Monday, October 6, 1997
Houston: You have a problem
FOOTBALL: Texas gets used to handing victories to Bruins in a
season of breathtaking teamwork
By Brent Boyd
Daily Bruin Staff
For the second time in three games, the Bruins messed with
Texas.
And for the second time in as many games against teams from the
Lone Star State, UCLA put up some huge numbers in a blowout victory
with its 66-10 win over Houston at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
Just ask Houston coach Kim Helton how dominating the Bruins
were.
"They were more talented," he said. "They outran, out-jumped and
out-muscled us."
The same could have been said three weeks ago when the Bruins
(3-2) defeated the University of Texas, 66-3.
And just like that Sept. 13 contest, Saturday’s game featured a
quick-strike offensive attack and a defense that forced turnovers
time and time again.
Davey Crockett had a better chance at the Alamo than the Cougars
(1-4) did in Pasadena.
The Bruins wasted no time in getting the massacre under way.
In the second play from scrimmage, quarterback Cade McNown
connected with flanker Jim McElroy for a 67-yard gain, and tailback
Skip Hicks followed it up with a two-yard touchdown run that handed
the Bruins a 7-0 lead.
A fumble by Cougar quarterback Jason McKinley was recovered by
UCLA linebacker Brian Willmer at the Houston 17-yard line on their
first play from scrimmage, and two plays later Bruin wideout Brian
Poli-Dixon caught a screen pass for a touchdown.
Thirteen minutes remaining in the first quarter: 14-0
Bruins.
Game over.
Not that it was the end of the action, but any hopes of a Cougar
upset were squelched at that point.
In a game where many feared the Bruins would come out
overconfident and lifeless, the boys of Westwood were
relentless.
The defense created six turnovers, the offense racked up 448
yards of total offense, and the special teams were
picture-perfect.
"I’m excited about our football team and what we’re doing," UCLA
head coach Bob Toledo said. "A lot of people thought we would come
out flat, but we played with a lot of emotion, intensity, and that
was the theme of the week."
The theme of the week on offense was to throw the ball long and
to throw it often.
McNown threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns on 11-of-14
passing, and that was all in the first half.
In addition to his 67-yard touchdown pass, he also had
completions of 31, 29, 40, 31 and 46 yards.
"They were not giving us the short passing game," offensive
coordinator Al Borges said. "They were giving us chunks. We were
going to be forced to throw the ball down the field because they
were concentrating on stopping the run. It came down to (McNown)
beating them, and he did."
Seven different receivers caught passes for the Bruins,
including four catches by Rodney Lee, 113 yards on two receptions
by McElroy, and two touchdown catches by Poli-Dixon.
"We were executing well," McNown said. "We had the time to read
the routes, and we were just taking advantage of it."
The one offensive player who didn’t enjoy a great game was
Hicks. Expected to run all over the struggling Cougar defense,
Hicks only gained 31 yards on 14 carries  all before
halftime.
But one would be hard-pressed to blame Hicks. The Houston
defense focused on stopping the Heisman Trophy candidate, thus
opening up the passing game for the Bruins.
"We figured going into the game that they would (try to stop
Hicks)," Borges said. "They figured they had to. If you run it down
their throat, it totally demoralizes them; if I had to choose I
would do the same thing because Hicks would run all over them.
"But that’s the nice thing about our offense: We have the
possibility to run and pass."
And it doesn’t hurt when the defense gives you outstanding field
position.
The Bruins scored 31 points immediately following Cougar
turnovers, including a 24-yard interception return for a touchdown
by Michael Wiley late in the third quarter that gave UCLA a 59-3
advantage.
Six of the Bruins’ nine scoring drives started in Houston
territory.
"We don’t even have to go on that many long drives," McElroy
said. "We’ve just been getting great field position. They are
really getting us out of the hole a lot."
Wasswa Serwanga was the star of the game defensively for the
Bruins, as he had one interception and forced two fumbles,
including the one at the beginning of the game that helped give
UCLA the insurmountable lead.
"It was a weak-side blitz," Serwanga said of the aforementioned
play. "It was a five-step drop so with the blitz coming off the
left side, he didn’t have that much time. So on the fifth step I
was pretty much there, and I got the strip."
But it wasn’t just Serwanga who was creating plays, everybody
did their part.
Eric Whitfield and Marques Anderson also had interceptions,
while Damon Smith and Brian Willmer each recovered fumbles.
All told, the six Cougar turnovers increased UCLA’s total forced
on the season to 24 (two more than all of last season).
"It’s just guys playing hard football," Willmer said of the
turnovers. "Most of the time it’s just guys going hard busting the
ball, coming at hard angles."
Overall, the defense held the Houston passing attack to 13-of-42
passing for 136 yards, while the Cougars gained 181 yards on 47
carries on the ground with star tailback Ketric Sanford missing the
game due to appendicitis.
"The defense is really playing as a team all around the field,"
Willmer continued. "We’re making plays. We’re running around the
field having fun and just concentrating on our assignments."
One thing that the blowout win allowed the Bruins to do was play
many of the non-starters. Over 80 players took the field for UCLA,
as such mainstays as McNown, Hicks, McElroy and tight end Mike
Grieb took the entire second half off after a halftime lead of
45-3.
"We had a lot of third-string guys and walk-ons out there,"
Toledo said. "The kids worked hard; I wanted them to enjoy the
experience, and I wanted them to play."
Most impressive was backup quarterback Drew Bennett, who
completed 3-of-4 passes for 52 yards, including a 11-yard touchdown
pass to fullback Ryan Neufeld.
"The whole idea was to give him some playing time," McNown said.
"Who knows, I could get hurt driving home tonight. That’s one of
the main reasons to get him in  to make sure he gets
comfortable out there."
One thing remains for sure: The Bruins are comfortable with the
state of Texas. If they ever bring back the old Southwest
Conference, expect the Bruins to be the first ones to sign up.
AARON TOUT / Daily Bruin
Cougar quarterback Jason McKinley loses the ball as he is sacked
by Wasswa Serwanga of UCLA. Jeff Ruckman looks on.