Bruins keep season hopes, tradition alive

  Photos by KEITH ENRIQUEZ and DAVE HILL/Daily Bruin Senior
Staff Homecoming Kings

By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Reporter

This game is big.

It may not seem like it at first glance, but Saturday’s
game between the UCLA Bruins and the Stanford Cardinals has a huge
impact on the rest of the season.

Both teams are currently 2-3 in Pac-10 play, yet each has a
chance to earn a trip to Hawaii for either the Hula Bowl or the
Aloha Bowl.

In addition, Saturday’s game is homecoming, a time when
alumni and students rejoice together in the glory of their football
team.

“It’s important to uphold the tradition,”
linebacker Ryan Nece said. “Sometimes the younger guys
don’t realize it, but this game is very important. The alumni
come back, and it really means a lot.”

To commemorate the event, coach Bob Toledo will utilize the
serpentine huddle for the first play. Toledo does this to honor
former UCLA coach Red Sanders, who led the Bruins to the national
championship in 1954.

“A lot of old-timers like that,” Toledo said of the
huddle, which breaks with the players winding back and forth in a
snakelike manner. “They tell me to do it so we’ll
continue to do it.”

  Homecoming Kings Aside from all the
tradition surrounding a homecoming game, the Bruins must focus on
the contest at hand to avoid slipping out of the bowl race.

“This game is very important,” Nece said.
“It’s the difference between being bowl eligible or
being an average team.”

The Bruins should come into the game with some momentum after
last weekend’s win in Tucson. Behind the legs of quarterback
Cory Paus, UCLA snapped an eight-game road losing streak.

“We are just looking to get back to the basics,”
Paus said. “We should be able to use our momentum in this
game.”

The Cardinals , for its part, is a difficult team to judge. The
same team that beat Texas early in the season and nearly beat
Washington last week has had trouble producing consistently.

The team is led by seniors defensive lineman Willie Howard and
wide receiver DeRonnie Pitts.

  Homecoming Kings

“They’re a pretty good team,” sophomore
cornerback Ricky Manning said. “We know they’ve got
pretty good players. We’re very similar teams.”

One of the premier matchups of the game will be Manning against
Pitts. Manning is coming off one of his best games of the year with
two interceptions against Arizona.

Defensively, the Bruins seem to be adjusting to their patchwork
lineup. Last week the unit held Arizona scoreless in the second
half, something they have not done all year.

In addition, the defense intercepted Wildcat quarterback Ortege
Jenkins four times, another first this year for the Bruins.

Despite losing several key players to injuries, UCLA must
contain the Cardinals if they hope to win.

“They have a very balanced attack,” linebacker
Robert Thomas said. “Pitts is the key to their offense. We
need to go in there, play physical, and work on the
fundamentals.”

Last year, the Bruins played a forgettable game in Palo Alto.
UCLA was victimized by a 97-yard touchdown catch and run by
Stanford’s Troy Walters. Backup quarterback Joe Borchard, now
in the Chicago Cubs farm system, passed for more than 400 yards and
the Bruins dropped the game 42-32.

The last time the teams played in Pasadena, UCLA won 28-24 when
Bruin safety Marques Anderson stripped Stanford wideout John Allen
of the football just as Allen reached the goal line to preserve a
Bruin victory.

This year’s homecoming game has a deeper meaning than
usual. UCLA has a chance to gain a bowl berth, but the team must
win Saturday to stay eligible.