UCLA Another Hurdle for Oregon State Coach

It has been a mere seven years since Oregon State last beat UCLA. Fourteen years since Oregon State beat UCLA in Los Angeles. Fifteen years since Oregon State has had a winning season.

So it’s not at all surprising that when Oregon State plays UCLA this afternoon at the Rose Bowl, it will be with a new coach.

What is surprising is that Dave Kragthorpe, 52, would be that new coach. At the age of 50, after 28 years of coaching, Kragthorpe became the athletic director at Utah State, his alma mater.

That’s the kind of job a guy earns after 28 years of sweating out wins and losses. That’s the kind of job a guy sees as a reward. Put your feet up. Relax.

Why, at 51, would he jump back into the fray?

“Very simply, because I found that I did not like being an athletic director,” Kragthorpe said. “After 18 months, I didn’t like the type of work and I didn’t feel comfortable in the situation I was in. It was different coming back after 25 years. What is it that they say? ‘You can never go home again.’

“I thought that I was young enough to finish up as a football coach. My schedule for retirement changed when I made that decision. I don’t mean that I plan to be coaching when I’m 65 or 70. But I have a few years of coaching left in me.

“But I can fully understand why people would wonder what I was thinking. I think a lot of it depends on the individual. Some people leave coaching and find they need it for their ego. That didn’t matter to me. But when I left coaching, I found that I missed dealing with people. Not just the players. An athletic director doesn’t have the same kind of direct contact with people that a coach has.”

But why Oregon State? There are easier jobs. Oregon State is going into today’s game the underdog by more than 30 points. Did it have to be Oregon State?

“This is, maybe, one of the toughest three or four jobs in the country,” Kragthorpe said. “But I’ve taken jobs like that a couple of times. When I went to Idaho State, they had lost 16 straight.

“It would be ridiculous to say it’s a challenge. Obviously, it’s a challenge. But it’s also very rewarding. You see the job to be done and you see the progress.

“I think our attitude is very upbeat at Oregon State. People feel we’re doing the job right. We’ve only won three games this year, and I thought we might have won a couple more. But we’re heading in the right direction.”

Three games are more than Oregon State won all of last season. And one was an upset at Washington.

The Beavers did suffer a major setback when their redshirt freshman quarterback, Erik Wilhelm, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth game. His replacement had to be a first-year freshman, Rich Gonzales.

Also, the Beavers’ star player, receiver Reggie Bynum, has been playing with a knee injury.

“We’ve had some problems this season, but I think that, overall, we are getting the program into shape,” Kragthorpe said. “We run a pretty tight program. We expect certain things of the players. The alums expect certain things of the players. And we’re beginning to see those things happen.”

Kragthorpe knows what it’s like to be a part of a winning program that keeps the players on the straight and narrow. From 1970 through 1979 he was an offensive coach at BYU.

“We have a way to go at Oregon State, but I feel good about the future,” Kragthorpe said. “I’ve been supported as well as I could possibly hope for. I think everyone associated with the program feels very positive about it.”

Bruin Notes UCLA is 7-1-1 overall and leading the Pac-10 with a 5-1 record. Arizona State has a 4-1 conference record. If UCLA wins its last two games--against Oregon State today and against USC next Saturday--the Bruins will play in the Rose Bowl game New Year’s Day. Oregon State’s record is 3-6 overall, 2-4 in the conference. . . . UCLA and Oregon State have met just twice since UCLA was upset at Corvallis in 1978, 15-13. UCLA won, 34-3, in the Mirage Bowl at Tokyo in 1980 and 26-17, at the Rose Bowl last season. The series dates back to 1930, with UCLA holding a 24-9-4 advantage.

UCLA split end Mike Sherrard, who has been waiting for a cracked collarbone to heal, will wait at least one more week. Sherrard said at practice Thursday that it was giving him no pain, and that he was willing to start playing, but that the doctors don’t think it is strong enough to take a hit yet. He’s hoping to be back in the lineup for the game against USC. . . . Tailback James Primus, who also has a shoulder injury, may dress for the game, but Coach Terry Donahue does not expect him to play. . . . Nose guard Terry Tumey, who sprained his ankle last Saturday, will not play. . . . Strong safety Craig Rutledge is out indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee Sunday. . . . Fullback Mel Farr, who had a bruised breastbone, will start.

UCLA’s John Lee, who kicked four field goals against Oregon State last season, has got 17 field goals and 27 extra points. He leads the team with 78 points. Lee has 75 regular-season field goals, three short of the NCAA career record set by Luis Zendejas of Arizona State. Going back to last season, and including the Fiesta Bowl, Lee has a streak of 21 straight field goals. . . . Lee leads the league and is tied for 12th place nationally in scoring, averaging 8.7 points a game. Quarterback David Norrie leads the league and is 11th nationally in passing efficiency. The Bruin offense leads the league and ranks 16th nationally in scoring with an average of 29.3 points a game. . . . Inside linebacker Tommy Taylor, who is averaging 7.2 tackles a game, was named last week as a finalist for the new Dick Butkus award, which will be given to the outstanding linebacker in the country.

Oregon State receiver Reggie Bynum ranks fifth in the nation in receiving with an average of 6.4 catches a game. In eight games, he has caught 51 passes for 601 yards and 7 touchdowns. Washington State Coach Jim Walden called Bynum “the finest wide receiver in the country.” Said Donahue of Bynum: “Much to his credit, he has been playing injured. He’s a superior player, but he has not been at his best the last few games.” . . . OSU quarterback Rich Gonzales has completed 86 of 165 passes (.521) for 922 yards and 3 touchdowns. . . . Darvin Malone is the leading rusher for OSU with 515 yards.