JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The Bruins receive a penalty for a face mask grab by senior
safety Marques Anderson during the UCLA-Oregon
game last Saturday.
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Contributor
The football gods giveth, and the football gods taketh away.
Cory Paus will return to take center stage Saturday against Arizona
State, but safety Marques Anderson will not suit up for the
contest.
Paus, who has not seen action since the first series in the
Alabama game, says he is fully recovered from a shoulder injury
suffered on the first play of the season.
“I feel good,” he said after practice on Tuesday.
“The last few days I’ve been throwing the ball a lot
harder.”
The redshirt sophomore looks to take over a team that has been
struggling with the passing game. Against Oregon, the Bruins were
unable to throw against a Duck defense that set eight men on the
line of scrimmage, virtually neutralizing DeShaun Foster.
“This is not a panic thing,” UCLA head coach Bob
Toledo said. “We are not worried or panicked. Cory was the
starter before he was hurt, and now that he’s healthy he is
the starter again.”
Paus will have a tough task at hand to beat the Sun Devils.
Arizona State enters the contest undefeated, with victories over
San Diego State, Colorado State and Utah State. Colorado was ranked
No. 25 when the Sun Devils burned them, but it is clear that
ASU’s preseason schedule was slightly easier than
UCLA’s.
In addition, UCLA will be without a key defensive starter.
Safety Marques Anderson will miss the game due to a medical
procedure. Athletic department officials declined to specify what
was wrong with Anderson, saying only that he should be back in time
for the game against Cal in two weeks. Anderson was not available
for comment.
The Bruins will have to contend with a Sun Devil team that has
rushed for over 400 yards and passed for over 700 yards.
 JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Junior flanker
Freddie Mitchell catches a pass which was declared
out of bounds. UCLA was defeated 29-10 by Oregon State. The Bruins
face Arizona State this weekend at the Rose Bowl.
Anderson has been one of the anchors of the Bruin defense thus
far. The 6-foot, 200-pound junior has risen above off-field
problems to become one of the better safeties in the Pac-10.
Without him, UCLA will need to adapt to a smash-mouth Arizona
team.
The Bruins are already without star defensive end Kenyon
Coleman, who is out at least four more weeks with a knee
injury.
“Someone’s going to have to step up and fill the
spot,” junior linebacker Robert Thomas said.
“They’re going to come out and try and run the ball
down our throats. We have to try and force them to pass.”
The Sun Devils, who are off to their first 3-0 start since 1996,
have shown so far that they can pass the ball efficiently. There
were early season question marks surrounding the availability of
senior quarterback Ryan Kealy, but redshirt freshman Jeff Krohn
stepped in to fill the void.
Krohn threw four touchdown passes last week against Utah State,
but Kealy may see time as well on Saturday.
But the nation’s attention will be on Paus and how he
performs in his second stint this season.
The redshirt sophomore will be looking to make an impact on a
Bruin defense that has seemed stagnant since the Alabama game. If
the Bruins are to make a run at the Pac-10 title, Paus will have to
lead the way.
“Cory looked good,” Toledo said of Paus’
practice performance. “He seemed to be throwing the ball
pretty well.”
Paus will have to the throw the ball very well against Arizona
State if UCLA is to have success. The Sun Devils intercepted three
balls last week against Utah State. Senior Nijrell Eason leads the
team with two, and ASU has had at least one in each game this
year.
The game is particularly important for UCLA because of last
week’s poor showing in Eugene. The Bruins want to have a
strong showing and get back on track in the Pac-10.
“The Oregon game was a humbling experience,” flanker
Freddie Mitchell said. “It’s going to be a lot better
this week. I love our home field. The students are back this week.
It should be a lot better.”
Every game is a big one after losing the Pac-10 opener.
Saturday’s game could be one of the key games of the season.
If the Bruins are able to right the ship after the Eugene tempest,
it should be clear sailing until Nov. 11, when UCLA travels to
Seattle to face Washington.
Who knows what the football gods will provide Saturday. The
Bruins hope it will be a victory and much-needed momentum heading
into the bye week.