The UCLA football team has lost two conference games in a row as
well as their starting quarterback and probably his backup to
injury.
And now, Stanford (2-4, 1-2 Pac-10), the team that beat UCLA
(4-3, 1-2) last season to start a four-game slide, visits the Rose
Bowl on Saturday and has the Bruins seeing red.
“There’s something inside of me that wants to kick
the (expletive) out of the red,” junior defensive tackle Ryan
Boschetti said. “The red is dead this weekend. I’m
almost promising it.
“We’re overdue. If we lose this third game in a row,
which isn’t going to happen, you’re going to see a lot
of people jump off the ship,” he said.
Predicting a win? Despite that UCLA, who lost their last two
games to Oregon and Cal by a total of six points, is sinking
fast?
A win could happen.
“Definitely there’s a sense of urgency,”
freshman tailback Tyler Ebell said. “Nobody wants to lose
three games straight or even one game.”
It doesn’t help that the Bruins aren’t sure who
their starting quarterback will be. True freshman Matt Moore, who
was expected to redshirt the season, will most likely get the
nod.
Senior Cory Paus broke his ankle, and true freshman Drew Olson
separated his shoulder during last week’s game.
Olson has an outside chance of starting, and redshirt freshman
John Sciarra, who was ineffective in relief against Cal, is another
option.
“Regardless of what happens, we’re going to start a
freshman quarterback,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said.
The banged-up Bruins are also without tailback Manuel White and
defensive tackle Rodney Leisle.
Stanford is also unhealthy at the quarterback position. Junior
Chris Lewis injured his shoulder last week, so the starter will be
redshirt freshman Kyle Matter.
Matter and Moore were teammates at Newhall Hart High School and
highly touted signal callers. Moore, with only one year of
experience playing quarterback, played safety in high school.
Stanford has struggled this year under first-year head coach
Buddy Teevens. During a three-game losing streak, the Cardinal
allowed 44 points.
They did, however, beat Arizona 16-6 last week.
“This is a happier week for us,” Teevens said.
UCLA, meanwhile, is in no mood for fun and games. The smiles
that came with a 4-1 start to the season are all but gone.
“We’re not going to let what happened last year
happen this year,” senior tight end Mike Seidman said.