Bruins Win Run-In With Faulk

Marshall Faulk is Mr. Saturday Afternoon. On game day, it’s showtime. But except for one run Saturday at the Rose Bowl, Faulk was stopped as cold and stiff as the Heisman Trophy. A UCLA football team that obviously is going places made sure that San Diego State’s super-back went nowhere.

“I could say Marshall Faulk finally ran into a big-time defense,” UCLA cornerback Carlton Gray said. “Then again, USC is supposed to have a big-time defense.”

Ow.

An Aztec offense that averaged 41.7 points per game in 1990 and 32.3 points last season was virtually immobilized in a 35-7 gridlock. And although Faulk did depart Pasadena with 118 yards, even he had to admit: “You have your good games and you have your bad games, and this was one of my bad games.”

So far, UCLA has had nothing but good ones.

Oh, and by the way--somebody owes Cal State Fullerton an apology.

Supposedly the cream puff of UCLA’s criticized schedule, Fullerton scored 14 points against a bunch of guys from Westwood who are turning out to be tougher than Clint Eastwood. Brigham Young scored 10 points. San Diego State scored seven. Fullerton gave UCLA more trouble than Faulk did.

The Aztecs had been billed among the nation’s top 25, but guard Joe Heinz, who had his hands full Saturday pinch-snapping at center, said afterward: “We came in here and fell flat on our faces. It’s a real reality break.”

San Diego State fumbled six times.

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” quarterback David Lowery said.

True, but the Bruins also came loaded for bear. Typical of their aggression was a second-down play midway through the third quarter when Faulk took a handoff and was promptly hammered halfway to Sylmar by a 270-pound defensive end London Woodfin, with a midriff as uncovered as a belly dancer’s. When Woodfin celebrated, he really jiggled.

Next play, another handoff to Faulk, it was cornerback Carl Greenwood’s turn to drag him down.

Needless to say, the Bruins knocked San Diego State’s offensive linemen on their Aztecs. Whenever Faulk attempted to bust up the middle, someone would be there to meet him--Bruce Walker, Jamir Miller, Donnie Edwards. Whenever he took a detour around end, there was Othello Henderson or Marvin Goodwin, the safeties, saying: “Come and get it.”

On another occasion, tackle Matt Werner sacked Lowery like groceries. He was in the backfield so fast, he might as well have lined up behind Faulk.

Faulk was the one UCLA came to get and hit.

“We didn’t have two guys following him to the sidelines, or anything like that,” Coach Terry Donahue said. “But he was the one we had to stop. He is good .

“You should have heard me on the sideline: ‘This guy is good!’ I think he’s every bit as good as his hype. He is a legitimate big-time player.”

Yes, he is.

But even legitimate big-timers cough up the ball, as Faulk did the first time he touched it.

Sometimes they even fumble again on the second possession of a game, as Faulk also did.

This must not be Marshall’s field.

Against UCLA last season, Faulk gained 79 yards. Against BYU in his last game, he gained 299.

“I have set certain standards for myself,” Faulk said. “This was one of those days where I didn’t meet them. No excuse.”

He could have blamed some of it on the starting quarterback and center being injured, or on the backup quarterback and backup center being inexperienced and having mix-ups.

He didn’t.

“One of those days,” Faulk shrugged it off.

How dangerous he can be was evident early on, when Faulk went 17 yards with a pass from Lowery. He is one of those backs who has to be covered like a cloak. If you don’t stay on top of him, Faulk will be gone and you’ll be left standing there with your arms full of empty.

Take that 46-yard touchdown run, for example. All it took was one explosive weak-side block by Mark Koenig and Tony Nichols to blow open a hole wide enough for Faulk to slip through. Poof. Gone. This guy goes by you like Gale Sayers.

But UCLA had enough defense to plug most of those holes.

As for offense, the Bruins have some faux-Faulk backs of their own. Kevin Williams is as good as we remember. Daron Washington left San Diego State totally bewitched. And who knew Sharmon Shah would be this good this soon?

But a funny thing also happened to the Bruins on the way to playing their third-string quarterback--he turned out to be good.

Rob Walker is the real deal. He can do more than hand off. He can throw. He put a couple of beauties right onto Sean LaChapelle’s fingertips.

OK, the Bruins won’t be winning any Heisman trophies this season.

But they are going to do some more winning.