OFFENSE “¢bull; QB Bradlee Van Pelt is a threat to run or pass,
and he is as tough as they come. On one play in last Saturday’s
game against Colorado, he ran in for a touchdown, then promptly
turned and threw the football into the helmet of the defender
trailing behind him. “¢bull; UCLA head coach Bob Toledo says that
the Bruins may not face a better running back than Cecil Sapp,
whose hard-nosed, physical style of defense could wear down the
Bruin defensive front. He had an eight-yard run against Colorado in
which he ran over and carried Colorado defenders into the end zone.
“¢bull; WRs Joey Cuppari and Chris Pittman are talented, but they
have been inconsistent to date. Only Cuppari has a receiving
touchdown. “¢bull; The offensive line, led by guard Morgan Pears,
is solid, but was severely weakened by the loss of tackle Aaron
Green. Now, redshirt freshman Mike Brisiel will make his first
career start, and look for UCLA to take advantage. “¢bull; Colorado
State likes to run its offense out of an H-back set. This is so
H-back Joel Dressen, who is an impressive 6 feet, 6 inches and 247
pounds, can also get on the field. Expect a lot of draws, bootlegs
and options to fully utilize Van Pelt’s athletic ability. The
Rams also like to wear down their opponents; Sapp should get 20-25
touches, with Van Pelt running the ball roughly 15 times as well.
DEFENSE “¢bull; The Ram defensive line is led by end Peter Hogan,
who leads the team thus far with 1.5 sacks. They also have end
Andre Sommersell, who stepped up over the summer and has continued
his stellar play into the season. “¢bull; The linebacking corps is
the heart of the defense. It’s so deep that they’ve
moved David Vickers to strong safety, and he’s now leading
the team in tackles. Eric Pauly and Drew Wood are experienced and
strong. Adam Wade is the odd man out, and, after having started the
past two years, is sitting behind Doug Heald this season. “¢bull;
The secondary was originally considered a weak point, with
cornerback Dexter Wynn the only bright spot. But players have
stepped up ““ namely safeties Vickers and Landon Jones.
Vickers is a ball hawk and Jones has already come up with big plays
at the right times. The Rams remain thin at cornerback, but they
still have to be pleased. SPECIAL TEAMS “¢bull; Colorado
State’s special teams may be the best in the nation. Punter
Joey Huber is a Ray Guy candidate, and Wynn, who primarily plays
cornerback, is still second on the team in all-purpose yards simply
because of his returns. Kicker Jeff Babcock had five key field
goals in the season opener against Virginia. FOOD FOR THOUGHT There
are two schools of thought on how the teams’ starting date
plays out. On one hand, Colorado State has had a chance to get two
games under its belt, but on the other hand, Colorado State has yet
to see the 2002 Bruins. SCARY NUMBER 23: number of career starts
for junior linebacker Adam Wade; because of the talent of the Ram
linebackers, he hasn’t started a game yet this season. THREE
KEYS FOR VICTORY 1. Keep fresh bodies in the game. This will help
negate the Rams’ being in game shape due to the two games
under their belts. Additionally, both of Colorado State’s
victories were determined on the final drive of the games, and the
energy expended is bound to wear out some of UCLA’s players.
2. Gang-tackle Sapp. At 6 feet, 1inch and 225 pounds, Sapp is a
load to bring down. Limit his options, fill the holes and tackle,
tackle, tackle! 3. Spy on Van Pelt. He ran the ball 15 times for 74
yards against Colorado. Needless to say, if the Bruin cornerbacks
have defended well downfield, he’s not one to just sit in the
pocket and take a sack. Ideal candidates would be UCLA safety Matt
Ware or middle linebacker Marcus Reese. BOTTOM LINE When Colorado
shut down Colorado State’s running game in the second half,
the Ram offense sputtered. Provided UCLA has better success
throwing the ball than Colorado, the Bruins should be able to get
into football mode quickly enough. UCLA should be able to pull it
out, although it will be closer than most fans would have believed
before the season.