There is plenty of buzz around the UCLA-Washington State game
this weekend.
It just isn’t about UCLA.
In a game that threatens to show the flaws of the much maligned
Bowl Championship Series, No. 7 Washington State (9-2, 6-1 Pac-10)
travels to the Rose Bowl this weekend in hopes of earning a Rose
Bowl berth. Should UCLA (7-3, 4-3) prevail, it will send its
cross-town rival USC (10-2, 7-1) to the Rose Bowl.
“We don’t care about ‘SC. If we win, that is
all we care about,” said true freshman quarterback Drew
Olson.
Because USC is No. 4 in the BCS rankings, it is guaranteed a BCS
bowl, regardless of whether it wins the Pac-10. Thus, if Washington
State wins, the BCS will have two Pac-10 teams and No. 5 Iowa could
get shoved out should one of the BCS bowls prefer to take No. 10
Notre Dame. If this sounds like it makes no sense, well, welcome to
the BCS.
“It’s exciting, we can change bowl pictures, we can
affect the BCS,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. The Bruins
can determine their own bowl picture as well; a win will leave them
tied in third for the conference with Arizona State.
The Bruins could use the ABC national TV coverage after a 52-21
shellacking by USC.
“It always leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you lost
to a team last year,” said sophomore receiver Craig Bragg of
last year’s 20-14 loss to Washington State.
“And we have a lot of respect to gain back after what
happened two weeks ago,” he added.
That respect might be hard to come by against a Cougar offense
that ranks third in the Pac-10 in both total offense and total
defense, putting up 427.4 yards per game while allowing only 341.7
yards per game.
“They are real explosive,” defensive coordinator
Phil Snow said. “Coach (Mike) Price’s best offense is
when they can run it and they can run it this year.”
Perhaps the biggest concern for the UCLA defense will be whether
WSU quarterback Jason Gesser plays on his sprained ankle and if he
can still get the ball off to his huge receivers, Mike Bush, Devard
Darling and Jerome Riley.
“Knowing how tough Gesser is, they are going to have to
put him in a straight jacket to keep him from playing,” Snow
said.
Last year, the UCLA defense kept Gesser in check largely with
the help of sophomore safety Ben Emanuel, who intercepted two
passes, returning one for a touchdown in his first start.
“I’m not trying to repeat it because it probably
won’t happen,” Emanuel said. “Their offense is
pretty tasty.”
Last year, in the second loss of the late-season slide, the
offense cost the Bruins the game with Cory Paus and since departed
Ryan McCann combining for five interceptions.
The Bruins hope to establish the running game with redshirt
freshman tailback Tyler Ebell and sophomore tailback Manuel White,
both of whom have run well all season but were not utilized against
USC once the Bruins were down 21-0 and knocked off their game
plan.
The greatest key to the game may be the freshmen quarterbacks
Olson and Matt Moore who cannot afford to turn the ball over as
they did against USC. In the quarterbacks’ three combined
wins, neither turned the ball over. After splitting reps evenly
again this week, Olson will start with Moore likely to play as
well.
“That wasn’t us out there,” Olson said of the
Trojan humiliation.
They had best figure out who it was before they face a speedy
defense that includes Marcus Trufant, one of the best cornerbacks
in the conference. The Bruins will be without the help of junior
receiver Tab Perry, who sprained his ankle two weeks ago.
“(WSU cornerback Marcus) Trufant had a broken hand and he
was still making plays. As a receiving corps, we are going to have
to pick it up,” Bragg said.
The Bruins’ friends and enemies are waiting to see if they
are made for TV.