t recall the last time we won a game on a last second field goal. The only blemish was we should’ve waited until 2 seconds to call the time out.
SPTR lives! How does a field goal only burn 2 seconds????? The person starting the game clock get a share of Coach Franklin's buyout?
The secret to the game? My wife and I attended in our seats until midway through the 4th quarter. Under tremendous pressure from my chat friends we were forced to leave the inside of the stadium to take refuge in the Justin Wine garden. Upon leaving our seats victory was ensured. Attend the game 0 and 4. Watch on TV 3 and 0....... Not traveling to Indiana so there is hope!!!
Hey Martin
Great to see you on here. This is your old friend Dean.
Dean, from Windsor Hills Elementary school?
This game was brutal to watch. Sloppy teams, really really bad officiating, some very questionable play calling on both sides of the ball for both teams.
Nonetheless, UCLA won and for confidence this does wonders for this team. They can win with exciting football but they showed today they can win ugly, and relying on the defense.
Talking about the much maligned defense, they were much better. They got multiple stops, and a couple of turnovers. Again, I wonder how much of this success is due to the opposing team not being very good, and how much of the success tonight was/is due to this defensive unit really improving.
As a footnote, a more aggressive play calling from UCLA would have probably put this game out of Maryland’s reach. I got the impression (most likely I am wrong here-but maybe I am not) that UCLA wasn’t being aggressive with their play calling, like they were trying to not show all their cards. I wonder if they were saving something for next week. Play calling got more aggressive the last 4 minutes of the game, where UCLA was down and had to really do something to win the game.
I will go on a limb and say UCLA pulls the upset next week. I hope I am right. 🤞🕯️
If they beat Indiana, oh man. The sky's the limit.
And Hell freezes over.
Agree that this was one of the most ugly and frustrating games I have seen. Jerry and/or Skipper put on their conservative hats for calling offenseive plays. Maryland is not very good but for some reason, the play calling was vanilla or we would have won by much more (I had bet on the bruins and gave 3 1/2 points--Grrr). Also, to me, Nico seems to revert to his early four game performances for long spans. He continually throws short and mid range passes at the ground in front of open receivers and then, throws an accurate long pass. Can not imagine what he was thinking when he threw the pick six. If the Bruins play up to their Penn State/Michigan State performances, they should keep the score respectable next week. If they play like they did against Maryland, Indiana will be playing their back up players before half time..
We had to use more conservative play calling since many times we were in very poor field position.
There were a few times early on against Penn St that UCLA found itself in an unfavorable field position, but the play calling was aggressive. Yesterday, I didn’t understand the field goal when you are looking at a 4th and 2 and moving the ball with some sort of success, and then you go for it on 4th and 10. That didn’t make much sense, I assume if UCLA would have lost, this would have been a talking point.
Yeah, I find the FG attempt indefensible. Didn't get it then and still don't now. Same for the 4th and 10 you brought up. Agreed absolutely on those instances!
Agree - get home tonight. Starting next week will be able to join the live comments once again. Have missed all of you. Terry
That game certainly was frustrating and I think Jerry may have learned plenty while making excellent calls that were well-executed on that last drive. Maryland has a good defense and Jerry has now been scouted. Coyle’s defense was outstanding and even though Skipper made some curious decisions, his positive attitude filters down through the team.
I agree with the other comments here that the play calling was very conservative for much of the game, but I'm thinking that was in large part due to the offense being deep in their own territory many times and not wanting to make a mistake so close to their own goal line (like the pick six later) :</
I do wish that Jerry would bring back designed runs for Nico as it seems those have been completely from the mix in terms of play calls. I understand the fear of getting him hurt on a quarterback option or draw, but he seems to play better when he plays freely and he's also really good at avoiding hard hits at the end of his runs. He seems more likely to get hurt when the pocket collapses and he gets rolled up on. In short, he still needs development as a pocket passer, and seems to play better as a passer and a runner when given the freedom to move around.
The last drive was excellent football. Won't say I don't care about W's, but told my WAF rep I just want to see them compete at the highest level. They are competing! Heck, a few more and I might get my checkbook back out.
Wasn't pretty? First four games we were like the late night desperadoes slamming dirty Martis before the time bell rang in the hopes of latching onto *anything* coyote ugly before the lights came on!
A heart pulser not unlike upsetting Nebraska 20-17 on an Efram Herrera FG back in the 70s is like going taking the Homecoming queen out for a night cap before the boat sails on your Carribean cruise!
Yowsah!
Pretty ugly contest, but good that the Bruins were able to survive their own trap game at home. The Terps' inability to close out games whenever they've had a late lead also apparently helped. Hope Iamaleava's knee is OK for next Saturday's game at #2 Indiana, which will be another breakfast time program (9am Pacific Time). Look forward to seeing if the Bruins can just be competitive enough to avoid being blown out.
Go Bruins!
Once upon a time, the discussion was quite heated on TMB. DD issued a plea and warning to be respectful of our coaches, and not to use derogatory names.
Accordingly, I never used "Alfie" until after he was fired. I tried to refrain from "Donut Dan." But I sprayed my beverage when I first read "Martin Guerrero" -- brilliant! (I forgot which of the sages here coined that moniker. Kudos!)
Thus, "Martin Guerrero" it is, although I am laden with guilt that it, too, is disrespectful...but is disrespectful to Dan Guerrero!
P. S. Props to "Jelly 2.0."
LOL, you definitely deserve a free jelly donut from both the current and former ADs! Regarding"Martin Guerrero" (and don't forget "Chip Alford" too)--you're welcome! :-)
I had gotten a big laugh a while back after reading: "I’m very confident in my ability to hire coaches that win championships. I’ve done it." I think that one quote says it all...
Still praying that the UCLA football program will eventually be rescued after enduring so many disappointing seasons of mediocrity and failure being enabled by apathy and incompetence. By the way, I just read that there are now 11 FBS HC vacancies (and counting). The folks across town are also pretty unhappy with their HC, especially after the dumb playcalling and loss at ND, which turned out to be the first "perfect weekend" for us Bruins fans this season.
I thought it might be you, but I wasn't certain. And "Chip Alford?" I'm dying!
It took PSU all of 2 games to fire Franklin. How many YEARS did the Bruins hang onto the Chipster?
Sea,
Thank you from my 💙💛 for giving a P.S. shoutout to the illustrious slimey O donut, Jello 2.0 🤣
For those who love jelly donuts, my deepest apologies, especially to the Morgan crowd as their fragility is worrisome...
But take solace in knowing that neither Jello 2.0 nor the Morgan crowd would understand the deep meaning behind 'Martin Guerrero' so Bruin4ever is safe.
P.S. I will let Bruin4ever take care of the jelly donut handout...
Enjoy 💙💛
Tamara
Having worked at Stan's Corner Shoppe during my freshman year, I cannot in good conscience use "donuts" to diss anything. Sorry (not sorry).
Stan's Donuts was the best and brings back fond memories. How lucky to have also worked there! I remember the peanut butter pocket--that was my favorite. Yum!
Nothing like it!
Sea,
Stan's was my all time fave. Stan was a legend. It was the potato flour he used that took his donuts to the next level.
I loved the midnight runs during Finals Week for a baker's dozen. My friends and I would take turns doing donut runs.
A warm Reeses Peanut Butter donut (with or without bananas) was out of this world.
Stan no longer runs the shop. So sad when greatness ends.
Jelly 2.0 is indicative of the boxed donuts on aisle 6... the kind you need a magnifying glass to identify the 200 fake, highly toxic ingredients 🤣
Here's to the memory of Stan on the corner in Westwood.
💙💛
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/46643725/ucla-turnaround-tim-skipper-nico-iamaleava-big-ten-2025
This article details the culture change since Coach Skipper took over. Sounds like he knows how to be a HC
Yeah, and it shows how unprepared Foster was to be a HC and Jarmond's incompetence at vetting Foster.
I don't think DSF was remotely qualified to be a HC, and I think you give the current AD too much credit (he likes to steal credit, anyway!) because I could easily imagine there was little, if any, vetting done when he hired DSF to become Chip Alford's replacement. It seemed to be a very unprepared, last-minute, desperation hire of a former Bruins star who had already committed to working as a RB coach for the Raiders (he should have stayed there!) when viable HC candidates were no longer available. The prolonged apathy of the AD precluded the use of a HC search committee, which would have also shared some of the responsibility for finding a suitable replacement. Anyway, kudos to interim HC Skipper and his assistants for getting the most out of the players (they didn't abandon the ship) and creating some unexpected good news to cheer about after such a disastrous start to this lost season. They absolutely deserve some jelly donuts! :-)
The team didn't even have captains under Foster. Wow...
I think that's because "DRE" worked so well...
LOL
If Tim Skipper can lead the team to respectable showings against Indiana and OH State and beat Nebraska, Washington, and SC, he definitely should be in the running for Head Coach. Considering how bare Chip Kelly left the cupboard and how poor recruiting was in Foster's first year, making a bowl game after an 0-4 start would be a monumental feat and it would show that he and his staff are able to go toe-to-toe with the other coaches in our conference.
I also find it pretty impressive that UCLA's coaching staff is flipping recruits to UCLA even though their own job securities are in question. If they have permanent jobs, I think they can do quite well with recruits. Tim Skipper is also just extremely personable so I don't think he'll have an issue schmoozing donors. The biggest knock against him is lack of significant experience at coordinator or HC level so this whole season is basically one long job interview for him.