Bruins win with bag og tricks

Monday, November 11, 1996

FOOTBALL:

Washington State fails to see UCLA’s role in achieving the winBy
Brad Zucker

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The UCLA football team may not be ready to relegate itself to
the role of ‘spoiler.’ And even if Ryan Leaf won’t admit it, the
Bruins played an integral role in spoiling Washington State’s
weekend trip to Pasadena.

Following UCLA’s 38-14 victory over Washington State, the
Cougars’ quarterback was remarkably less than complimentary when
asked about the Bruins’ unorthodox-style defense.

"That defense is crazy," Leaf said. "It’s really kind of stupid.
It puts their defensive backs on an island, and they aren’t good
enough to cover anyone like that.

"It was nothing that UCLA did. We just didn’t make plays."

But when Leaf checks out the game film on Monday, he might be
surprised to notice No. 10 for the Bruins wreaking havoc on the
Cougars’ offensive game plan.

In addition to batting down six passes, senior cornerback Andy
Colbert collected four tackles and picked off a pass to lead UCLA’s
defensive charge. Moreover, Colbert provided the Bruins with a
competitive swagger that seemed to be missing in last week’s
contest against Stanford.

"Andy Colbert did a great job in the secondary," UCLA head coach
Bob Toledo said. "He was very vocal in the locker room before the
game, and I told him that if he was going to talk the talk, he
better walk the walk. And that’s exactly what he did."

On one particular drive by Washington State (5-4, 3-3 Pac-10) in
the first half, Colbert backed up his words on a crucial third-down
play. Cougar split end Chad Carpenter had been having his way with
Colbert on the drive, catching three passes for 53 yards. However,
on third-and-four from the UCLA 12-yard line, Colbert thrust his
body in front of the 6-foot, 204-pound Carpenter (Colbert is 5-8,
167 pounds) to knock away the ball.

"I mentioned the word ‘respect’ in the locker room before the
game," Toledo said. "We felt that since we lost to them the last
two years in a row there was no way they respected us.

"We went out to gain respect. It was a big game. We tried to
knock them out of the bowl picture, and we’re trying to sneak into
a bowl game ourselves."

In keeping with their tradition of stealth tactics, UCLA (4-5,
3-3) unveiled a new treasure from its bag of tricks with the ‘Daily
Bruin.’ Named after the school newspaper, the play features split
end Jim McElroy throwing a long pass to wide receiver Danny Farmer.
In the third quarter against the Cougars, the play worked for a 38
yard touchdown pass, giving the Bruins a 28-7 lead.

"I thought we had him well-covered," Washington State head coach
Mike Price said. "We just didn’t play it well in the air."

The Bruins were able to move the ball effectively throughout the
game. UCLA running back Skip Hicks ran for 116 yards and one
touchdown on 24 carries, becoming the first running back to rush
for over 100 yards against the Cougars this season. The touchdown
came early in the first quarter after a Washington State defensive
back ran right by Hicks on a blitz, leaving him alone in the open
field for a 38-yard scoring sprint.

Hicks also had four receptions for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
His three touchdowns on the afternoon gave him 17 for the season,
tying the school record held by Gaston Green and J.J. Stokes.

Additionally, Farmer pulled in five receptions for a whopping
121 yards and one touchdown.

Offensively, the Cougars struggled throughout the afternoon.
Three-of-17 on third-down conversions, Washington State was unable
to make big plays when it counted. Leaf completed just 20 of 46
passes for 195 yards, making it difficult for the Cougar offense to
find its rhythm.

"We were throwing the ball well down field at first," Carpenter
said, who after catching four passes in the first half was shut out
until the final minute of play. "I guess we kind of went away from
that in the second half."

Washington State’s only score of the first half came on a
one-yard dive on fourth down by running back Michael Black, which
tied the score at 7-7. The Bruins held a 28-7 lead until late in
the third quarter when Leaf hit slot back Shawn Tims in the left
flat, who proceeded to run into the end zone from 11 yards out.

Bruin quarterback Cade McNown clinched the game with a 16-yard
touchdown pass to a wide-open Mike Grieb with less than one minute
remaining. On the afternoon, McNown passed for 230 yards,
connecting on 16 of 32 passes.

Toledo, who indicated last week that redshirt sophomore
quarterback Steve Buck might see action on Saturday, was pleased
with McNown’s performance.

"Cade threw a couple of touchdown passes, which was nice to
see," Toledo said. "He was very focused and intense … The fact
that McNown wouldn’t be in there very long if he didn’t play well
motivated him to play well."

WYNN RUJIRAVIRIYAPINYO

Danny Farmer (87) catches one of his five passes for 121 yards
on Saturday in UCLA’s 38-14 PAC-10 dismantling of Washington
State.