LOS ANGELES (AP) -UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince’s jaw seems fine. Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli’s right knee might not be so sound.
Yet neither team will say exactly who will lead their offenses when the No. 13 Ducks (4-1, 2-0) face the Bruins (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
With equal parts coachspeak and coachsneak, UCLA’s Rick Neuheisel and Oregon’s Chip Kelly have tried to keep each other off balance this week leading into a key matchup for two teams with title aspirations in the seemingly wide-open conference. Although Prince and Oregon’s Nate Costa are the likely choices, neither coach will say – making the game a handicapping nightmare for fans and professional touts alike.
Prince, the freshman who broke his jaw late in UCLA’s win at Tennessee, returned to practice this week. Now that he can bark out the signals at the line, he expects to be back in the lineup to continue UCLA’s revival, which stumbled last week at Stanford.
aring like I’m the starter,” Prince said. “I’m taking all the (first-team) reps. I would hope I’d start. … We’re going to attack where we think the weaknesses are on Oregon’s defense, and hopefully it will lead to more points than we’ve been putting up in recent days, so we’re excited for the opportunity.”
Kelly insists his quarterback selection will be a game-time decision, yet he included four quarterbacks on his traveling squad to Pasadena. Costa seems all but certain to take the place of the freewheeling Masoli, who hurt his right knee in Oregon’s 46-point win over Washington State last week.
Although Kelly says he won’t change anything about the Ducks’ approach if the more traditional dropback passer Costa is his quarterback, the unfamiliar look could at least create some uncertainty for the Bruins – which is exactly Kelly’s goal.
“UCLA will be the best defense we’ve faced so far this season,” Kelly said. “Brian Price is the best defensive tackle in this league. The thing that really bothers me about Brian Price is that he’s a junior. Reggie Carter is an outstanding linebacker. I believe Alterraun Verner is the best corner in this conference.”
se that’s still growing, but is much better than last season’s run-deficient group.
“We’ve shown flashes on offense of being great,” UCLA receiver Taylor Embree said. “We’ve got to do it consistently, and this will be a great chance for us to do that. Their offense has been putting up a lot of points the past few weeks. Well, we’ve got to do the same thing. It’s time for our offense to go out there firing.”
While UCLA struggled in the second half of last week’s loss to the Cardinal, Oregon is riding high with four straight victories in a remarkable comeback from a season-opening loss to Boise State that appeared to leave the program in disarray in front of a national television audience.
Instead, the Ducks won four straight home games – two against ranked teams – before heading off to California for just their second road trip.
“They’ve got two different quarterbacks, one’s a better passer and the other’s a better runner,” UCLA defensive end Korey Bosworth said. “Then they’ve got that option package with screens and everything like that. We just have to prepare for them, and we’re not going to have them put up that many points on us. Ninety-something points in two games, that’s ridiculous.”
The Ducks’ first-year head coach doesn’t take credit for their evolution.
to plug those guys in. We had a lot of new faces that started out against Boise, and each week they got better and better.”
Oregon has scored 163 points in its last four games with Masoli in charge, but the Ducks’ approach could change if Masoli can’t catalyze the offense with his running. UCLA’s defense has prepared for either scenario, but Masoli clearly creates a scare that Costa can’t match.
“It’s just hard for you to play aggressive,” UCLA linebacker Reggie Carter said about Oregon’s usual offense with Masoli in charge. “Everybody’s got to do their job and kind of stay in their gap. It’s hard for a football player to do that because if he’s not around the ball, then he’s not making plays, and the objective is to make plays. So you’ve got to preach all week to try to stay in your gap, do your job and let the plays come to you.”
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