Stanford Has Been Marching

PALO ALTO — UCLA arrives at Stanford Stadium for a 2 p.m. kickoff today bracing for an opponent that can be hostile and very offensive and has been known to embarrass people.

Never mind the Cardinal band. It will come with the usual politically incorrect mirth, picking on something like, oh, just guessing here, maybe that handicapped-parking thing. Bruin Coach Bob Toledo figures band members might wear blue placards on their heads, but leaders of the renegades scoff, declining to preview the strafing but insisting it will show a lot more brass than that.

Genuine worry is saved for the Cardinal football team, which has been tough on UCLA this decade and now is also a concern to the rest of the Pacific 10 Conference. This group can offer something far more chilling than creative headgear.

Hostile? Stanford has won its first two conference games, against likely doormat Washington State and one-time favorite Arizona, by 37 and 28 points, respectively.

Very offensive? The Cardinal scored 54 and 50 points in the process, breaking that plateau in consecutive games for the first time in the history of a program that started in 1891. UCLA, with the reputation for such pyrotechnics, has gotten there twice in its last 18 outings.

Embarrass people? Kickoff in Tucson last week was 7 p.m., meaning the game lasted until about 10:30. Arizona Coach Dick Tomey was so disgusted at what transpired that he ordered players and staff back for a 7 a.m. practice the next day and questioned how any of them had earned the right to sleep in the interim.

And now 18th-ranked UCLA gets it all today in its Pac-10 opener. Trouble. Danger. Ulcers for the defensive coaches.

An opportunity.

Hey, they wanted it. Bruin defenders insisted this season would be different, promised they had learned from the disaster of ‘98, said they were motivated by the criticism. All they needed was a chance to prove it.

Be careful what you wish for.

“To see what type of character our defense has,” said Joey Strycula, the starting free safety. “They run the ball great and they pass the ball great. If we can shut them down, I think we’ll feel pretty confident.

“I think each game we play it’s going to be, ‘We’ve got to go out and gain respect.’ And this game, since they have a great offense, is definitely going to help us out if we do well.”

Said defensive coordinator Bob Field: “I think a team would naturally do that. Hopefully they do that every week, they don’t pinpoint one game a year and say, ‘This is our coming-out game’ or ‘This is our game to prove ourselves.’ You really hope that they develop an attitude and have the attitude that they’re going to prove it every week. But I would say this is our biggest challenge to date in terms of the quality of offense that we’re going against.”

Stanford has earned that respect, after being crushed by Texas, 69-17, in its opener. Bombing Arizona for 578 yards of offense--364 through the air and 214 on the ground--will do that, and it wasn’t about piling up the numbers during garbage time. The Cardinal had a 30-7 lead at halftime, a week after jumping ahead of Washington State, 38-10, at that stage.

The passing attack is always there, of course--John Elway, Steve Stenstrom, Jim Plunkett, Guy Benjamin. It was even there during the 3-8 finish of 1998 with Todd Husak from Bellflower St. John Bosco High. Husak is seventh on the Cardinal career lists in yardage and touchdowns and last week had his fifth 300-yard game.

The son of Loyola Marymount Athletic Director Bill Husak passed for 419 yards against UCLA last season at the Rose Bowl in a 28-24 Bruin victory. The potential for another barrage remains, because the UCLA secondary remains a weak spot and because of the surrounding characters.

Flanker Troy Walters already has 21 catches this season, putting him in line to break the conference all-time records for receptions and yards. DeRonnie Pitts had 74 catches in ’98 and has 13 so far in his senior season, for a team-high average of 17.2 yards per catch. Dave Davis, Pitts’ backup, is also a deep threat. The Cardinal will have the better set of receivers today, not the beat-up Bruins.

Running back Kerry Carter is the newcomer. The freshman from Toronto, who spurned UCLA’s recruiting efforts, moved into the starting lineup last week, scored three first-half touchdowns and pushed his per-carry average to 4.7 yards, nearly two better than Bruin DeShaun Foster. Stanford has run for at least 100 yards in the first three games, matching its total for all of 1998, and the 214 yards marked the greatest output in the last 20 games.

“I think a good game against them would definitely prove something and show something,” Bruin defensive tackle Ken Kocher said. “But I also think it’s going to be a season-long thing. Just going out and playing the one game is really not going to make it all of the sudden, ‘Oh, they’re good.’ ”

In this one, the defense must either play well or have to face the music.

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NEW BEGINNING: Bruins haven’t forgotten about defense of Pac-10 title. Page 8

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REPORT, Page 8