Wednesday, October 30, 1996
FOOTBALL:
Despite poor statistics, UCLA played great game on Saturday By
Brent Boyd
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Kind of funny that in a game where the defense surrendered 514
yards of total offense and allowed the opposing quarterback to
break the school’s passing record with 435 yards, that the
defensive squad would be highly praised by the coaching staff. But,
that’s the case this week in the wake of UCLA’s 38-29 victory over
California Saturday.
"I think the defense performed very well," defensive coordinator
Rocky Long said. "We were playing a safe defense at the end when
they got a lot of those yards."
Indeed. Cal gained 166 yards (151 of those through the air) on
its final two drives, after UCLA had already gone into its prevent
defense, holding on to a 38-21 lead.
Whereas on paper it seemed as if the Bruin defense gave up
incredible numbers, they were actually putting up incredible
numbers.
Seven times the defense sacked Cal quarterback Pat Barnes, who
had only been sacked nine times all season. They allowed Barnes to
complete less than half of his passes. They held the then-No. 3
rusher in the Pac 10, Brandon Willis, to only 64 yards on 17
carries. The entire running game only gained 79 yards.
Of particular note on defense, according to the coaching staff,
was cornerback Andy Colbert, who was awarded defensive player of
the game honors by the coaching staff.
Colbert, who started in place of the injured Paul Guidry, had by
far his best performance of the year. He made five tackles,
intercepted a pass, broke up three others and forced a fumble.
"He played very well," head coach Bob Toledo said. "He really
did a nice job and he gave us some leadership out on the
field."
* * *
Other player of the week honors went to Greg Andrasick on the
special teams and Skip Hicks on offense.
The coaching staff praised Andrasick for continually kicking the
ball deep on kickoffs and making a tackle on one return. Hicks
gained 249 yards of total offense and scored four touchdowns, his
second four-touchdown game of the season.
* * *
After throwing for an incredible amount of yards and losing, Pat
Barnes should not feel alone. In fact, it is becoming an ever
present trend in the Pac-10.
Thus far into the season, four times a Pac-10 quarterback has
thrown for over 390 yards (including Cade McNown’s 395 against
Arizona State) and all four have lost.
Conversely, the top four rushing performances in conference
games (including Hicks’ 175 against Oregon) have all resulted in
wins.
* * *
Prospects are looking good for a Bruin bowl berth  that is
of course, if you believe in trends.
UCLA continued its trend on Saturday of staying undefeated
against teams unranked by the Associated Press, but winless against
those that are ranked.
Of the Bruins’ final four opponents (Stanford, Washington State,
Arizona and USC), none are currently ranked.
* * *
The game time for the Nov. 9 matchup with Washington State at
the Rose Bowl has been determined.
It will begin at 12:30 p.m. to accommodate ABC-TV and a regional
television audience.
FRED HE/for The Bruin
Andy Colbert was named UCLA defensive player of the game.