Magnitude mounts impending match

Friday, December 4, 1998

Magnitude mounts impending match

FOOTBALL: Late-season game hoped to grasp spot in Fiesta
Bowl

By Vytas Mazeika

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Since UCLA never really wanted to reschedule the football game
at Miami on Dec. 5, the entire fiasco could turn into a blessing in
disguise.

A game on Sept. 26 would have served as a springboard to the
team’s national championship aspirations, but the game on Dec. 5
provides UCLA with another crucial late-season game to help secure
a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Bruin players feel that the rescheduled game has given the
team a stronger shot at claiming one of the top two spots in the
Bowl Championship Series (BCS) poll.

"Now both teams are more mature. In the end it might help us
more because of the BCS and the rankings," UCLA senior linebacker
Brendon Ayanbadejo said. "We won’t get forgotten in our hunt for
the national championship."

UCLA (10-0) is currently second in the BCS – only four hundreths
of a point behind No. 1 Tennessee (11-0). To add to the suspense,
No. 3 Kansas State (11-0) finds itself more than a point and a half
behind both teams.

Is that insurmountable? No. A game at No. 8 Texas A&M could
help Kansas State force either UCLA or Tennessee out of a national
championship game at the Fiesta Bowl.

In hindsight, the importance of Saturday’s nationally televised
game at the Orange Bowl has helped ease the discontent of Bruin
players and coaches who originally didn’t want to reschedule the
game.

"I’m used to ending the regular season with ‘SC, but this year I
don’t mind ending it later," Ayanbadejo said.

"Also, we get to show the rest of the country what kind of
football we play … and silence a lot of the East Coast critics
who don’t really give the Bruins our due respect."

The magnitude of the game at Miami has fluctuated, thanks to the
performance of the Hurricanes this season.

On Sept. 26 Miami was touted as a young and explosive team that
would get better as the season progressed. The Hurricanes, before
last week’s collapse at Syracuse in a disheartening 66-13 loss,
were in the top 25 and looked like the possible BCS representative
for the Big East.

What looked like a possible upset only a couple of weeks ago is
now regarded as a game that UCLA should easily win.

The Bruins have had an extra week to rejuvenate themselves from
the 34-17 win against Southern Cal, therefore creating expectations
for a blow-out.

UCLA player and coaches, however, are quick to emphasize that
the Hurricanes’ performance against Syracuse should be
discarded.

"I think both teams have improved since the third week of the
season," UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. "I don’t know if anybody
has any advantage more than the other."

"They’ve definitely gotten better," UCLA senior offensive
lineman Andy Meyers said. "We watched their first games, and you’re
looking at a team much like us. They had flaws. Now you’re looking
a much more solid defensive front, and they have great, great
athletes."

UCLA must remain focused on what it has to do, or else a Miami
team with nothing to lose could surprise both the Bruins and the
nation.

The Hurricanes have something to prove to themselves after the
loss to Syracuse. Since Saturday will be the last home game for
their seniors, the farewell to the Orange Bowl only adds to the
emotional edge that the Hurricanes could enjoy.

"Miami has the advantage," UCLA senior flanker Danny Farmer
said. "They just came off a tough loss and they’re gonna want to
beat one of the top teams in the nation."

Of course, the Bruins do have the motivational edge.

Win and they get to play for the national championship at the
Fiesta Bowl. Lose and oust Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA rescheduled the Miami game with one thought in mind –
they’d rather not play Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Instead, the Bruins would rather play Tennessee or Kansas State
in the Fiesta Bowl.

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