The past two Saturdays, as Colorado State stunned Virginia and
then beat in-state rival Colorado, all the UCLA football team could
do was sit back and watch. This Saturday they will have a say in
whether or not Colorado State goes 3-0. “They don’t
know what we have coming out,” senior quarterback Cory Paus
said. Neither do Bruin fans. With the departure of the 2001 class
of 23 seniors and the arrival of a top-10 recruiting class, no one
knows what to expect. The only thing certain after a summer without
an official starting quarterback is that Paus will start and true
freshman Drew Olson will play in the second quarter. “This is
not a quarterback controversy. We’ve got a long football
season and if anything happens, I want to be prepared,” UCLA
head coach Bob Toledo said. With Olson and up to eight other true
freshmen plus ten redshirt freshmen appearing in the first game of
their careers, Colorado State’s two-game experience means
even more. “I believe they have a huge advantage,”
Toledo said. “I saw progress already (from their first to
second game).” Game management, including substitutions, and
live tackling are Toledo’s main concerns. And he is not
alone. “I’m so nervous,” true freshman tight end
Marcedes Lewis said. Lewis’ talent is unquestionable and the
coaches have already designed plays for him. But like many young
players, he is just starting to get all the plays down. The offense
will contend with an aggressive Ram defense that utilized zone
blitzes and posted three sacks in their first two games.
“They’ve got motors. They keep running,”
sophomore tailback/fullback said Manuel White who will start at
fullback and serve as the reserve tailback behind junior Akil
Harris. UCLA’s defensive line can take solace in the fact
that the Rams have given up six sacks in two games. The answer to
controlling the Ram offense may simply be to tackle, but it
won’t be as easy as it sounds against Ram quarterback Bradlee
Van Pelt and running back Cecil Sapp. “We better stop the
running game,” UCLA defensive coordinator Phil Snow said.
“They (Sapp and Van Pelt) are both really good players.
It’s fun to coach against guys who like to play.” Sapp
is back after missing the entire 2001 season with a benign tumor on
his heel. In his first game back against Virginia he rushed 25
times for a career-high 178 yards. He followed that up with 80
yards and two touchdowns against Colorado. Van Pelt rushed for 74
yards and threw for 168 against Colorado. He has always been able
to run, but improved his arm strength after last season, before
passing for a career-best 229 yards against Virginia. “We
can’t simulate their quarterback (in practice) because our
quarterbacks don’t run,” Toledo said. The game will be
a homecoming of sorts for Van Pelt, a Santa Barbara native, and the
20 or so other Southern Californians on the Rams. With such
players, Colorado State head coach Sonny Lubick built his program
up from an anonymous Mountain West team to a top-25 contender
during his ten-year tenure. “To be honest, I’m
wondering how we’re doing it,” said Lubick, who has
been able to recruit more and more Southern Californians that UCLA
and USC do not take. “We’re still not a great, great
team, but we’re playing real good,” Lubick said. He
pointed to team chemistry, that elusive ingredient the Bruins have
been looking for. With their victory over Colorado, the Rams
climbed to No. 19 in the AP poll. Since UCLA is unranked, a victory
would technically be an upset. Yet the Bruins have more to lose
than gain given that people expect a program of UCLA’s
caliber to win. UCLA is favored by a 7-point spread. “Being
UCLA, we are always looked at in the limelight,” senior
cornerback Joe Hunter said. Even Lubick seemed to expect a UCLA
victory before his own season started. “I’m probably
being too honest, I hope my players don’t get mad at me, but
I thought we could be 0-4 before we got out of the box,” said
Lubick in reference to their tough non-conference schedule.
Saturday, the Bruins will see if they also are “playing real
good.” It’s time to get out of the box.