Ducks amplify conference race

FOOTBALL Saturday, 12:30 p.m. v. Oregon Eugene,
Ore.

It is the first step into a gauntlet. Beginning this Saturday,
the UCLA football team embarks on a schedule that will lead it into
games against No. 18 Oregon, No. 9 Notre Dame, a tough Washington
State team and No. 10 California. At 4-1 already, the Bruins will
need to make an undefeated run through the Pac-10 teams in that
lineup to have a shot at staying in the conference race. It is
essentially a slate of make-or-break games for UCLA. And arguably
the toughest game comes first. This Saturday, the Bruins will face
Oregon at Autzen Stadium, commonly considered the loudest stadium
in the Pac-10. They are going in with a new quarterback, Pat Cowan,
who has not yet started a game. Their defense will finally be
challenged by the best offense in the Pac-10. They will be
challenged, likely more than they have been at any time this
season. “It’s our first big test,” center Robert
Chai said. “It’s an extremely big game. Whoever loses
could be out of the Pac-10 championship.” The Ducks come in
with the better 2006 pedigree. They beat No. 23 Oklahoma and have
been ranked in the top 25 since the first week of the season. Just
last week they were blown out by Cal and will likely be itching to
defeat the Bruins to still have a shot at the Pac-10 title. All
that is to say that every factor appears to be in favor of the
Ducks. But the Bruins have an ace in the hole. Two years ago, the
Bruins went into Autzen Stadium needing a victory to become
bowl-eligible. They had two games to go, one against Oregon and
another against a dominant USC team. In that must-win situation,
the Bruins broke their four-game losing streak against the Ducks
and came out with a 34-26 victory. “It was a do-or-die
situation for us,” wide receiver Junior Taylor said.
“We were able to go up there and play as a unit. It was
probably one of my better wins since I’ve been here.”
The Bruins figure that experience will help them this weekend.
“I remember the first time going there, it was kind of
overwhelming,” defensive end Bruce Davis said.
“That’s one of the loudest places I’ve ever been
in my life. When we were on the field, you could hear voices in
your helmet just echoing. We’re a little more prepared to go
up there now.” The Bruins incorporated crowd noise into their
practices this week in order to simulate the game-time atmosphere
in Eugene. The Bruins are hoping that, most of all, that crowd
noise will get Cowan adjusted to a truly tough road environment.
The Bruin defense will need Cowan to get acclimated quickly.
Shutting out Oregon is a tall order, so the UCLA defenders will
likely need some offensive production out of Cowan at the
quarterback position. “Just looking at Pat since he’s
come in, he’s a really poised quarterback,” Davis said.
“He’s got a really good arm. He’s going to get
the offense rolling. That’ll take some pressure off us and
allow us to run around, once we’re up by two
touchdowns.” If
the Bruins are up by two touchdowns at any point in
Saturday’s game, the offense could likely call it a day, the
way their defense has been playing of late. With a shutout against
Stanford two weeks ago and only seven points allowed last week
against Arizona, the Bruin defense is playing at a high level and
they are not worried about the Oregon offensive weapons.
“We’ve got to stop (quarterback Dennis) Dixon;
we’ve got to stop their running game,” Davis said.
“Dixon is a good athlete, but I don’t think he’s
faster than (UCLA defensive end Justin) Hickman; I don’t
think he’s faster than me; I don’t think he’s
faster than (Washington quarterback) Isaiah Stanback. “If he
wants to run outside, we’re going to go out there and run him
down. Hopefully, he does that, and he will only do it one
time.” It is a matchup of the statistically best Pac-10
defense against the statistically best Pac-10 offense, and for
once, the Bruins are on the defensive end.