Drew Olsen Football Information

Drew Olson deserved more than just a football for this, at the culmination of one of the most remarkable turnarounds we've seen in these parts, on a day that had UCLA statisticians flipping through the record books and a season that should have Heisman Trophy voters figuring out a way to squeeze him onto their ballots. If only it were possible to fold up the Rose Bowl and its field, the marching band and the fans, and give them to him. He was that worthy.

The senior quarterback had to settle for a football handed to him by Bob Lopez, UCLA's director of football operations. And the memories. You could see the hard drive in his head recording the images of his triumphant final game at the Rose Bowl, a 45-35 victory over Arizona State in which Olson passed for 510 yards and five touchdowns. "I'm glad I left it like it should be: 85,000 [fans], a great victory," Olson said. "This is the way that we want it." He hopped on the Bruin bench and stared at the crowd, his hands held high, the football in the left and his helmet in the right, and it was impossible not to be happy for him.

As a sophomore he couldn't win the starting job in fall camp, then couldn't hold on to his chance after Matt Moore was injured. As a junior he was a middle-of-the-Pac-10 performer whose season ended after a knee injury in the Las Vegas Bowl. And when he reported for duty in his senior year he wasn't even guaranteed to start ahead of redshirt freshman Ben Olson. Well, Drew Olson started all 10 games. And he has won nine of them, giving his team a chance, unlikely as it might seem, to win a conference championship if UCLA can somehow beat USC on Dec. 3. Olson is having one of the top five offensive seasons in UCLA history and his 510 passing yards Saturday were only three shy of the school record set by Cade McNown. "It was a great performance by him individually," offensive lineman Robert Cleary said. "That's awesome for him. I'm proud of him and happy for him, because of all the criticisms he's had in the past." Only three months after some wondered if he was even the best Olson on his team, it's fair to ask if Olson is having the best season of any quarterback in town.

Drew Olsen Football News

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