UCLA Finds Itself in a Confidence Game : After Losing and Winning in Routs, Bruins Must Prepare for 49ers and Pac-10

For UCLA, the Pacific 10 chase is just around the next team, in this case Cal State Long Beach, which of course means that it is time for the Bruins to assume the proper mental stance.

So what’s it going to be this week? What do the Bruins have to guard against now? There are always two choices, depending on what happened the week before.

Underconfidence, perhaps.

This was what the Bruins wanted to avoid after falling a scant six touchdowns short of beating Oklahoma.

How about overconfidence?

That seems much more likely this week, certainly after blowing out San Diego State and with Long Beach already firmly established as Saturday night’s victim at the Rose Bowl. The 49ers could be the only team the Bruins will face this season that must score its nickname to win. Long Beach has already lost to San Diego State, a team the Bruins beat by 31 points, but that was when UCLA was an overwhelming favorite.

Underdog one game, top dog the next. It sometimes sounds pretty confusing, even to the UCLA players.

“We’d all have to be psychology majors to deal with all the ups and downs we’re supposed to be going through,” quarterback Matt Stevens said.

There are many things that can go bad in a game, and Stevens participated in most of them at Oklahoma, so he pays particular attention when Coach Terry Donahue talks to the players in team meetings about what to guard against.

At UCLA, these sessions are called Strategic Harms Limitation Talks.

Here is a sample, offered by Donahue. The lesson is on the effects of overconfidence:

“Most people are saying, ‘UCLA should beat Long Beach State,’ ” Donahue said. “Let me tell you that it’s really tough playing with that attitude. When you have that kind of attitude in a sporting contest, you’re setting yourself up for a lot of trouble.”

Although that is not exactly bold new thinking by Donahue, it is a credit to his players that all of them don’t tune him out.

“The guys have to listen,” center Joe Goebel said. “Most of them do. I try to hear what he has to say because one of the best things he does is to prepare us on the mental aspects of a game and the emotions.”

It would be wise for all the Bruins to listen this week. Believe it or not, the Long Beach game is a critical one for UCLA. Since the Pac-10 race is probably going to be tight, as usual, nonconference victories are valuable because they count in tiebreaking proceedings. So, UCLA cannot afford a slip-up.

Neither can the Bruins get off to a flying start in their Pac-10 schedule if they fall flat on their backsides in the game before it all starts.

Actually, it isn’t enough that the Bruins just beat Long Beach. They must also play well. After all, Arizona State and Arizona are already in line and waiting for the Bruins next.

“How can we prepare for Arizona State and the Pac-10 if we stumble around and squeak past Long Beach?” Goebel asked. “We need to aim for winning the game and winning it big. We need to go after their throat and go for the jugular.”

Better remember all that stuff about overconfidence.

There was a lump in Donahue’s throat the last time UCLA played Long Beach. The overdog Bruins played like litter runts and escaped with a 23-17 victory in 1984 at the Rose Bowl when John Lee kicked three field goals.

Have the Bruins forgotten this game? Do the 49ers still remember it?

“Our players have very long memories,” Long Beach Coach Mike Sheppard said.

The Bruins need pretty good memories themselves to think back to just before the start of the season, when they were ranked fourth in the national polls. Four teams from the Pac-10 leaped ahead of UCLA, which now is No. 16. They are No. 6 Washington, No. 10 Arizona, No. 11 Arizona State and No. 12 USC.

“We’re not real concerned with who’s ahead of us right now,” linebacker Ken Norton Jr. said. “As long as they’re not still ahead of us at the end. I know there’s a lot of people high on other teams, but when all is said and done, UCLA will be right up there.”

Bruin Notes Kickoff at the Rose Bowl will be at 7 p.m. Saturday. After the game, UCLA will put on a fireworks show. . . . In four seasons of playing home games in the Rose Bowl, the Bruins are 18-4-2, counting three New Year’s Day victories. . . . Free safety James Washington, noting that the Bruins will open the conference season against Arizona State, then will play Arizona, said the Pac-10 is probably stronger now than it has ever been. “Nowadays, you don’t want to play nobody first,” he said. . . . Coach Terry Donahue said that sophomore cornerback Darryl Henley is becoming the Bruins’ big-play man. Last Saturday night at San Diego State, Henley returned a punt 36 yards. In the opener, he returned an interception 73 yards at Oklahoma, setting up the field goal that gave UCLA its only points. It was the longest interception return by a Bruin in nine years. Henley believes the best is yet to come. “I think I’m about ready to break (a punt return),” he said. “Our special teams are going to become a real asset.” . . . If Jim Alexander’s bruised knee doesn’t permit him to start at left guard, Donahue said that 6-4, 265-pound freshman Frank Cornish would take Alexander’s place.