In his first away game as a head coach, Saturday,
Arizona’s Mike Stoops will try to do what no other opponent
has done this year ““ harness UCLA’s speedy tailback
Maurice Drew. But if anyone is going to stop Drew, Stoops’
Wildcats could be the team to do it.
Saturday’s game against Arizona at the Rose Bowl will pit
UCLA against one of the better rush defenses in the conference
““ a defense that will be gunning to stop Drew.
“Stoops’ defenses are always very, very
sound,” UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. “That’s
what he’s done at Arizona. He’s put in a defense
that’s pretty good. It’s characteristic of what he
does.”
Through its first four games, Arizona has held opponents to just
2.9 yards per carry and the defense has only allowed 13.8 points
per game on average. Finding a way to attack the Wildcats’
fearsome front seven will be crucial if the Bruins (3-1) are going
to avoid what would be a very damaging loss.
Arizona (1-3) is one of just two teams left on UCLA’s
schedule that is below .500. With road games at undefeated
California and Arizona State next up on the schedule, this is close
to a must-win game for UCLA.
To do that, the Bruins must solve Stoops’ defense.
A first-year head coach, Stoops has carried over his stellar
defensive reputation from Oklahoma, where he was the defensive
coordinator that produced one of the nation’s most fearsome
defenses for five years. In Arizona’s last game two weeks ago
against Washington State, the Wildcats held the Cougars to just 35
rushing yards on 28 carries.
“We know that coach Stoops is doing a great job with the
defense,” said Drew, who is averaging close to 167.2 rushing
yards per game and already has tallied seven touchdowns this year.
“It’s going to be a tough game so we have to go out and
fight.”
Though Arizona has won just one of its four games so far this
year, its record is deceptive. Two of those losses came against
ranked teams, Utah and Wisconsin, and opponents have only outscored
the Wildcats by a total of two points.
Arizona’s most recent loss was a one-point heartbreaker
against Washington State, when the Wildcats missed a last-second
field goal attempt that would have given them the win.
With UCLA having ridden Drew and the rest of their running game
the last three weeks, Arizona hopes to minimize that
production.
“You just want to be able to slow them down,” Stoops
said. “I don’t think you’re going to stop them.
You have to attack the line of scrimmage. You have to attack them
and can’t let them create seams.”
If the Wildcats are able to contain Drew and fullback Manuel
White Jr., the pressure will be in the hands of the Bruins’
receiving corps sans Craig Bragg, who will miss at least one more
week with a separated shoulder.
But even before it lost Bragg, UCLA hasn’t had the same
success throwing the ball as they have running.
Quarterback Drew Olson has yet to find his true comfort zone,
especially in the first half of games, and completed just 16 of 36
passes last week in the Bruins’ 33-10 win over San Diego
State.
“I don’t know what it is,” said Olson of his
better second-half performances. “It’s not that I
don’t feel comfortable in first half. It’s just
something that I’ll have to figure out.”
Still, the Wildcats will need to have a significant defensive
outing if they want to secure their first conference victory
because their offense has struggled. Quarterback Kris Heavner has
had trouble all season and turnovers have plagued the team.
But Arizona will head into their first road game of the season
confident they can challenge UCLA. Last year, the Bruins had to
steal a victory in Tucson, coming from 11 points behind at halftime
to eke out a three-point win.
“We talked about it earlier in the week,” Dorrell
said. It was the same elements as (last season’s) game, when
we played them after their bye. We were humbled. We were fortunate
enough to win, but it was one of those wins you were just lucky to
get out of.”
With the Bruins riding a three-game winning streak and Arizona
on a three-game skid, UCLA looks like a heavy favorite this
weekend. Considering what’s left on the schedule for the
Bruins, they cannot afford a letdown.