Life in the Pac-10 Hectic as Usual
EUGENE, Ore.--After frustrating a high-octane Washington offense, things don't get any easier for the Oregon defense.
The No. 18 UCLA Bruins make the trip this weekend to Autzen Stadium in Eugene, looking for their second conference win of '97. At quarterback, Cade McNown is averaging 286.8 of total offense per game, while tailback Skip Hicks is setting his sights on the Pac-10 TD single season record (23) and career record (53) -- he's only eight and nine away, respectively.
Read up on The Bruins in Today's Football Notebook
ABOUT UCLA . . .
Since suffering a pair of season-opening losses to a pair of top 12 teams, No. 18 UCLA has quickly rebounded, posting three quick wins by an average score of 57-13. Directing the offense, QB Cade McNown ranks third in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency (175.2) and total offense (286.8) after throwing five touchdown passes at Texas and two more a week ago vs. Houston. Hicks has already scored a school-record 44 career touchdowns and is within striking distance of the Pac-10 record 53 by USC's Charles White (1976-79). Neither played in the second half Saturday. Defensively, the Bruins' Larry Atkins ranks second in the country with four interceptions, and owns two fumble recoveries. As a result, UCLA ranks second in the country in turnover margin at +3.80. Kicker Chris Sailer has connected on his last nine field goal attempts.
MEET THE COACH . . .
In his second year as the Bruins' mentor, Bob Toledo has guided the program to an 8-8 record. Serving as offensive coordinator in Eugene for six seasons (1983-88), the former Pacific head coach (1979-82) as well as USC (1976-78) and UCLA assistant (1994-95) has accumulated a Division I head coaching ledger of 20-38, including a 1-1 mark against the Ducks. In addition, offensive coordinator Al Borges served in that same capacity at Oregon in 1995.
A YEAR AGO . . .
Skip Hicks ran for 153 of his career-high 175 yards in the third quarter to pace UCLA's 41-22 win. The Bruins broke away from a 7-7 halftime deadlock with 27 consecutive second-half tallies to hand Oregon its third straight setback. The Ducks, playing without starting quarterback Tony Graziani and tailback Saladin McCullough, could only manage 45 yards rushing as the visitors mustered 288 of their 461 yards total offense in the second half.
TIME CHANGE . . .
Kickoff for Saturday's Oregon-UCLA game is 3:30 p.m.
UCLA STATISTICAL LEADERS Rushing Att. Yds. Avg. TD Game Skip Hicks,tb 107 515 4.8 13 103.0 Keith Brown,tb 34 105 3.1 1 21.0 Jermaine Lewis,tb 10 46 4.6 1 9.2 Passing Att. Comp. Yds. Pct. TD Int. Cade McNown 138 90 1422 65.2 11 2 Receiving No. Yds. Avg. TD Long Jim McElroy, fl 23 486 21.1 3 67 Danny Farmer,se 16 242 15.1 2 40 Skip Hicks, tb 11 187 17.0 2 50 Tackles UT AT FR INT TFL Eric Whitfieldrov 16 8 0 1 2-22 Wasswa Serwanga, rov 18 3 0 1 5-22 Brian Willmer, mlb 14 7 2 0 1-8 LarryAtkins, ss 15 6 2 4 2-10 UCLA PROBABLE STARTERS Offense SE --87 Dan Farmer (6-3, 210, So.) LT -- 71 Kris Farris (6-9,300, So.) LG -- 74 Chad Sauter (6-4, 302, Sr.) C -- 52Shawn Stuart (6-4, 306, Jr.) RG -- 78 Andy Meyers (6-6,306, Jr.) RT -- 69 Chad Overhauser (6-6, 304, Sr.) TE-- 88 Mike Grieb (6-4, 248, Jr.) QB -- 18 Cade McNown (6-1,215, Jr.) FB -- 39 Craig Walendy (6-1, 233, Jr.) TB --42 Skip Hicks (6-0, 230, Sr.) FL -- 85 Jim McElroy (5-10,156, Sr.) PK -- 2 Chris Sailer (5-10, 190, Jr.) Defense DE -- 45 Jeff Ruckman (6-2, 256,Sr.) NG -- 58 Damon Smith (6-3, 264, Sr.) DE -- 9Weldon Forde (6-2, 243, Sr.) OLB -- 57 Danjuan Magee (6-2,255, Sr.) MLB -- 53 Brian Willmer (6-2, 230, Sr.) OLB-- 50 Brendon Ayanbadejo (6-2, 230, Jr.) ROV-- 11 WasswaSerwanga (5-11, 191, Sr.) LC -- 3 Javelin Guidry (5-10,169, Sr.) SS -- 35 Larry Atkins (6-4, 222, Jr.) FS --32 Shaun Williams (6-2, 206, Sr.) RC -- 7 Marques Anderson(6-0, 180, Fr.) P -- 2 Chris Sailer (5-10, 190, Jr.)
