UCLA bearing down on shaky WSU

Tag : bearing news

For some Pac-10 football teams in varying degrees of desperation,the onset of October means looking to modest goals — likeimprovement, rather than the trinkets they give away at bowl games.
Two of those that seem to qualify, Washington State and UCLA,square off at the Rose Bowl today, and the Bruins (1-3) have a legup on the Cougars (1-4) in the area of advancement.
UCLA has had an uneven start, nipping Tennessee in a memorableopener for first-year coach Rick Neuheisel, getting trounced atBYU, 59-0, and then competing well before a five-point loss toFresno State. Meanwhile, the Cougars have endured two Pac-10 lossesin which they surrendered 129 points.
"In the offseason, there were two coaching changes in theconference," noted Paul Wulff, the first-year WSU coach. "UCLA andWashington State. And if you just watch film, you can see why."
Each team has had severe offensive-line problems, in large partbecause of what their previous staff left behind. And both areplaying third-string quarterbacks — Kevin Craft of UCLA andMarshall Lobbestael of WSU.
But WSU has played even more poorly on defense than offense, whileUCLA has at least parlayed several respected players — withthe alignments of coordinator DeWayne Walker — into aworkable defense.
"Eventually, we're going to kick in the door," Neuheisel said.
So varied and significant have WSU's problems been that the Bruinsare as large a favorite (17 points) as their average points scored.
For WSU, the latest setback was a handful of practice injuries atmidweek, particularly at running back, where Chris Ivory hurt ahamstring and Logwone Mitz rolled an ankle. Dwight Tardy is thuslikely to start at tailback, and with those two questionable, hemight not have many breathers.
Asked whether he saw improvement in any facet this week, Wulffsaid, "Defensively, kids seem to be executing and playing with moreof a purpose in practice, which was good to see.
"Offensively, same thing. On a couple of warm days, the kids cameout and slugged through it, just to get better."
Wulff lauded defensive lineman Matt Mullennix and tight end BenWoodard as veterans who academically "didn't have to come back,"but are "making just a great impression with the young guys on theteam."