Physical Education Isn’t Easy for Bruins

Every week, seemingly every fall, it’s the same.

“I’m extremely impressed with their speed, their athletic ability on both sides of the ball, their big-play potential,” says Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr.

But it could just as well be the coach of any UCLA opponent.

Speed. Athletic ability. Big-play potential. Agile, mobile, but not hostile.

Toughness? Physical ability?

You never hear it, and the Bruins are beginning to take it personally, as though it’s a challenge to their manhood.

“The image of us . . . is like we’re soft,” safety Abdul McCullough said. “We’re talented, but we’re soft. We’re pretty boys. . . . We’ve got to develop that killer instinct, a hatred of other people, whatever it is. We’ve got to get that mean streak.

“You’ve got to be the kind of person who wants to push your sister down.”

No Bruin will be playing across from his sister today when UCLA (1-1) plays seventh-ranked Michigan (3-0). Instead they will be playing the most physical team they are likely to play all season, particularly on defense.

“They have a very good defense, the most physical defense we’ve played,” UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said. “They’ve got nine guys back from a team that was ranked No. 1 in their conference a year ago. They were ranked No. 11 in the country.

“This will be a very physical football team.”

The physical aspect of the Wolverines has stretched to their defensive backs. The four starters have made 69 tackles, and have broken up 11 passes and made two interceptions in three games. They fancy themselves as intimidators.

“A lot of the personality of a defense starts with intimidation,” safety Marcus Ray said. “Being able to know you can take somebody out whenever you want to, and you can legally do it--it’s not like you’re going to jail for it--is great.”

The question is whether UCLA can go toe-to-toe with the Wolverines.

For two weeks now, the Bruins have practiced against Michigan’s defense. They have put in plays designed to isolate this or that Wolverine on a single UCLA player, but the bottom line is that trickery or finesse are not likely to win the game.

“The key is that we have to stand with them in the offensive and defensive lines,” Toledo said. “If we can’t, it could be a very long afternoon.”

It will be a test of a mind-set that Toledo and the new UCLA staff have tried to instill in the Bruins since he took over Jan. 4. It’s simple football, really: Hit harder than you’re hit, pursue to the football and arrive with 10 teammates, eager and angry.

“Each position is almost like an individual war,” said Travis Kirschke, whose battle today will be with Michigan’s right tackle, Jon Jansen. “You have to dominate the guy in front of you before you can do anything else, because if you don’t take care of him, you won’t get to the next person.”

Usually, the next person will be tailback Clarence Williams, who leads the Wolverines in rushing with 307 yards. And occasionally, it will be quarterback Scott Dreisbach, who has completed 43 of 74 passes for 517 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bruins will counter with Skip Hicks, who has rushed for 146 yards in two games, and Cade McNown, who has completed 29 of 44 passes for 394 yards and a touchdown.

And with an offensive line that has been the surprise of the season, so far.

Is it enough?

Michigan squeaked past Boston College in soggy Ann Arbor a week ago, 20-14, and fumbled seven times, losing two. Dreisbach also threw an interception.

The week before, the Wolverines had beaten Colorado, 20-13.

“When you turn the ball over as many times as we did, you’re going to struggle against anybody,” Carr said. “I don’t know if I would describe it as a letdown. I thought we played hard, but obviously we weren’t the same team [as the one that beat Colorado in an emotional game in Boulder].”

Michigan also missed three field goals, and a Wolverine extra-point attempt was blocked. Because of Wolverine fumbles, Boston College scored touchdowns on drives of 19 and 35 yards.

“We do not want to be the kind of team that puts our defense in that kind of position, so we have a lot of things to shore up,” Carr said.

Toledo sees it in a different way.

“They found a way to win,” he said.

They also found a way to stay in a rut, scoring 20 points for the third week in a row.

“They’re obviously capable of scoring more than 20,” Toledo said. “I just hope it’s not against us.”