After Monday’s walk-through practice finished up, UCLA
offensive line coach Jim Colletto took the team aside.
UCLA was fresh off an uninspiring 30-20 loss at Oregon, and had
its toughest game ““ a nationally televised matchup with Notre
Dame ““ looming at the end of the week.
Colletto played for the Bruins the last time they faced the
Fighting Irish ““ a 24-0 loss in South Bend, Ind. He served as
Purdue’s coach for six seasons and Notre Dame’s
offensive coordinator for two. After seeing his share of games at
Notre Dame Stadium, he offered some advice for the UCLA
players.
FOOTBALL Saturday, 11:30 a.m. v. Notre Dame
South Bend, Ind. TV: NBC
“He told us that 50 percent of the teams that go there get
beat because they’re just in awe,” redshirt senior
Junior Taylor said. “So we know we need to start (the game)
fast, and not afraid.”
The words of wisdom are fitting for a program that hasn’t
won a road game against a winning team for over four years.
The last time
the Bruins (4-2, 2-2 Pac-10) won a road game over a team that
finished the season with a winning record was against Washington in
2002, before Karl Dorrell assumed coaching duties. The Huskies, who
finished the 2002 season with a modest 7-6 record, represented the
second-to-last win for Bob Toledo in Westwood. Within the month, he
was ousted as coach and Ed Kezirian, who was working in academics
for the athletic department, led the team to a Las Vegas Bowl
win.
Fast forward four seasons. Dorrell, even amidst the storybook
comebacks of a year ago, hasn’t notched that first
“quality road win”. In his three-and-half seasons as
coach, the Bruins are 0-12 against winning teams on the road.
Narrowing the focus down to just this season, Saturday is also a
chance to exorcize the demons from a week ago when the Bruins
couldn’t overcome a flat first quarter.
Given the Bruins’ recent struggles away from the Rose
Bowl, it’s difficult to quantify what a win against the No.
10 Fighting Irish, who showcase Heisman Trophy candidate Brady
Quinn at quarterback and the most storied collegiate football
program, would mean.
Notre Dame comes into the game off a bye week, with the campus
emptied out for the school’s fall break. It’s last game
was a 31-10 win over visiting Stanford, the winless Pac-10 team
that UCLA shut out earlier in the year.
But that’s where the similarities end for these two teams.
Notre Dame dominates with its offense and just holds on with its
defense. UCLA’s on the other end of the spectrum. The
Bruins’ defense is top-10 nationally in total yards while
their offense has stumbled.
On paper at least, UCLA is facing its toughest challenge thus
far. Pat Cowan will be making only his second start in place of Ben
Olson, and has been nursing a sore throat all week. His
counterpart, Quinn, is averaging 273 yards per game in an offense
that’s scoring 30.2 points each time out.
And it’s on the road, at one of the most intimidating
stadiums in the nation.
Last week in Autzen Stadium, maybe the loudest place to play in
the Pac-10, UCLA gave up touchdowns on Oregon’s first three
drives. By the end of the first quarter, it was a 20-3 hole that
the Bruins couldn’t get out of.
That’s the kind of start that Colletto said that so many
other teams fall victim to when they go to South Bend.
But for all these reasons, Dorrell has repeatedly said that he
welcomes the challenge, because these are the kind of games that
can change the complexion of a program. When asked why UCLA pulls
the upset against Notre Dame on Saturday, Dorrell’s answer
was simple.
“Why not?,” Dorrell asked. “That’s why
you coach and play with games like this, with opportunities like
this. “You just try to keep grinding and pushing about trying
to be as good as you can be, and for some reason or another some
weeks when it comes about it comes in opportune times like this.
Why not this week?”
UCLA changed its practice schedule this week, preparing for its
first game in a different time zone. Instead of having the
customary Monday off-day, the team had a walk-through to get in an
extra practice. The team will have another walk-through at 8 a.m.
before boarding a charter plan to Michigan City, Ind. But
it’s going to have to take a lot more than just logistical
changes for UCLA to change its road trip trend.
“That (streak) is crazy,” junior guard Shannon
Tevaga said.”
“(Winning on the road) is something that we really need to
learn how to do,” junior linebacker Christian Taylor
said.
Dorrell starts each season with four goals for his players: to
win on the road, beat USC, win the Pac-10 title and graduate. Aside
from their academics, the Bruins’ goals are interdependent.
It’s tough to win a conference title if you don’t beat
a USC, California or Oregon on its home field.
“We’re treating this like a conference game,”
Dorrell said at the Monday press conference.
While the team still talks about making UCLA nationally relevant
once again, players know that it can’t be done without
marquee road wins. “You only get respect with big
wins,” junior fullback Michael Pitre said. “We have the
chances, and we just have to do it. If we do, then we’ll get
respect.”