Sunday, August 25, 1996
UCLA’s optimism generates from past victory at Rose BowlBy Brent
Boyd
Summer Bruin Senior Staff
Bob Toledo has repeatedly said he’s been on a honeymoon for the
past nine months.
Two weeks from now it will come to an abrupt end, and more than
100,000 of his worst enemies will be awaiting his arrival.
102,485 to be exact.
That’s how many orange-clad Tennessee fans will be in attendance
at the Bruins’ Sept. 7 football opener at Knoxville, Tenn.
However, the least of his worries come opening weekend will be
the crowd at Neyland Stadium, now college football’s largest.
The No. 2 Volunteers, led by preseason All-American Peyton
Manning, should be enough to give Toledo and the rest of the UCLA
football squad nightmares.
"(Tennessee) has got all of the pluses on their side at this
point," the first-year head coach said. "They will have the
experience of having played a game, it’s in their stadium, they’ve
got an All-American quarterback, etc."
Whereas most pundits agree that the game will be decided by
halftime, senior safety Abdul McCullough is more optimistic about
UCLA’s chances of repeating its 25-23 victory over the Volunteers
at the Rose Bowl two years ago.
"I think we have as much, if not better, chance of beating them
as they do of beating us," McCullough said.
Toledo believes that the victory over the Volunteers two seasons
ago could give the club some confidence.
"The thing that will help us the most is that we can tell our
players we beat Tennessee," Toledo said.
However, the similarities between the 1994 matchup and this
season’s opener are few and far between.
First of all, two years ago the Bruins opened the season at No.
14 while the Volunteers were only one notch above. This year, for
the second time in 16 seasons the Bruins will not be ranked, while
many favor Tennessee to claim the national championship come New
Year’s Day.
Secondly, only three Bruins from that victorious squad remain
with UCLA Â McCullough, Phillip Ward,and Paul Guidry,all on
the defensive side of the ball.
Playing in the friendly confines of Pasadena, the 60,000 fans
gave the Bruins somewhat of a home-field advantage. But, it will be
nothing like what they will encounter in Tennessee.
"I don’t think it’s a great edge," Tennessee head coach Phillip
Fulmer said. "I think usually the home team has a slight edge, but
it really comes down to what you do on the field."
He can’t argue with the fact that during his four-year stint at
Tennessee, his club is 20-2 in Knoxville.
"There’s no question that Neyland Stadium gives the team an
edge," UCLA offensive line coach Steve Marshall said. "Their whole
team should be energized by the crowd. There are extremely faithful
fans there."
Marshall should know, having coached at Tennessee the past three
seasons.
Finally, the last time the two schools met, Peyton Manning was a
third-string freshman quarterback that saw action after the two
players ahead of him fell to injuries.
Two years later, the junior quarterback is the leading candidate
in the race for the Heisman Trophy.
"The fact that I have played against him will make me less
intimidated," McCullough said. "He’s a great quarterback, probably
best in the country, but when you see him as a third-stringer I
won’t be as impressed as the youngsters are now."
One thing is for sure, the coaching staff is impressed.
"Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the country and we
better have a lot of respect for him," Toledo said. "He could be
playing for a number of teams in the NFL right now."
Manning is the school record holder with 2,954 yards passing and
244 completions in one season, and ranks 5th on the Tennessee
all-time total offense leaders after only a season and a half of
starting.
"To stop him, we’ll try to give lots of looks and lots of
pressure," Toledo said.
Trying to stop Manning is only one key to surprising Tennessee.
The other one is for the offensive line to stop the Volunteer
defense led by junior defensive end Leonard Little’s team-leading
11 sacks in 1995.
The Bruins return only one starter on the line and how they
protect McNown and set up the run could determine if UCLA will have
any success.
"I’ve been real pleased with the progress so far," Marshall
said. "We are getting better every day, but, we’ll have to wait to
see how they perform on game day."
The one advantage that UCLA can take into Knoxville is that the
Tennessee coaching staff will know nothing about the Bruin game
plan. It being the Bruins’ first game under a new coaching staff,
the Volunteers know not what to expect.
Meanwhile, Tennessee hosts UNLV Aug. 31, giving UCLA a chance to
scout the opposition.
***
UCLA held a scrimmage Aug. 24 at Spaulding Field.
Cade McNown completed nine of 22 passes for 101 yards and threw
one interception, while back-up Steve Buck was 9-of-15 for 108
yards.
Skip Hicks ran the ball five times for 45 yards, including a
40-yard touchdown run, while freshman Durrell Price gained 40 yards
on eight carries.
Tennessee’s Peyton ManningPATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin
Senior safety Abdul McCullough gives UCLA more than a fair
chance to defeat No. 2 Tennessee.