Page 2 / T.J. SIMERS - Nice guy, but he could use a few more wins

From the start, the Page 2 criticism was relentless: UCLA hired a guy in over his head to coach the football team; give me a cup of coffee if I'm going to hope to stay awake to hear what this upstart has to say; Karl Dorrell is no Pete Carroll -- that's for sure.

I watched his team roll over and play dead in bowl games against Fresno State and Wyoming.

Before beating Northwestern to cap a 10-2 campaign, Dorrell suggested he might never get a fair shake because of his race -- the only race concerning me, though, was the one he was losing to cross-town rival USC.

We've had our differences, and he's had his setbacks, but it was never his fault AD Dan Guerrero gave someone with no head-coaching experience a job too big to handle.

Matched against Carroll, the Trojans' unparalleled success in this new BCS era and an age of impatience, it's shocking Dorrell has lasted this long.

He was known best for everything that went wrong until he swiped a national title opportunity from USC last year, a pretty good feat for someone considered an intern at best in comparison to Carroll, the one usually giving the lessons.

Then Dorrell's team tanked against Florida State.

"Consistency," Dorrell said before this season began, "is the next step we must take."

The Bruins are now consistent, all right, in their inconsistency under Dorrell.

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WE'RE TALKING about a good man here, a great guy when you consider the public beatings at times and his ability to rebound with grace. Good things should happen to good people.

But Dorrell, good buddy, sure is making it difficult to support him any longer or note the growth spurts made over five years.

Point out the bright spot in a 44-6 loss to Utah, please, because from this vantage point it still remains elusive.

"It wasn't anything about preparation," Dorrell said when we got together Tuesday. "I told our players this team was going to be dangerous and desperate. What's disappointing, our players got caught up with the fact 'we're UCLA and we're ranked No. 11.' "

What's disappointing was Dorrell's players were advised of the trap they were about to enter, and they did not listen. These are his recruits, his players, his seniors and he has spent countless hours bonding with them, but they did not listen.