Not so fast, my friends
Not so fast, my friends
Don't think UCLA will be beaten so easily. The Bruins were caught napping two weeks ago by Colorado, but they are on edge this week (see article below). Also, they may be a team of highly recruited party animals, but they do make plays now and then. Their QB, Cory Paus, is not what I would consider a playmaker, but he shredded the Beavers last year. Bruins have a load of fast runners at the skill positions. Call this one tight. In my humble opinion, this is not a game to step out on.
Road to Corvallis is full of potholes
CollegesUCLA will again tred carefully, having already known the highs and lows of playing Oregon St.
By LEE JENKINS
The Orange County Register
CORVALLIS, ORE. ? As the UCLA seniors travel the back roads to Reser Stadium one last time today, Ricky Manning will remind them to stretch.
Their legs. Their backs. Their memories.
"The first time we came here," Manning said, "I forgot to stretch. I never got loose and I was never prepared. I was just a freshman, but that was the worst day I ever had."
His classmates nod in agreement. By now, the seniors have come to Oregon State so many times, they could tell a visitor how to get here. And how to escape.
They have literally seen Corvallis in the storm and in the sunshine. This was where their careers collapsed, with a 55-7 loss as freshmen, and climaxed, with a 38-7 victory last season.
So when a scheduling quirk revealed that the Bruins (3-1 overall) would play here a third time in four years, again in their Pac-10 football opener, the seniors were half expecting it.
This place should have a special page in their yearbooks. It should be referenced at commencement. It is where UCLA goes to measure its progress and make its most permanent memories.
On the first visit, the Bruins suffered their most lopsided beating in more than 70 years and most one-sided ever to Oregon State (4-1, 0-1 Pac-10). UCLA came home with several injuries and more than a few lasting scars.
But the Bruins somehow healed in time for the return trip, when they played their most complete game in three seasons. With Oregon State hyped as a national championship contender, UCLA stole that title for itself.
"That's where we experienced our lowest low, and our highest high," senior tackle Mike Saffer said. "Emotionally, what happened that first year was extremely difficult for a young team to get over. The drubbing lasted a long time."
Saffer broke a rib last week, but he is making the trip north and said he wants to start. When it comes to Oregon State, the Bruins always seem to have increased incentive.
Manning remembers fans taunting him after he was hurt on the field. Quarterback Cory Paus can still hear people chanting profane nicknames in his direction. And offensive tackle Bryce Bohlander, who is from Oregon and usually takes more abuse than anyone, recalls the most stinging insult of all.
"When we were freshmen, a lot of people thought Oregon State ran up the score on us," Bohlander said. "That was very discouraging to the guys on this team. That's why we were so happy to win big there last year. We want to do it again."
They have learned to relish retribution. After practice this week, UCLA coach Bob Toledo explained to the underclassmen exactly what it felt like to get blown out by seven touchdowns. He wanted them to understand the burden of the past, carried by every senior on the team.
"It's definitely not out of my system yet," senior linebacker Marcus Reese said. "I've still got bad memories, and I'm coming at them one more time."
When Reese and the other seniors reminisce about their first trip to Oregon State, many of them point to Manning. The star defensive back was toasted for a pair of early touchdowns, but then came back with an interception and a crushing hit that knocked tailback Ken Simonton out of the game.
Manning's personal comeback set the tone for the entire series.
"The next time they came up here, they gave us a total rear-end kicking," Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson said. "It was ugly, total dominance by one team over the other. They were by far the most physical team we played, and they're physical again."
For many of the Bruins, the two-lane highway into Corvallis was the road leading them into their college careers - and is now the path leading them out.
They have already come here and expunged the past, winning some degree of respect. On this final trip, they are stretching for something more.
