Bruins powered up for massacre of Stanford

Published: Friday, October 30, 1998

Friday, October 30, 1998

FOOTBALL: No.1 UCLA just dying to cut down lowly Cardinal's hopes

By Vytas Mazeika

Daily Bruin Staff

UCLA head coach Bob Toledo will show up to the Rose Bowl at 3:30 p.m. on Halloween dressed as one of 10 finalists for college coach of the year.

The Bruin football players will take the field egged with the label of No. 1 in the country.

And Stanford will join the Bruins in the Halloween festivities by fulfilling their role as Ichabod Crane to UCLA's Headless Horseman.

The Bruins (6-0 overall, 4-0 in the Pac-10) just finished a three game stretch in which they faced the top defenses in the conference. And now the hapless Cardinal (1-6, 0-4) are crawling into town for what could be a massacre - Freddy Krueger style.

Will Stanford roll over and play dead? The Bruins aren't counting on such a treat, and so the defense is preparing to meet an offense which put up 38 points against Arizona State last Thursday.

"We never know what to expect from our opponents, except to expect their best," said cornerback Ryan Roques. "We're the Bruins, and we're the No. 2 team in the nation, so every team is going to get up to play us."

Roques knows opponents will not ease up on them and allow the Bruins to easily claim the national championship. But Roques also mentioned that a more talented Bruin squad should beat Stanford if they execute their plays and play hard.

Since UCLA's last three opponents - Arizona, Oregon and Cal - are either ranked in or close to the top 25, Toledo has made sure that his team doesn't suffer from a letdown this week against lowly Stanford.

"I see (my players) as very intense, I see them as very focused, and there is no time to relax," Toledo said.

One of the top priorities for the Bruins is to make sure their players either get or stay healthy.

Freshman tailback Deshaun Foster's left knee has improved dramatically, and he could even sees some playing time against Stanford. But Toledo emphasized that this scenario will only happen in emergency circumstances.

All-American place kicker and punter Chris Sailer, who has been bothered by a strained groin all season long, has made progress as well.

Yet cornerback Marques Anderson hasn't practiced all week, and Eric Whitfield may step in to take his place if things don't improve by Saturday afternoon.

With Toledo at the helm, the Bruins shouldn't really worry about shuffling the line-up a little. For the second consecutive year, Toledo has made the cut for coach of the year.

"That's a tribute to the staff and the team," Toledo said. "I wouldn't get that award if it wasn't for them. And again, it's an honor to be considered for that award."

The nomination also says something about the current status of the UCLA football program.

Opposing teams must feel like it's Halloween every day, as UCLA's high-powered offense often puts a scare into them.

The latest tribute to the Bruins' rise in the ranks of the college football elite comes from the Bowl Championship Series poll.

UCLA is No. 1 in the new computer poll, designed to match up the top two teams in one of the four big polls for a championship game.

"We like to see the polls and what people think about us," Roques said. "But we take it week by week, because the polls aren't going to mean anything if we lose a game."

And since there is no stranger day than Halloween, the Bruins will make sure Stanford doesn't kill their championship hopes on Saturday.

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