UCLA Warms Up in Hurry Against San Diego St., 59-6

As tuneups go, UCLA’s 59-6 rout of San Diego State Saturday night at the Rose Bowl was nothing less than spectacular.

On an oppressively hot night in the Arroyo Seco, the Bruins scorched the overmatched Aztecs, whose new defense was no more effective than last season’s, which ranked 98th among the nation’s 104 Division I schools.

“We didn’t know what they were going to do with a new defensive coordinator,” UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman said. “But it didn’t pose much of a problem.”

Obviously.

UCLA hadn’t scored this many points since 1976, when it rolled over Washington State, 62-3, in Coach Terry Donahue’s first season.

And San Diego State hadn’t been beaten so badly since 1960, when it was roughed up by Fresno State, 60-0.

Aikman, warming up his arm for next week’s showdown against No. 2-ranked Nebraska and launching his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy, threw for 155 yards and 3 touchdowns, completing 13 of 17 passes before taking a seat on the bench in the third quarter after the Bruins had rolled up a 38-0 lead.

“It was important for us to play well with Nebraska coming up next week,” Aikman said. “Next week is going to be the true test.”

By the time the game had ended, Donahue had used four other quarterbacks, including Andy Miller, a junior walk-on and backup snapper on kicks who isn’t even listed on the depth chart.

Tailback Eric Ball also left the game in the third quarter, having carried the ball 17 times for 122 yards.

One of his replacements, freshman Shawn Wills, carried 9 times for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns in an impressive debut.

In all, the Bruins racked up 315 yards rushing and 223 passing, averaging almost 7 yards a play.

Does UCLA even belong on San Diego State’s schedule?

“No,” Aztec Coach Denny Stolz said. “They’re just too good.”

The ruination of the Aztecs also included:

--An 89-yard first-quarter punt return for a touchdown by cornerback Darryl Henley, who was the first Bruin to score only because he was the first to touch the ball.

--A block by Randy Beverly of a field-goal attempt by San Diego State’s Tyler Ackerson, setting up UCLA’s third touchdown.

--A 43-yard touchdown reception by Laurence Burkley, who beat the defense by a good 10 yards to haul in a pass from Aikman.

--A sack by free safety Eric Turner, whose tackle of Aztec quarterback Brad Platt on fourth-and-goal at the Bruin 3-yard line midway through the second quarter seemed to knock the wind out of the Aztecs, if it hadn’t already been knocked out.

--A spectacular 30-yard touchdown run by Wills, who broke several tackles on his way to the score that made it 52-6.

All of which made a statement last week by Donahue ring more than a bit hollow.

Bemoaning what he perceived to be his team’s lack of offensive explosiveness, Donahue told reporters: “After the first game, the question may be, ‘Coach, are you concerned about the lack of big plays?’ And the answer will be, ‘You’re darn right I am.’ ”

That won’t be the case.

The Bruins led at halftime, 31-0, then drove 78 yards in 10 plays on their first possession of the third quarter before the starters were allowed to spend the rest of the night strolling the sideline.

When the UCLA starters were on the field, they rolled up 324 total yards in under 35 minutes.

“I don’t think this was a test for our football team,” said Donahue, whose defense limited the Aztecs to 234 total yards. “I don’t think we’re going to know much about this UCLA football team until next week.”

Aikman completed his first 10 passes, although his first was officially ruled incomplete because of an offensive pass-interference penalty.

When he finally threw a pass that wasn’t caught--David Keating dropped it during the drive that eventually gave the Bruins a 28-0 lead--a sarcastic fan among the crowd of 46,487 shouted: “Pull his scholarship.”

That won’t be the case, either.

Aikman, who ranked No. 1 in the nation in passing efficiency for more than two months last season, helped the Bruins run their record against San Diego State to 11-0-1, of which this was the most one-sided Bruin victory.

Last week, Donahue told a group of reporters: “(San Diego State) is a hard game for us for a lot of reasons, probably none of which you care to hear about.”

Indeed, none did.

Since this series resumed in 1984, after a 50-year hiatus, the Bruins are 5-0 against the Aztecs and have won by a wider margin each season.

Last season, it was 47-14.

In that game, quarterback Todd Santos threw interceptions on each of the Aztecs’ first two possessions.

This time, the Aztecs made it through their first possession without a turnover, only to have a punt by freshman Bill Kushner returned 89 yards for the touchdown by Henley, who had also burned San Diego State last season, returning a punt 74 yards for a touchdown.

Henley spun out of the grasp of defender John Wesselman near the right hashmark and headed upfield, outrunning the defense into the end zone.

Henley’s punt return last season against the Aztecs was the Bruins’ first for a touchdown in 21 years.

His return Saturday was the second.

A pass-interference penalty stymied the Bruins’ first possession, but they wasted little time in scoring the second time they got the ball.

On first down, Burkley, running at full stride behind San Diego State cornerback Mario Mitchell, hauled in a pass from Aikman at about the 13-yard line and carried it into the end zone, completing a 43-yard play that gave UCLA a 14-0 lead with 4:29 left in the first quarter.

San Diego State’s Mitch Burton recovered a fumble by Corwin Anthony later in the quarter, but the Aztecs were unable to move.

Then, on the first play of the second quarter, Beverly charged in from the left side to block a 39-yard field-goal attempt by Ackerson.

Aikman drove the Bruins 53 yards in 5 plays, capping the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Moore. Aikman, rolling to his left on the scoring play to avoid a blitz, rifled his throw past a lunging Mitchell, who made an ill-advised attempt at an interception.

Turner’s sack of Platt, who completed 16 of 31 passes for 197 yards, set the stage for the Bruins’ longest drive of the night, an 89-yard scoring march that ended with Aikman throwing a 2-yard touchdown pass to fullback Mark Estwick, who scored again in the third quarter.

Alfredo Velasco, who was successful last season on all 19 of his field-goal attempts inside 45 yards, ended the first-half scoring when he kicked a 32-yard field goal to make it 31-0 with 58 seconds left.

The only highlight for San Diego State came with 10 minutes left, when Tommy Booker scored on a 14-yard run, ending the shutout.