A hot quarterback and a declining running game are forcing UCLA coach Terry Donahue to rethink his idea of the perfect football game.
You see, Donahue has always felt that the ideal team would throw for 250 yards, run for 250 yards and win by a point.That scenario seemed to work for much of Donahue's career at UCLA, as he compiled a .740 winning percentage in his first 13 seasons and set an NCAA record by winning seven straight bowl games.
In the past two seasons, however, UCLA has gone 3-7-1 and 5-6. A defense that gave up 30 points a game was a big reason for the stumble, but lack of a dominant running game has hurt, too. For instance, while sophomore QB Tommy Maddox was averaging 259 yards passing in the nine games he started last year, right in line with Donahue's ideal, the running attack managed just 142 yards a game. And that figure was padded with big performances against teams like Oregon State and San Diego State. And to top it all off, the Bruins lost their leading ground-gainer to graduation.
All during practice this fall, Donahue said that one of the team's primary goals would be to find a No. 1 tailback to team up with bruising fullback Kevin Smith, a proven performer. So far, no one has stepped up and seized the job, so Donahue said he could use as many as six players at tailback Saturday against No. 25 BYU (0-1) in the Rose Bowl.
"It is imperative that we have the ability to move the ball on the ground, to make our passing game even more effective," Donahue said, sounding a lot like BYU coach LaVell Edwards.
"We definitely have the personnel (to run)," said offensive guard Scott Spalding. "We have to have some series where we pound the ball and establish ourselves as a running team."
With so much uncertainty about the run, though, it seems likely that Maddox will be the guy the Bruins count on to get their season started right. Last year, Maddox set Pac-10 freshman records for passing yards and total offense after replacing Jimmy Bonds as the Bruin starter in the third game of the season. He completed 182 of 327 passes (55.7 percent) for 2,682 yards and 17 touchdowns, with 14 interceptions. This year he's touted as a potential All-American and Heisman Trophy candidate. One preseason publication reported that pro scouts rate him the third-best pro prospect in the college ranks, behind David Klingler of Houston and Eric Hunter of Purdue. He's probably the main reason UCLA is a consensus pick to finish third in the Pac-10, behind Washington and USC, and why they are ranked No. 23 on the Associated Press poll.
Maddox was great last year, however, and the Bruins still floundered through a mediocre season. Donahue said the big reasons were inexperience and injuries. This year, he said, his team has 14 starters back and is in good shape.
"We enter this first game the healthiest we've been since the year of our Cotton Bowl win (1988 season, against Arkansas, 17-3)," Donahue said this week.
For a lot of coaches it would just be excuse-making to talk of injuries, but there has to be some logical reason for the Bruin decline, and health does make sense. It can't be lack of talent, because UCLA's recruiting classes over the past 10 years have always been in the Top 10, frequently in the Top 5. Over that same decade, Donahue has had as many as 10 players in one year drafted by the National Football League. This season, 34 of Donahue's former players are on NFL rosters.
So, as seems to happen every season, expectations are high for this UCLA team. Whether they will live up to those expectations is anyone's guess, but the players claim to be ready for a change.
"We've had a long haul the last two years," Spalding said. "We have very dedicated players who are here for only one reason, to get UCLA back into contention."