High-Powered Washington St. to Test UCLA : Cougars Have Punch, Bruins Counterpunch

As the nation’s No. 1-ranked college football team, only one false move from what could be a mighty fall from grace, UCLA is watching its every step.

The danger, Coach Terry Donahue said, is in watching too closely and becoming too conscious of toppling over the edge.

“You don’t want to lose everything you worked so hard to gain,” Donahue said. “And right now, every game is so crucial and so critical. Every game is so important that you tend to want it too much.

“You can play a little bit nervous, or play tight, or not be as free as you normally might be. And I think we have to resist that.”

The Bruins were able to do that last week, overpowering Arizona, 24-3, and running their record to 7-0 for the first time since 1966.

And Donahue hopes they’ll be able to do it on national television today at the Rose Bowl against Washington State (4-3), which has not beaten the Bruins in Los Angeles since 1958, but leads the Pacific 10 Conference and ranks third in the nation in total offense.

Donahue believes that the Bruins must play with a certain abandon against a team whose quarterback, Timm Rosenbach, leads the nation in passing efficiency and whose No. 1 running back, Steve Broussard, leads the Pac-10 in rushing.

Broussard, a junior from Los Angeles Manual Arts High, may not play after spraining an ankle last week against Arizona State, but Rich Swinton, a sophomore from Montclair Prep in Van Nuys, filled in capably last week in a 31-28 loss to the Sun Devils, rushing for 193 yards in 34 carries.

Said Donahue: “I think what you have to do against these guys is what we tried to do against Arizona, and that is, try to put a big ol’ fence around them and try to make them go long distances and try to eliminate, as much as possible, their big-play potential.”

Donahue, whose team effectively corraled Arizona in its most dominant defensive performance in more than a month, said the Cougars have “absolutely no apparent offensive weaknesses.

They are a sight.”

Also a sight, albeit a ghastly one, is the Washington State defense, which ranks last in the Pac-10 in passing defense and total defense.

UCLA, Donahue said, rarely approaches a game believing that its offense will simply have to outscore the opposition’s.

This, he said, is one of those infrequent occasions.

Donahue wasn’t about to say it, but outscoring Washington State may not be too difficult.

The Cougars have given up almost 25 points and 415 yards a game, and they have yet to face an offense as potent as UCLA’s. The Bruins lead the Pac-10 in scoring and rank second to Washington State in total offense.

In its losses--to Oregon, Arizona and Arizona State--Washington State gave up almost 40 points and more than 475 yards a game.

Two weeks ago, in a 45-28 loss to Arizona, the Cougars were outscored in the last 10 minutes 17 seconds, 22-0, after having taken a 28-23 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Last week, sophomore Paul Justin of Arizona State, making his first start of the season, passed for 321 yards against the Cougars.

“We made him look like an All-American,” Cougar Coach Dennis Erickson said.

Against UCLA, Erickson and the Cougars get the real thing. Troy Aikman has passed for almost 900 yards and 9 touchdowns in UCLA’s last 3 games and has completed 26 of 32 third-down passes.

Erickson, in his second year at Washington State after turning the Wyoming program around in only one season, doesn’t seem to be looking forward to it.

“You’re not going to stop that offense,” he said.

Not with his defense, anyway.

“We’re going to have to play better than we’ve ever played, and we’re going to have to get some breaks,” Erickson said.

Even that might not be enough unless UCLA steps too gingerly and trips over its own feet.

Bruin Notes

UCLA is 4-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference. Washington State is 1-3, having beaten California for its lone victory. . . . ABC will televise the game to about 70% of the nation. . . . Washington State has not appeared on national network television since 1958, when it made its only appearance in a 34-14 loss to Cal. . . . UCLA is listed as a 21-point favorite.

Washington State’s junior quarterback, Timm Rosenbach, has completed 70.6% of his passes for 1,883 yards and 18 touchdowns and has thrown 7 interceptions for a passing efficiency rating of 173.9. . . . UCLA’s Troy Aikman has completed 66.5% of his passes for 1,708 yards and 19 touchdowns and has thrown 5 interceptions for a rating of 170.8.

Rosenbach, who has run for 7 touchdowns, and running back Steve Broussard, who has rushed for 931 yards and 9 touchdowns, have either scored or had a hand in all but 1 of Washington State’s 35 offensive touchdowns. . . . Washington State is 0-9 against the Bruins in Los Angeles since winning at the Coliseum in 1958. Against USC, the Cougars are 0-12 in Los Angeles since last beating the Trojans at the Coliseum in 1957.

Mike Farr leads UCLA with 37 receptions and is on pace to break the school record of 48, which is shared by Mike Sherrard and Willie Anderson, but Farr, curiously, has yet to score a touchdown. Last season, he caught 24 passes and scored only 1 touchdown. . . . Washington State, which is averaging 522 yards a game, is on pace to break the Pac-10 record of 5,486 yards, which was set by Arizona State in 1981. . . . UCLA is 32-6-2 at the Rose Bowl since moving to the Arroyo Seco in 1982.