COLLEGE FOOTBALL ’87 : COACHES, PLAYERS, TEAMS AND TRENDS TO WATCH THIS SEASON : UCLA’s Fine Depth Went on Display in Romp Over Aztecs

Eight running backs gained ground in UCLA’s opener Saturday night, and five of them--Gaston Green, Eric Ball, Mel Farr, James Primus and Mark Estwick--scored touchdowns.

Carnell Lake, who might have been a ninth, made himself more useful by intercepting a pass, breaking up another, making six unassisted tackles and assisting on another, and sacking San Diego State quarterback Todd Santos three times for losses totaling 30 yards.

Which explains why, when Lake was coming out of Culver City High School as one of the leading rushers in the state three years ago, the Bruin coaches asked him to become a linebacker.

Not that the Bruins are exactly short of linebackers, either.

UCLA is loaded with talent, two-deep at most positions, three- and four-deep at some. It showed in the easy 47-14 victory over San Diego State, as Coach Terry Donahue let everybody get in the game and there was never an apparent drop in productivity.

Green, who carried 19 times for 135 yards, made his last run with more than five minutes to play in the third quarter. Green said that going into the opener he was a little concerned about how all the preseason buildup would affect him. “I was more nervous than I thought I would be,”’ he said. “But once I got going, I settled down.”

The opener also confirmed the Bruins’ depth at quarterback. Troy Aikman was impressive in his debut as the Bruin starter, completing three passes to split end Flipper Anderson, three to tight end Joe Pickert, one to tight end Charles Arbuckle and one to flanker Paco Craig. Brendan McCracken came in to demonstrate his rushing ability (by gaining 47 yards) and his ability to complete passes, finding tight end Corwin Anthony and flanker David Keating.

Which also gives an idea of UCLA’s stable of receivers.

All of which explains how the Bruins came to be ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press poll.

Every last Bruin might be needed Saturday, though, when UCLA plays No. 2-ranked Nebraska in Lincoln. Nebraska also made a show of its strength in its opener, a 56-12 romp over Utah State.

In analyzing the Bruins’ first showing, Donahue said, “The only negatives were our two fumbles (Primus lost one and Darryl Henley lost one on a punt return) and the loss of Billy Ray.”

Ray, a junior outside linebacker form Huntington Beach, was taken to the UCLA Medical Center Saturday night for X-rays, which showed a broken left leg. He’ll be out for about six weeks.

Ben Hummel, who transferred from Southern Methodist last spring, most likely will move up in the depth chart to back up Melvin Jackson.

Ray was also the special teams captain.

Surely somewhere on that Bruin bench there will be someone who can fill in for him.

The Bruin coaches spent the day Sunday in the film rooms preparing for the Nebraska game, which will be nationally televised by ESPN and will certainly determine whether the Bruins deserve their national ranking.

As Donahue said after the game, in praising his running backs and giving credit to his offensive line: “We’ll know more of how well we run the ball next week. It’ll be quite a different situation.”

Bruin Notes

UCLA has scored in 182 straight games, the second-longest streak in National Collegiate Athletic Assn. history. The longest, 186, belongs to USC in 1967-83. . . . If the AP poll doesn’t change, and there seems to be no reason why it should, UCLA will go into its game at Nebraska Saturday ranked No. 3 and Nebraska will be ranked No. 2. It will be the first time that a game between two teams in the top three will be played in Lincoln, Neb. Somehow, all the Oklahoma-Nebraska games that have involved those rankings have been played in Norman, Okla. . . . Postcards were mailed out Saturday night updating Gaston Green’s statistics for writers around the country. He now has all-time totals of 2,768 yards in 521 carries for an average of 5.3 yards. Green has a string of eight consecutive games of 100 yards or more. . . . UCLA took Sunday off but will be back on the practice field today, Labor Day or no Labor Day. It’s a game week, and the Bruins are sticking with their usual preparations. . . . Darryl Henley’s 74-yard punt return was the Bruins’ first return for a touchdown since Ray Armstrong went 62 yards to score against Syracuse in 1966.