Donahue Optimistic, but Also Pessimistic, About Rest of Season

With five Pacific 10 Conference games remaining, UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said Monday that his team is entering the “teeth of its schedule.”

Saturday at Tempe, Ariz., the Bruins play an Arizona State team that has equaled their record of 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-10.

After Arizona State, UCLA will play Washington State, Stanford, Oregon and USC.

“We’re a late-developing team traditionally and, except for some injuries, we’re a better team now than we were four weeks ago,” Donahue said. “I said at the start of the season that I thought we were getting better but we aren’t out of the woods and, if we play well Saturday, maybe we can saw down a few more trees.”

Donahue added that because of scholarships limitations there is more parity in the conference, citing California extending Washington before losing, 24-17, Saturday at Berkeley. The Huskies were heavily favored.

“In the next five games, we’re capable of winning all of them,” Donahue said.

“But I also truly believe that we can be beaten by all five of those teams. Some people may criticize me for (saying) that, but that’s what I believe.”

The Bruins haven’t had a winning season since 1988, and even though Donahue is fairly optimistic now, he recalls the 1989 season.

“I was optimistic then, but the light I saw at the end of the tunnel was a train,” he said.

UCLA finished with a 3-7-1 record, its worst since 1971.

“We’re trying to claw our way out of this thing,” he said, “but I won’t consider us back until we’re a 9-2 or 8-3 bowl team.”

UCLA’s offense has flourished during the last two games against injury-depleted Arizona, 54-14, and inexperienced Oregon State, 44-7.

What has emerged, though, is the successful connection between quarterback Tommy Maddox and split end Sean LaChapelle.

LaChapelle has caught nine touchdown passes through six games, one shy of the school’s season record held by Jojo Townswell (1982) and Bob Wilkerson (1949). He has a chance to break the Pac-10 record for touchdown catches of 14, set by Arizona State’s Doug Allen in 1984.

LaChapelle has caught 36 passes, 23 more than any other UCLA receiver.

Maddox was asked if his tendency to throw more to LaChapelle might cause some friction among the other receivers.

“I think I play on a team where there isn’t a whole lot of individuality,” Maddox said. “Everybody gets along great. I went up to Paul (Richardson) and Bryan (Adams) during the fourth quarter of the Oregon State game and said, ‘You stay in there because one of these games you’re going to be the hero.’ They told me not to worry about it. I don’t believe there is any resentment toward anyone on the team.”

Maddox said LaChapelle hasn’t been drawing double coverages, making him more inviting as a receiver.

“There will be games when teams finally realize how good he is and they’ll double cover him and try to take him away and that’s when you’ll see that we have a bunch of good receivers,” Maddox said.

“Until they do that, we’re going to keep using him because he’s definitely one of the more talented guys in our offense.

“You look at him and you think he’s not that fast, or that quick, but he’s very good at getting off the ball when guys are trying to keep him on the line.

“He’s big (6 feet 4 and 207 pounds) and he’s a great athlete.”

Asked to comment on the Maddox-LaChapelle connection, which has to a degree excluded other receivers, Donahue said:

“I think that Tommy has a high degree of confidence in Sean and that confidence is well founded.

“But he has to continue to grow and learn as a quarterback and not always go to his buddy, or the man he has the most confidence in, to go to an alternate receiver.

“He did throw the ball to Sean a couple of times when he shouldn’t, but Tommy is beginning to find the backs. So you say, why didn’t he throw to them before? Well, it takes time to play the position and everybody expects him to be a Troy Aikman as a redshirt sophomore.

“Aikman really became a good player in his fifth year in college. Tommy is only in his third year.

“I think as Tommy matures, he’ll start spraying the ball around more. But I’m thrilled that he’s finding the running backs. That will help us down the line and it’s major breakthrough.”