RISING FROM THE FALL; PAINFUL '97 LOSS IN PULLMAN PUT BRUINS ON TRACK.Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer For the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX football team, it was an excruciating experience. A lead blown. A prime opportunity wasted. A game lost. And it wasn't even Labor Day Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by the U.S. Congress in 1894. yet. Even now, as the Bruins prepare to face Washington State at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, they can't look back on last year's opener in Pullman, Wash., without a sense of anguish. But mixed in there is another sentiment, one which emerged only with time: the realization that UCLA's prowess of late - a school-record win streak of 12 games - is unmistakably rooted in that day. ``It's no fun falling off a bike when you're learning how to ride it,'' offensive guard Andy Meyers said this week. ``Your dad pushes you downhill and all of a sudden you fall into a planter. That's not fun. But it's fun once you learn how to ride it.'' The Bruins careened through a series of spectacular crack-ups on that late-August day. The most vivid memory has running back Skip Hicks Brian "Skip" LaVell Hicks (born October 13, 1974 in Corsicana, Texas) is a former American football running back in the NFL. In his four seasons, Hicks played for the Washington Redskins and the Tennessee Titans. ``chillin' '' on the sideline at the finish because he was tired and lost track of the down, coach Bob Toledo Bob Toledo (born March 4, 1946, in San Jose, California) is an American football coach, recently hired as head coach at Tulane University. He is best-known as the thirteenth head coach at UCLA. failing to call a timeout because he didn't want to give Washington State opportunity for a comeback, and redshirt freshman Jermaine Lewis Jermaine Lewis (born October 16, 1974 in Lanham, Maryland) is an American football wide receiver in the NFL. A star high school athlete at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, he was a two-time team MVP as a running back while also starring as a sprinter on the track team, setting squirming toward the wrong hole on fourth-and-goal from the 1 and getting knocked to Palouse Falls. But to dwell on to continue long on or in; to remain absorbed with; to stick to; to make much of; as, to dwell upon a subject; a singer dwells on a note s>. - Shak. See also: Dwell that single incident is to wear blinders blind·er n. 1. blinders A pair of leather flaps attached to a horse's bridle to curtail side vision. Also called blinkers. 2. Something that serves to obscure clear perception and discernment. . In the 37-34 loss, UCLA was also penalized pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. 10 times, had a pooch punt blocked, lost a fumble on a bungled bun·gle v. bun·gled, bun·gling, bun·gles v.intr. To work or act ineptly or inefficiently. v.tr. To handle badly; botch. See Synonyms at botch. n. snap and gave up two Ryan Leaf Ryan David Leaf (born May 15, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played for the San Diego Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks between 1998 and 2002. touchdown bombs over the top of the defense. In all, a thorough - and thoroughly distressing - defeat. In football, it's not unusual for such an outcome to send the two participants spinning crazily in opposite directions. However, a bizarre occurrence resulted from this one. Washington State and UCLA followed roughly the same trajectory. The Cougars set off toward their first Rose Bowl appearance in 67 years. ``It just kind of became the rallying point for the rest of the year,'' coach Mike Price said of the stirring victory over UCLA. And the Bruins, after suffering an equally devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. loss at home to No. 3 Tennessee the next week, went to school on the two defeats and promptly embarked on a mission of their own. Toledo can be chiefly credited with the salvage operation. He kept his cool, apparently, and resisted the temptation to turn game plans and lineups upside down. ``The game was a turning point,'' said center Shawn Stuart. ``It was for us to say, `We made crucial mistakes and we didn't play to the level that was expected of us.' ``I remember after that game, coach Toledo turned on the film; it was the special-teams film. And he said, `This is not a great effort. This is not a great effort. This is not a great effort.' It wasn't something he was mad at. It was more, like, `This is what we need to do.' He used it as a teaching tool.'' Toledo also headed off internal discord before it could germinate, a common condition when breakdowns have been so widespread. ``All of a sudden,'' the coach said, ``It's, `I confess . . . the other guy did it.' '' Meyers nodded knowingly. ``There was an intrinsic thing that happened on this team. A coming together,'' the senior lineman said. ``We could have said, `Hey, (forget) the defense. If you can't hold them to less than 34, we can't win.' Or the defense could have said, `Hey, you guys let us down through the whole second quarter. You stuttered and fumbled and flopped around.' Or we could say, `Our special teams stink. We had a punt blocked.' ``Nothing more on our team could have gone wrong that day.'' Said Toledo: ``I think one of the worst things that happens to a football team is people finger-point. . . . That's the one thing I didn't allow.'' But the team-wide emphasis on sharper concentration, more-diligent effort and keener practice habits did not sink in immediately. Players tell of the third week of the season, before a trip to Texas, when a practice session was particularly lethargic. Toledo, in barely contained disgust, stopped practice, called the players together and said, ``Forget it. We're done. Go inside.'' A players' meeting was shortly convened. Finger-pointing? Well, not technically. ``We did call certain individuals up to a higher standard,'' Meyers said. ``They were definitely encouraged to pick it up or get out.'' The Bruins have since drawn on the unpleasant Washington State experience to pull them out of trouble in other games, notably a come-from-behind win last year at Oregon. ``The kids talked about it all the time: Remember Washington State,'' Toledo said. The unpleasant memory has also curbed any inclination toward overconfidence o·ver·con·fi·dent adj. Excessively confident; presumptuous. o  ver·con against opponents perceived as inferior - which, uh, could come into play this week against a Washington State team that lost to Cal last week and appears headed back to its customary positioning in the Pacific-10's second division. ``It was like a slap in the face,'' said Lewis, the former Antelope Valley High back who has spent an entire week of interviews revisiting last year's game. ``It could have been the best thing that ever happened to the program. Sort of like a wakeup call.'' In the 12 games that followed the fateful first two weekends of '97, UCLA, indeed, hasn't nodded off once. WASH. ST. at UCLA Saturday 12:30 p.m. Ch. 7 / 1150 AM ABOUT FACE After losing its first two games last season to Washington State (this week's opponent) and Tennessee, UCLA rolled off 10 straight victories. A look at last year's turnaround: Washington St. 37, UCLA 34 Tennessee 30, UCLA 24 UCLA 66, Texas 3 UCLA 40, Arizona 27 UCLA 66, Houston 10 UCLA 39, Oregon 31 UCLA 34, Oregon St. 10 UCLA 35, California 17 UCLA 27, Stanford 7 UCLA 52, Washington 28 UCLA 31, USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. 24 UCLA 29, Texas A&M 23 BRUIN BOO-BOOS UCLA's botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. plays - and the consequences - in last year's 37-34 loss at Washington State: Pratfall: Cornerback Aaron Roques Roques is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:
Bobble bob·ble v. bob·bled, bob·bling, bob·bles v.intr. To bob up and down. v.tr. To lose one's grip on (a ball, for example) momentarily. n. A mistake or blunder. : Quarterback Cade McNown couldn't come up with Shawn Stuart's snap on third-and-1. The Cougars' Dorian Boose grabbed the fumble out of the air and carried to the UCLA 19, setting up a WSU WSU Washington State University WSU Wayne State University WSU Wichita State University WSU Wright State University WSU Weber State University WSU Western State University College of Law WSU Winona State University WSU Walter Sisulu University touchdown. Misfire: Boose broke through and blocked Chris Sailer's pooch punt and Rob Meier snatched it out of the air and carried to the UCLA 22, setting up another WSU touchdown. Stuffed: Freshman running back Jermaine Lewis was in the game with less than three minutes left because a fatigued Skip Hicks had taken himself out. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Lewis cut back inside on a play designed to go off left tackle. The WSU defense held, preserving a three-point victory. - Eric Noland CAPTION(S): Photo, 2 Boxes PHOTO (Color) Running back Skip Hicks led last year's turnaround. Tom Mendoza/Daily News BOX: (1) ABOUT FACE (see text) (2) BRUIN BOO-BOOS (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion