Two turnaround teams with something to prove clash Saturday

Thursday, November 13, 1997

Two turnaround teams with something to prove clash Saturday

FOOTBALL:

UCLA to play deciding game in pathway to Bowl games against
another miracle comeback team, the Washington HuskiesBy Brent
Boyd

Daily Bruin Staff

It’s seems only fitting that this weekend’s matchup between UCLA
and Washington will take place only a few miles removed from
Hollywood, because when Bob Toledo and Jim Lambright lead their
respective teams through the tunnels of the Rose Bowl Saturday,
they’ll be walking into the world of fantasy and impossibility.

The winner of this game will have a great chance of advancing to
the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day.

It just couldn’t have happened this quickly.

The stories of the two programs’ incredible turnarounds are
markedly different ­ while UCLA’s dates back to only the
middle of September, Washington’s stems from four seasons ago.

Two months ago, the Bruins stood at 0-2 after heartbreaking
losses to Washington State and Tennessee. The chances of reaching
any bowl game looked bleak, and the chances of reaching the Rose
Bowl were even less.

To reach the Rose Bowl, the Bruins knew they would have to win
all seven of their remaining conference games, quite a task
considering UCLA had won only six of its previous 17 games dating
back to the last four games of the 1995 season.

Well, so far, so good. After shocking Texas, 66-3 in Austin Sep.
13, UCLA ran off five consecutive conference victories by an
average score of 35-18 and has risen to the Top 10 for the first
time since the 1993 season.

With a victory over Washington and another over USC Nov. 22, the
Bruins are basically assured of advancing to a high-profile bowl
game — whether it be the Rose, Cotton, or an Alliance berth.

"I would be lying if I didn’t say this is exciting," Toledo, in
only his second year as UCLA head coach, said. "But, I didn’t dream
that we would be in this position right now ­ I didn’t expect
to be here this far, this fast."

Neither did Lambright.

Lambright took over a program in shambles two weeks prior to the
start of the 1993 season, when legendary head coach Don James quit
in protest of punishments to the program as a result of a Pac-10
investigation into violations.

The violations ranged from star quarterback Billy Joe Hobert
receiving improper loans from a family friend and players getting
paid for summer jobs that they didn’t really do, to players getting
complimentary fruit baskets at a hotel during a road trip.

What resulted was a two-year probation ­ no bowl games in
the 1993 or ’94 seasons, limited TV appearances, and perhaps, most
important, the loss of 10 scholarships each year.

The Huskies suffered over the next few years. Having advanced to
the Rose Bowl in each of the three previous seasons, after the
violations, Washington had three consecutive four-loss seasons
before going 9-3 last year and 7-2 so far this season.

The seniors that will take the field for Washington Saturday
were the freshmen that withstood the punishments and coaching
changes four years ago. They could have very easily transferred,
but decided to stick it out in Seattle.

Lambright credits players ­ like linebacker Jason Chorak,
free safety Tony Parrish, and tailback Rashaan Shehee (who is
injured) ­ for turning the program back into a powerhouse.

"The seniors that have gone through the sanctions have really
held this team together," Lambright said. "They are the freshmen
who were sitting there the day Don James quit and they had no
reason to stay.

"They’ve been my whole point of pride the whole time I have been
here. I couldn’t want more success for a player than I want for
these players."

Two more wins, and these players couldn’t ask for anything more
either ­ they’ll be playing in the Rose Bowl.

* * *

The time for the UCLA-USC football game won’t be determined
until after the Pac-10 games this weekend.

ABC is taking advantage of a clause in its contract with the
conference that allows the network to choose which game to televise
only six days in advance.

A Bruin victory over Washington would mean that the crosstown
rivalry game would have a direct impact on the Rose Bowl race, and
thus ABC would probably choose to televise the game, meaning a
12:30 p.m. kickoff.

However, if UCLA loses Saturday, the network would most likely
choose to broadcast the Washington-Washington State contest
instead, because it would determine the Pac-10 championship.

If ABC does not televise the UCLA-USC game, it will start at
3:30 p.m. and be televised on Fox Sports West 2. Let the
complaining begin.