Cal marched into the Rose Bowl hoping to erase bad memories and put their stunning loss to Oregon State behind them, neither happened. UCLA, which seemingly has 2 different teams(one that played yesterday against Cal, and one other one that showed up for Notre Dame and Utah), played nearly perfect ball and forced Cal into some costly turnovers at the end. I've always said Patrick Cowan is better than Ben Olson and he proved it. It was a close game all the way, but costly penalties and turnovers ultimately doomed Cal to its second defeat in as many weeks. I said Cal was overrated at the beginning of the year, they had me going for awhile, but now they look more overrated than ever. UCLA is one of the most unpredictable teams I have ever seen, they still do have to face ASU, Oregon, and USC, and could either march into the Rose Bowl game, or back into Pac-10 mediocrity.

UCLA PP's:

Bruce Davis, DE, UCLA- Bruce really does have a nice array of pass rushing moves, but was held relatively quiet on Saturday. The Cal oline focused right in on him, limiting him to just 3 tackles. He did make a really nice play in the open field against Cal runningback Justin Forsett: C

Chris Horton, S, UCLA- Finished with 7 total tackles. Looked good in the intermediate range, quickly chasing down screens and slants. Needs to work on deep coverage, Cal WR's tore up the UCLA secondary in the first half before abondoning it in the 2nd half: B-

Dennis Keyes, S, UCLA- His pick did seal the game, however the ball was thrown virtaully right to him on an ill advised pass on 4th and 10 by Longshore. Keyes again looked very vulnerable in coeverage. However his run support and coverage on the middle routes did impress: B-

Shannon Tevaga, OG, UCLA- By far the most dominating team on the UCLA side was the oline. It completely manhandles the Cal defensive front. Clearly this tipped the game's favor toward the Bruins. Shannon destroyed Derrick Hill or Matt Malele, whoever lined up across from him. Dominant on both run blocking and pass protection. Hats off: A

Cal PP's:

Justin Forsett, RB, Cal- Was never really able to get much going. Didn't have the big 2nd half run he always breaks or the consistent 5 yard carry average. The oline seemingly forgot to block for him. Credit the UCLA dline however for most of it: C

Alex Mack, C, Cal- A tough day indeed, just didn't seem to get a good push with the rest of the Cal oline. A very inconsistent year for Mack continues: C

Nate Longshore, QB, Cal- One of the worst days ever for Nate in a Cal uniform. In somewhat of a homecoming game(Longshore grew up about 45 minutes north of the Rose Bowl), Longshore simply did not have his best day. Clearly his ankle bothered him as he had trouble stepping into throws and moving to avoid pressure. Finished with 3 touchdowns, but nearly every one was underthrown and a miraculous catch was needed to secure the touchdown. The last interception with Cal down by 2 with under 2 minutes to go was a killer. Hopefully he comes back strong against Arizona St. next week: C-

Thomas Decoud, S, Cal- How does Thomas Decoud get outrun by 211 pound Khalil Bell on a run up the middle. He took a terrible angle and was barely able to knock him out of bounds at the 2. Decoud also blew his coverage many times and was mediocre at best against the run. This game killed his stock: D

Cal is now ranked 18, still vastly overrated but can save grace with a win on the road next week against undefeated ASU. UCLA now travels to Pullman, Washington to face the Cougs of Washington State.