COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Fien Keeping Eye on the Situation

Ryan Fien was driving home after watching his brother, Braden, play in a Pop Warner game last Saturday in Simi Valley when he tuned in to the UCLA-Washington State game on his car radio.

“I heard ‘(Rob) Walker is fading back to pass,’ and I wondered what was going on,” Fien said. “Later, I heard that Wayne (Cook) was out.”

Cook suffered a bruised kidney and left in the first quarter of UCLA’s 40-27 victory. He missed practice Tuesday for the second day in a row and is questionable for Saturday’s game against Arizona State. Walker will start at quarterback if Cook cannot.

Fien, a sophomore, was designated Cook’s backup when the season began, and played one down in the season opener against California, throwing an incomplete pass when Cook was ordered from the field by officials because of bleeding on his chin.

Since then Fien has developed problems with a foot injury suffered in his freshman season and is spending time in rehabilitation. He has petitioned the Pacific 10 Conference for medical hardship redshirt status to restore a season of eligibility.

Fien attended practice Monday for the first time in weeks and said he has gained 10 pounds in the weight room and weighs 220 pounds.

“With the way quarterbacks are being hurt, I think the extra size will help me,” he said.

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Tickets for the UCLA-Arizona State game Saturday list starting times of 12:30 or 3:30. The time has been set at 3:30 to accommodate Prime Ticket’s telecast. . . . Running back Skip Hicks, who injured his shoulder slightly last Saturday at Pullman, Wash., fell on it in practice Tuesday and was held out of the rest of drills. . . . Arizona State goes into the game with a string of six shutout quarters. The Sun Devils have shut out four opponents in their last 20 games.