[Goose]

BTW, was it me, or did anyone else think the pass protection was better with Costello in the game than the previous two weeks? Pocket presence?  Sees things faster?  OL feeling more confident in guy behind them?

I think it is a good and bad combination. Lots of the time it seemed we were running simple patterns where a quick decision was possible and called for. Fortunately, UCLA didn't defend those passes well. Costello got lots of completions but relatively few yards. No real complex reading of the defense was required. The line doesn't have to hold off the rush very long. Costello also could move in the pocket, and that helped a lot. We had at least two plays (that I recall) where we moved the pocket by design, which I don't recall seeing with Chryst this year. Also, one must remember the UCLA DL isn't very good, and is pretty small. So I don't know how much better our OL actually pass blocked.
The bad news is that teams like U$C (hope it matters), Washington and WSU will press cover those short routes. They mostly won't be available. Then we will see if we can really pass protect.

[Goose]

BTW, was it me, or did anyone else think the pass protection was better with Costello in the game than the previous two weeks? Pocket presence?  Sees things faster?  OL feeling more confident in guy behind them?

I think it is a good and bad combination. Lots of the time it seemed we were running simple patterns where a quick decision was possible and called for. Fortunately, UCLA didn't defend those passes well. Costello got lots of completions but relatively few yards. No real complex reading of the defense was required. The line doesn't have to hold off the rush very long. Costello also could move in the pocket, and that helped a lot. We had at least two plays (that I recall) where we moved the pocket by design, which I don't recall seeing with Chryst this year. Also, one must remember the UCLA DL isn't very good, and is pretty small. So I don't know how much better our OL actually pass blocked.
The bad news is that teams like U$C (hope it matters), Washington and WSU will press cover those short routes. They mostly won't be available. Then we will see if we can really pass protect.