COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Cook Will Try to Reduce Sacks

One of the things UCLA quarterback Wayne Cook probably will work on this week has nothing to do completing passes to open receivers.

“Maybe I just need to work on throwing the ball into the stands,” he said Monday.

Cook was sacked six times Saturday in a 14-13 defeat by Nebraska. He has been sacked seven times in the Bruins’ two games.

“I didn’t think we threw the ball Saturday as well as we are capable of throwing it,” Coach Terry Donahue said. “I didn’t think our protection was very good. Sometimes the quarterback held the ball too long. Sometimes the routes weren’t run very hard or ingeniously. And sometimes the line just broke down. And sometimes it was good coverage by Nebraska.”

Whatever, Cook took the blame, saying that he needed to speed up his reaction to opposing defenses and make decisions faster. And be prepared to throw the ball away.

Donahue also said that the sacks and the problems with the passing game Saturday would have nothing to do with his plans to play reserve quarterback Ryan Fien in a series or two against Stanford.

“I almost put him in the game Saturday,” Donahue said, “not because I was displeased with the way Wayne was playing, but because I thought it was important to get (Fien) some playing time.”

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Coach Bill Walsh said that Stanford had the same problems a year ago with quarterback Steve Stenstrom.

“Stenstrom played well last year, but on occasion he just didn’t get rid of the ball quickly enough,” Walsh said. “He was concentrating downfield and consequently was getting sacked. . . . Now, he’s making everything happen more quickly, and that’s the difference.”

Stanford quarterbacks have been sacked 11 times in three games after being sacked 54 times last season.