Fien in the Eyes of the Hurricanes : UCLA: Bruins’ new starting quarterback will discover that Miami hasn’t dropped its program, merely changed its coach, offense and outlook.

Just Ryan Fien’s luck. After waiting three years for Wayne Cook to leave so he can start at quarterback for UCLA, his first assignment is to beat the University of Miami.

Thanks a lot.

Actually, if ever there were a good time over the last decade and a half to face the Hurricanes, it might be today at the Rose Bowl where UCLA and Miami open their seasons.

This is a vastly different Hurricane team from the one that closed last season with a 24-17 loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

Different coach. Different philosophy. Different attitude. And a lot of different players.

Whether different means better or worse is for Fien and his Bruin teammates to find out. But there is no question change was needed despite the fact that Miami was 10-2 last season, including a 7-0 record in the Big East Conference.

When Coach Dennis Erickson accepted the head coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks, he left behind a program in shambles. Sports Illustrated used its cover in June to implore the school to drop football.

Over the last 15 years, Miami has been involved in everything from recruiting violations to drugs to charges of fraud, burglary, arson and assault.

Stepping into this mess as the new coach is Butch Davis, who left as defensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys to return to Miami, where he had been defensive line coach for five years under Jimmy Johnson. That includes the 1987 season, when Miami won the national championship.

So Davis knew about the glory years. And, with no apologies to Sports Illustrated, he is determined to recapture them.

Davis said he has made a switch of “180 degrees” in the Hurricanes’ offense. He also is trying to make a 180-degree switch in the team’s off-the-field behavior.

“I think a little of this program has been unfairly and unjustly perceived,” he said. “There have been a tremendous amount of great quality kids who have gone through this program. I want people to perceive us as the good people we actually are. It’s a shame that eight, 10 or 12 incidents over a 17-year period would detract from the accomplishments that a lot of people put a lot of hard work into.

“There have been some things that I know, without question, have happened that have been an embarrassment. There’s probably more right with the program than is wrong with the program, but there’s some things that need to be addressed and changed and our guys are working extremely hard to do that.”

The same could be said about changing offenses. The offense of the old Hurricanes resembled many pass-oriented pro teams with a reliance on three and four wide receivers and versions of the run-and-shoot and shotgun formations.

Davis is going back to an old-fashioned two-back offense because he doesn’t have a dominating quarterback. The school that has produced NFL quarterbacks Bernie Kosar, Jim Kelly, Craig Erickson, Vinny Testaverde and Steve Walsh, along with Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta, will now go with Ryan Collins, a senior who, like Fien, has waited patiently for his chance. Collins appeared in nine games last year as the backup to Frank Costa.

“He’s got a good arm,” Davis said of Collins. “He reads coverages very well. His mobility and his athleticism are tremendous assets.”

Collins has completed 57% of his passes in his three years at Miami, but he has had problems with interceptions, throwing 16, only three fewer than his number of touchdown passes.

Again, the timing might be ideal for UCLA. Coach Terry Donahue, trying to take advantage of speed and overcome the lack of size in his defensive line and the lack of a dominating player at nose guard, is going to a defense that will operate primarily out of a 4-3 set and depend on star linebackers Donnie Edwards and Abdul McCullough to put additional pressure on the quarterback.

Against someone like Collins, who lacks experience as a starter, heavy pressure might be the best weapon.

And what of the Hurricane defense that Fien must try to read and react to?

Of the dozen returning starters from last season, five are on defense. Unfortunately for Miami, Warren Sapp is not among them, the star defensive tackle having moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But among those returning are defensive linemen Kenny Holmes and Kenard Lang, who combined for 16 1/2 sacks last season, and cornerback Carlos Jones, who intercepted five passes.

Against this defense, and until Donahue sees what he has in Fien, expect the Bruins to run--at least as long as the legs of tailback Karim Abdul-Jabbar hold up. As Sharmon Shah, he gained 1,227 yards last season and will carry the ball behind a solid wall of five returning offensive linemen.

Other questions besides the effectiveness of Fien and the new defensive alignment are at fullback, where freshman Jarvin Watson is starting, and in the kicking game.

UCLA finished 5-6 last season, managing that by winning its last three games.

UCLA Notes

Several positions have been hotly contested during the Bruins’ fall camp. Expected to emerge as the starters today are Eric Scott over Jim McElroy at split end, Danjuan Magee over Vae Tata at one defensive end spot and Teddy Lawrence over Paul Guidry at left cornerback. . . . The City of Pasadena has instituted a $5 parking fee for the unpaved areas at the Rose Bowl. . . . Parking is free at the Parsons Engineering Building in Pasadena, with free shuttle service to the game provided by the university.

TODAY’S GAME

UCLA VS. MIAMI

* Site: Rose Bowl.

* Time: 5 p.m.

* TV: Channel 7.

* Radio: XTRA (690), KLAC (570).