Monday, 8/25/97 Bruins pressured to fix defense woes PREVIEW: Football team plans to hold up against initial tough contenders
By Brent Boyd Daily Bruin Staff Oh, what a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago the question marks surrounding the football team all seemed to revolve around the offense -- a young quarterback, an inexperienced offensive line and running backs and receivers who could not hang on to a football. But, with less than a week remaining before the 1997 campaign kicks off Saturday against Washington State, it is the Bruin defense that has come under scrutiny. Whereas virtually the entire starting lineup returns on offense, the defense lost such mainstays as Travis Kirschke and Duane Ward on the line, and Abdul McCullough and Paul Guidry in the secondary. Taking their places is a defense that is considered small, but one that confuses opposing offenses with blitzes, stunts and a scheme that a casual viewer would describe as mass chaos, and at least one opposing coach described as "crazy." At times last year, "chaos" would have been much too delicate a term, but the Bruins now have a year's experience behind them in the system (Rocky Long introduced the concept to the team last season). "Last year we were all new into the system," defensive end Weldon Forde said. "But, now we seem to be getting more comfortable with it and we're excited about the beginning of the season." They better be comfortable right from the get-go, or the opening month of the season could be a disaster for the Bruins - the first three contests pit UCLA against three of the top quarterbacks in the nation. First up will be Ryan Leaf of WSU. Last season the 6-foot, 6-inch junior threw for 2811 yards and 21 touchdowns en route to earning honorable mention All-American standing. And with an off season of maturity and growth behind him, he is tabbed by many as the second-best quarterback in the nation. The following week the Bruins will encounter the quarterback whom everybody this side of the moon considers as the best in the nation - Peyton Manning of Tennessee. Manning and the pre-season fifth-ranked Volunteers will visit the Rose Bowl on Sept. 6. And the season won't get any easier a week later when UCLA travels to Austin to take on No. 12 Texas and senior quarterback James Brown, who led the Longhorns to the Big 12 championship a year ago. Just how do the Bruins plan to stop this onslaught? "We just can't give up the big play," head coach Bob Toledo said. "We need to throw them off their rhythm and their tempo." To do so, UCLA will have to get pressure up front - a task easier said than done with the Bruins' undersized defensive line led by the 242-pound Forde (who switched from nose tackle to end) tackles Damon Smith (6-3, 264) and Darren Cline (6-4, 265). "We can't just line up and expect to take people on," Toledo said. "We've got to be moving and attacking and running around all the time." One advantage the Bruins possess is knowledge -- they faced Leaf and Manning last year, and fared quite admirably. UCLA was one of only two teams to hold Leaf under 200 yards passing (Colorado was the other), when he suffered through a 20-for-46 passing day for only 195 yards in the 38-14 Bruin win. And against No. 2 Tennessee in the season opener, UCLA held Manning to 16-of-28 and 288 yards passing in their 35-20 loss. "I think (the prior experience) will better prepare us for what we are going to face," senior safety Shaun Williams said. "We know they're both great quarterbacks and we have to come to play to win. We can't come out and just throw our pads out there and expect to win the game." Right now the focus is on Washington State. The game was originally scheduled to be played in November, but was switched to Saturday so that the contest could be televised regionally by ABC. The Bruins have not opened the season with a conference game since 1993 (also the last season UCLA went to the Rose Bowl), as doing so creates a great risk. A loss here, and the Bruins' conference championship hopes will take a dramatic hit before September even arrives, and with two contests with national title contenders in the following weeks, a 0-3 start is not out of the question. "I think our kids are focused," Toledo said. "They realize what's at stake and they're looking forward to the challenge. We have to play them anyways, so why not first." As for the Cougars, with a contest at USC next on their schedule, this game takes on added significance. "This is the greatest opportunity we've had in school history," WSU head coach Mike Price said. "And it's the greatest challenge too." Price warns that this Cougar team is not the same one that left Pasadena with a whimper last November after dropping eight balls and making countless other mental mistakes. That team was in the midst of a four-game losing streak to end the season after starting it off 5-2. Every offensive starter and all but two on defense are upperclassmen. "I think we're going to be a more experienced team and a team with more depth," Price said. "We were awfully young at times last year, and this year we have more veteran players." Daily Bruin file photo Defensive left end Weldon Forde and free safety Shaun Williams tackle a player from WSU. Previous Daily Bruin Story Psychic outlook for 1997 Bruins