UCLA’s Arbuckle Out for 3-4 Weeks : Donahue to Move Mel Farr From Fullback to Tight End

The catch that tight end Charles Arbuckle came up with as he fell to his knees and slid across the Rose Bowl field early in the second half of UCLA’s game against Oregon Saturday was his 20th of the season.

Arbuckle, a sophomore who is turning the tight end position into a key offensive weapon for the Bruins, ranks as the team’s leading receiver, ahead of split end Flipper Anderson and flanker Paco Craig.

But that sliding catch was the last Arbuckle will be making for a while. He tore cartilage in his right knee on that play and had to be helped off the field. He underwent arthroscopic surgery at the UCLA Medical Center Saturday night and, although he was hobbling around campus Monday, he is expected to be out for three to four weeks.

Normally, that would mean the next couple of players in the three-deep chart would move up. But UCLA Coach Terry Donahue has some other plans.

Next in line are Corwin Anthony, a talented but not-quite-ready-for-prime-time freshman, and Joe Pickert, a senior who has been able to play only about 10 downs again because of a nagging shoulder injury.

The plan? Move starting fullback Mel Farr to tight end and start working Randy Austin, the red-shirt freshman who scored on the fake punt, more at tight end and less at linebacker.

Farr is 6 feet tall, weighs 218, is a strong blocker and has caught 9 passes this season for 84 yards and a touchdown. In the Bruins’ ever-changing offensive scheme, he has lined up a few times at tight end already. Besides, behind him at fullback is James Primus, who certainly has shown that he can handle that spot.

As for Austin? “He’s inclined to want to stay on defense,” Donahue said. “But we’ve talked about it and he knows we’re in the conference race and a lot of players have to make sacrifices.

“I told him he got more publicity for that one touchdown than he did in two years of playing defense. He made the move willingly. And we’ll still use him on defense.

“Austin was a very good tight end in high school (at Canyon High in Canyon Country). He played both ways, tight end and linebacker.”

Still, it’s hard to replace a starter more than halfway through the season.

“The loss of Arbuckle is significant,” Donahue said. “He had a great knack for getting himself open. That’s why the quarterback found him so often. . . . Time and time again he kept drives alive with key catches for first downs.

“He’s a big loss.”

Although the Bruins and the Ducks were sliding around on the wet field all day, Donahue did not think that the condition of the field had anything to do with Arbuckle’s injury. Donahue said that the films showed that a defender fell on the back of Arbuckle’s knees after he was down.

And Donahue added: “Some of the players have told me that Charles felt something snap when he went up to catch a high pass in the end zone, too.” That pass was too high to be caught, but he came close.

“The (Rose Bowl) field was in the worst condition we’ve ever had it in,” Donahue said. “I don’t know how to explain it. Our liaison with the Rose Bowl people is checking it out. It was marshy, soggy, slippery. It looked like it had been watered for a week, and we haven’t had any rain.

“We wanted a fast track for playing Oregon, but I knew as soon as I stepped on it that it was too wet. (Quarterbacks) Troy Aikman and Brendan McCracken both fell for 10-yard losses, and (cornerback) Dennis Price slipped on a pass that they completed. I saw a couple of Oregon players fall, too.

“There was something wrong with that field.”

The irony is that teams visiting Oregon the last few weeks had been complaining that the Ducks had too much water on their artificial turf.

Bruin Notes Because ABC will televise UCLA’s game against Cal at the Rose Bowl Saturday, game time has been changed to 4 p.m.

UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman continues to lead the nation in passing efficiency, even after a game in which, according to Coach Terry Donahue, he was “not sharp.” Aikman completed 19 of 29 Saturday for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had one pass intercepted. Told that Aikman had completed 65%, Donahue said: “And I’m ticked off! That just goes to show how accurate the guy is and what we’ve come to expect from him.” . . . UCLA also leads the nation in turnover margin with a +2.17. Aikman plays a major part in that statistic because he has given up just one interception in six games.

Aikman’s first pass last Saturday gave UCLA the NCAA record for scoring in consecutive games. The Bruins have not been shut out since 1971. They have scored in 187 straight games, breaking the record held by USC. Donahue said on Monday that if he had known the fake punt was going to overshadow the record, he would have saved the play for another day. “Do you realize how many players had a part in setting that record?” Donahue said.

Senior Ken Norton is one of 16 finalists for the Butkus Award, presented annually to the nation’s outstanding linebacker. He’s averaging 10.8 tackles a game.

Cal Coach Bruce Snyder on UCLA running back Gaston Green: “Gaston Green, that’s a very scary thing. Most of my career I’ve coached linebackers, so I’ve seen some good ones. I think Gaston Green is just a great player. . . . Figure these statistics: Washington gains 441 yards against Oregon and loses; USC gains 422 yards against Oregon and loses; UCLA gains 280 and wins by 31 points. But, as Donahue said, “There are a lot of ways to win. UCLA leads in conference scoring and in turnover ratio. Those are key stats.”