Huskies Not for Gun-Shy : College football: UCLA takes on Washington team still angry about Pac-10 sanctions.

No matter what the score, it’s always 9-0 to Washington this season.

The Huskies are like the movie cowboys who roam the West, notching their pistols with each act of vengeance for the burning of the old homestead. Bang, there goes Stanford. Bang, there goes California.

Bang . . . UCLA, today?

When the Huskies take on the Bruins at the Rose Bowl, they will dedicate the game to the UCLA administration, which voted in August, with the rest of those in the Pacific 10 Conference, to sanction the Huskies because of rules violations in Washington’s football program.

After making three consecutive appearances in the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10 champion, Washington will make its only visit to Pasadena this season to play 22nd-ranked UCLA, 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-10, because the league barred the Huskies from postseason appearances for two years as part of the school’s punishment.

“The players even asked if they could wear their Rose Bowl jerseys,” Husky Coach Jim Lambright said.

A perfect trip through league competition is “definitely one of our goals and a statement we’d very much like to make in this conference,” said Lambright, who was given the coaching job when Don James left in protest of the Pac-10 sanctions, and who still calls the league’s judges of his school a “kangaroo court.”

The 12th-ranked Huskies (4-1, 2-0) are angry and that anger carried them in the closing moments of a 24-23 defeat of Cal a week ago, when they turned the ball over seven times and still rallied from a 23-10 deficit in the final 2 minutes 6 seconds.

The anger mixes with impressive talent.

“If you turn the ball over and beat a team . . . you are probably a vastly superior team,” said UCLA Coach Terry Donahue, whose Bruins lost to Cal in their opener, 27-25.

One of the reasons for that superiority is junior Napoleon Kaufman, Washington’s tailback and kick returner who has rushed for 575 yards. Kaufman possesses a combination of speed and strength that is remarkable for a back 5 feet 9 and 175 pounds.

“He’s like a rocket. He’s explosive,” Donahue said. “Every time he gets the ball, you get nervous because he’s so dangerous with his speed.”

The Huskies also have sophomore quarterback Damon Huard, who grew up fast in the last two drives last week at Berkeley. With 8:11 to play, Huard was sacked and fumbled the ball away. Then, with 6:15 left, he threw an interception.

But after that, he completed 12 of 14 passes in scoring drives that covered 76 and 48 yards.

“The most impressive thing about him is that he never lost confidence in himself,” Donahue said. “A lot of quarterbacks would be discouraged when they have a game like he had. I watched the TV replay and they had some sideline shots of him . . . and you could tell he was upset by his performance, but at the same time you could tell he was very determined, too.”

Huard has completed 81 of 129 passes for 946 yards and nine touchdowns, with six interceptions.

He will face a UCLA defense that has gained momentum in three consecutive victories, holding those opponents to fewer than 35 yards rushing a game. That is tempered with the knowledge that Stanford and Brigham Young are passing teams, without the benefit of a Kaufman, and San Diego State, even with Marshall Faulk, got behind quickly and passed 47 times in a futile attempt to catch up.

The Bruins have forced 13 turnovers in the last three games, largely with a pass rush led by linebacker Jamir Miller. He is familiar to Washington, in part because he told Husky coaches he would attend the school after a recruiting visit, then changed his mind.

Miller has 8 1/2 sacks, 4 1/2 of them last week against BYU.

“We had enough coaches trying to recruit Jamir Miller out of high school that we have the greatest admiration for his athletic ability and always have,” Lambright said.

Washington’s defense has given up only 76.2 yards rushing per game, and its quickness has been responsible for 47 tackles for losses. The Huskies feature D’Marco Farr and Jamal Fountaine up front and sack specialist Andy Mason at linebacker.

Washington has intercepted 10 passes, which presents a challenge to UCLA quarterback Wayne Cook, who has thrown only one in 119 passes, none in his last 83. Nine of those passes--seven in the last two games--have gone for touchdowns, eight to J.J. Stokes.

One reason for Cook’s passing success has been a running game that has kept opponents honest in their defenses. UCLA has rushed for 1,182 yards, passed for 951, and four Bruin backs have had 100-yard games. One of those, Skip Hicks, might play today for the first time since suffering an ankle injury against Nebraska.

James Milliner, a fullback who will probably play tailback in one-back sets, leads the Bruins with 298 yards and successive 100-yard games.

Today’s game gives Donahue an opportunity to judge a team on a roll, with 127 points in the last two weeks, but against questionable opposition.

“We have to understand that we are stepping into a different category,” he said.

It’s more personal to Washington center Jim Nevelle.

“We’re on a mission,” he said.

Bruin Notes

In the event of rain, there is a good possibility that the grass areas surrounding the Rose Bowl will not be available for parking today. UCLA encourages fans to leave for the game earlier than usual and use the free shuttle service from the Parsons Engineering Building in Pasadena.