Johnathan Franklin

Quarterback Kevin Prince and tailback Johnathan Franklin had the type of days needed for the UCLA offense to be effective. It just happened on a day the Bruins' defense collapsed in a 45-26 loss to California. Franklin, playing on a tender ankle, had 101 yards rushing, including a 74-yard touchdown run. "It was a counter and I was patient, then hit the hole," Franklin said. "Then it was just like practice, just finish the run in the end zone." As for his injured ankle, Franklin said, "It's nothing but pain."

UCLA was working on goal-line plays during practice Thursday when, suddenly, the wrong guy was in the backfield. Nose tackle Brandon Willis shed a block, then wrapped up running back Johnathan Franklin as he got the handoff. "He's an anvil, he's a piece of metal in there," defensive line coach Angus McClure said. "He's hard to move. " Willis is done moving. He crisscrossed the nation three times the last two years, from North Carolina to UCLA and UCLA to North Carolina.

The congestion in the UCLA backfield continues to have a bottleneck, with six tailbacks trying to force their way into the rotation. Johnathan Franklin has navigated his way into a spot where he may be a factor come the fall. A performance in this afternoon's scrimmage similar to one he put on in last Saturday's scrimmage can further his case. "My attitude has been to focus every day like it's a game," said Franklin, who was a redshirt as a freshman last fall.

UCLA running back Dalton Hilliard swung out of the backfield, caught a short pass and turned it into a quality gain during practice Saturday. The idea of running backs as eligible receivers is essential to offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone's philosophy. But in recent seasons, the thought was treated at UCLA as if it might bring NCAA sanctions. "This is definitely different than our old offense," running back Johnathan Franklin said. "This is going to be a great opportunity to get the ball in space.

Hold the autopsy. There's a pulse. Through the season's first two weeks, UCLA was battered by fans, media and casual observers almost as much as opposing teams had hammered on the Bruins. That came to an end, at least for one week, with a 31-13 UCLA victory over No. 23-ranked Houston at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. Two games, it seems, was too soon to stick a fork in the Bruins, who picked up their first victory of the season. All week, UCLA players had pitched a better-days-ahead philosophy.

UCLA tailback Johnathan Franklin doesn't play mind games when he runs. He darts one way, then another, then kicks in the speed. Nothing he can really explain. "I don't know, maybe I'll see my lineman's butt, or maybe green grass, or the defense move the other direction," Franklin said of his jitterbug style. "Rather than think about it, I just do what my instincts tell me." That style set him off on a 60-yard dart-and-dash touchdown run during Saturday's scrimmage. It was the centerpiece of a 99-yard performance that helped propel him into the No. 1 tailback spot during this morning's practice.

UCLA tailback Johnathan Franklin fumbled after being walloped by Texas defensive back Aaron Williams , and then trudged to the sideline, where he was met by Coach Rick Neuheisel . Asked what he was told, Franklin said, "I'd rather not say," then offered a sanitized version: "'You can't do that to the team. Keep your head up, keep working.'" The "keep working" part was the key. Franklin was back on the field on the Bruins' next possession and ground out a seven-yard run on the first play.

UCLA showed some signs of life on offense last week against California. The Bruins rolled up 418 total yards. Quarterback Kevin Prince passed for 311 yards. Tailback Johnathan Franklin had a 74-yard touchdown run on a bum left ankle. That's the glass half-full spin. There's also the glass is cracked and leaking all over the counter view of things. The Bruins had to settle for field goals three of the four times they advanced close to the end zone. Prince had a pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

UCLA guard Jeff Baca looked up and saw tailback Derrick Coleman's backside 20 yards down the field during a live scrimmage during Tuesday's practice. "That was awesome," Baca said. "You make a block, look up and see your tailback in front of you, then one guy misses him, and he's gone. That's encouraging." Coleman's 39-yard touchdown run is why the Bruins have made the change to the "pistol" offense this spring. UCLA averaged a woeful 3.5 yards a carry a year ago, underscoring the need for a consistent running game.

Tailback Johnathan Franklin's bye week had a little more purpose than for most of his UCLA teammates. While all the Bruins have spent a couple of days doing some nip-tuck procedures on their game, Franklin had a purpose: Hold onto the football. "Everything that happens in life is a lesson that you have to learn from," said Franklin, a redshirt freshman. "This one was a cheap lesson." It could have been worse. Franklin fumbled on the Bruins' two-yard line with less than two minutes left against Tennessee, but managed to get the ball back.

UCLA Coach Jim Mora said he'd like to have the quarterback competition narrowed down by the third week of spring practice. That's a week away, but through Thursday's practice, the Bruins' fifth this spring, Kevin Prince , Richard Brehaut , Brett Hundley and Jerry Neuheisel have been splitting snaps fairly evenly with the first team during team periods, making it hard to determine whom Mora favors. Still, Prince and Brehaut, who each started games last season, and the highly touted redshirt freshman Hundley would seem to be the favorites for the starting position.

UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin paused to sign a few autographs before slipping through a door leading to the locker room. Quarterback Kevin Prince was next, stopping to pose for a photograph with kids before he too disappeared into the recesses of AT&T Park. The last two Bruins were off the field, and neither looked back. What UCLA was this season -- disappointing, inconsistent -- the Bruins were again Saturday in a 20-14 loss to Illinois in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Receivers Taylor Embree and Nelson Rosario closed their UCLA careers by catching touchdown passes in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on Saturday. It wasn't satisfying, as the Bruins lost to Illinois, 20-14. "In the future, I can always say that I scored in a bowl game," Embree said. "What I wanted more than anything was to end my career with a win. " Embree caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Prince, giving UCLA a 7-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half. It was his only reception.

Reporting from San Francisco — There was an unofficial homework assignment for members of the UCLA football team's offense during their holiday break: Watch the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. Whether Arizona State could defeat Boise State was irrelevant. What was of interest was studying Sun Devils offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone , who is sliding over to UCLA. "I wanted to see what our new offense coordinator was like," running back Johnathan Franklin said. "What offense he was running, how he was coaching his players after they came off the field, stuff like that.

Memo to new Coach Jim Mora : UCLA football does have long-standing traditions. Sure, the Victory Bell seems USC's permanent possession these days, with the Trojans having won 12 of the last 13 games against UCLA. But Bruins players revived the "over-the-wall" antic Tuesday, ditching practice after warming up. "It was the seniors' decision," said junior running back Johnathan Franklin , a team captain. "We're going to get together for a team activity. " Asked whether it will remain a tradition when he is a senior, Franklin said, "It won't be happening.

Mike Johnson , UCLA's interim coach, has yet to be told by new head Coach Jim L. Mora , but he said he will be moving on. Mora is set to bring in former Arizona State assistant Noel Mazzone as UCLA's offensive coordinator. Johnson was the Bruins' offensive coordinator for one season. "Jim and I had a good conversation, but we didn't even talk about whether I was coming back," Johnson said. "You've got to see the writing on wall. They hire Noel Mazzone and make him the offensive coordinator, you got to see that.

Running back Malcolm Jones , the Gatorade national player of the year as a senior at Westlake Village Oaks Christian High, appears headed to another season of limited action. Jones, a sophomore, played briefly against Texas and had one carry for six yards against Houston. Unless he is injured, he cannot redshirt. "You always want to get more time," Jones said. "It's just the way it goes. If I'm not playing as much as I would like, that's fine. I'm still only a sophomore.

You have to dip back into last century to reminisce about a UCLA victory in Berkeley. The Bruins are 0-5 there since a 28-16 victory in 1998. That was also the last season the Bruins played in the Rose Bowl game, the longest stretch in UCLA history since the Pacific 10 Conference champion automatically qualified. Cal hasn't been to a Rose Bowl since 1959. Staff writer Chris Foster looks at the matchups and issues surrounding the game: In the crosshairs California's first experience against the "pistol" offense?

Jim L. Mora , hired as UCLA's coach Friday, is quickly assembling his staff. Arizona State's Noel Mazzone will be the Bruins' offensive coordinator, Southern Methodist's Adrian Klemm the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator, Washington assistant Demetrice Martin will coach the defensive backs and Arizona State assistant Steve Broussard will work with the receivers. Martin and Broussard had already reached out to UCLA players. "It got a little different yesterday," defensive back Randall Carroll said.

Everyone knows the odds are stacked against UCLA on Friday night. Everyone knows the Bruins are headed to Oregon as 32-point underdogs in the inaugural Pac-12 Conference championship game, playing one last time for a coach on his way out the door. So the question becomes: Can they find a way to keep this game close? As one impartial observer — Oregon State Coach Mike Riley — put it: "That's going to be a tough one. " Tough, but not impossible. Riley and several other Pac-12 coaches who have faced both teams this season see a sliver of hope for the Bruins, a few ways they might stay with the eighth-ranked Ducks.