Friday, October 24, 1997
Football preview
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
Sooner or later, UCLA will lose a football game. Just don’t tell
that to the 1997 squad.
The No. 14 Bruins are riding high with a five-game win streak.
The offense leads the nation in scoring average (43.3 points per
game) and in turnover margin (three).
Considering the fact that a struggling UC Berkeley team is
coming to town, those numbers figure to only improve.
The Bruins (5-2 overall, 3-1 Pac-10) have caught fire since two
tough-luck losses – while the Golden Bears (2-4, 0-3) have fallen
to mediocrity since the departure of Steve Mariuchi.
First-year head coach Tom Holmoe, a defense-oriented coach, has
had his struggles, as evidenced by his team’s 63-37 loss to
Washington State last week.
Part of the reason the Bears have experienced problems is the
fact that there have been three different head coaches in the past
three seasons. In 1995 it was Keith Gilbertson. In 1996 it was
Steve Mariuchi. Now, in 1997, it is Holmoe.
"I think (the coaching changes are) very hard on the kids,"
Holmoe said. "One of our coaches put it to the comparison to it’s
like foster parents. These kids have had three head coaches in
three years. It’s like moving from one family to the other."
UCLA, on the other hand, seems to have found stability with
second-year head coach Bob Toledo.
The Bruins have outscored their opponents 245 to 81, scoring at
least 34 points in each game. The defense has only allowed five
touchdowns in the second half – including three with the game out
of reach and second- and third-string players on the field.
"I think people have been spoiled a little bit," Toledo said.
"Everyone expects us to score 66. That is not going to happen. But
when you score twice as many points as the opponent has been giving
up the past couple of weeks, you are doing something right."
With a win on Saturday, the Bruins will garner their sixth
victory – guaranteeing at least a 6-5 winning record.
"We have a chance by winning this football game to have a
winning record and improve from last year," Toledo said. "And
that’s one of the things that I’m trying to do with this football
program. I’m trying to make progress. I’m trying to improve."
But the Bruins still do not seem to draw enough people to their
home games. With only three home games remaining in their schedule,
UCLA drew barely over 38,000 people for last Saturday’s game
against Oregon State.
Now with two games left, homecoming against Berkeley and a
showdown against No. 7 Washington, Toledo hopes that several more
people will choose to come to Pasadena.
"You see that big stadium and you see 38,000 – that’s
disappointing," Toledo said. "Disappointing for our football
players. We kind of joked about it in the Houston game: ‘Guys, it’s
family and friends, baby. We’re playing for family and
friends.’
"It’s their loss if they don’t want to come out and be
entertained and watch winning football."
To make sure fans watch the Bruins win on Saturday, Toledo and
defensive coordinator Rocky Long will have to figure out a way to
both catch punts and stop star wide receiver Bobby Shaw.
UCLA fumbled away two punts last week, and the four turnovers
committed by the Bruins are a big concern for Toledo. Freshman
tailback Jermaine Lewis, who muffed a punt early on, will most
likely be relegated to kickoff duty.
Senior flanker Jim McElroy, who suffered a concussion during the
Oregon game two weeks ago, may not see punt-return duties if the
Bruins can hang on to the ball. Sophomore tailback Mark Reynosa,
who fumbled a punt while trying to return it, will still see more
action as a punt returner. Toledo will also rotate in senior split
end Eric Scott.
While the status of UCLA senior tailback Skip Hicks is still
undetermined (a bruised knee has forced him to sit out the second
half of the last two games), the Bears’ Shaw will try and break
more receiving records against the Bruins.
Shaw already has four 100-yard receiving games (10 for his
career), and last week he became his team’s all-time
receiving-yardage leader with 2,437 yards.
"Bobby Shaw is the best receiver in the conference, one of the
best receivers in the country and he’ll end up being the best
receiver in Cal history," Toledo said. "Very explosive. He hurt us
last year. We have to do something to take Bobby Shaw away."