Hicks Has Big Night as Bruins Rout Ducks

Today will be much easier for Skip Hicks.

He can watch video of UCLA’s 41-22 victory over Oregon with a sense of contribution and, more important, without one of embarrassment, a far cry from his previous Sunday.

Hicks carried 34 times for a career-high 175 yards and scored two touchdowns Saturday night in the Bruins’ Pacific 10 Conference opener, played before 45,779, the eighth-largest crowd in Oregon history.

His third quarter alone, when he rushed for 153 yards in 19 carries, was a personal highlight film.

After struggling to only 20 yards in 13 carries in a first half that was much like his entire game at Michigan the week before, Hicks suddenly began carrying the football with a verve and effort that was reminiscent of a freshman season that bode such promise.

“The first half wasn’t too [frustrating] because we knew the holes would open up sooner or later,” Hicks said. “Finally they were worn down in the third quarter. We just kept pounding and pounding it at them and we knew the holes would open up. Coach told us that we would come out and run, run, run.”

Hicks would run, run, run.

He had stayed on the sideline in the second quarter in favor of freshman backup Durell Price, and broke loose on a 14-yard gain on his first carry of the third quarter.

He added a 13-yarder, then a couple of two-yard runs, the last of which gave UCLA (2-2) a 14-7 lead that opened the doors.

Another drive, this of 10 plays and covering 48 yards to Bjorn Merten’s 46-yard field goal, was Hicks right, Hicks left and Hicks up the middle. He carried seven times.

He carried the ball on four of the seven plays of the next drive, which included a 35-yard Hicks run and ended in Cade McNown’s six-yard touchdown run for a 24-7 lead.

Hicks carried on the only play of the next drive, which covered 21 yards after Pat Johnson fumbled while returning a kickoff.

Hicks’ 21-yard touchdown run, his sixth scoring play of the season, came behind a block by Craig Walendy and required only that he outrun Ducks’ safety Justin Wilcox, so completely was Oregon dominated by UCLA’s offensive line.

Hicks had returned from Ann Arbor, Mich., a week ago distraught with his play in a 38-9 loss to the Wolverines.

“I was embarrassed,” he said. “I was sick to my stomach. I’ve talked a lot, and if I don’t start doing better, it’s just talk and nobody will listen.”

It’s safe that his stomach is in good shape today, and people are listening.

So, likely, is the stomach of Bruin Coach Bob Toledo.

“We wanted those three- or four-yard gains early in the game to be long gains late in the game,” he said. “We did say we wanted to run outside a little bit more. It looked like they were worn down and we wanted to make them run.

“We just kept knocking them off the ball and running hard.”

UCLA sought its first extended drive of the season in a game that did not involve Northeast Louisiana, and the Bruins got two in the first half. One ended in futility, with a missed field goal from 43 yards by Merten; the other to a game-tying 18-yard touchdown pass from McNown to Tod McBride.

That came with 37 seconds to play in the second quarter and finished off a 69-yard drive that was not exactly scintillating, but had its moments. Among those was McNown’s seven-yard option run on fourth down two, to the Oregon 28, where he was met by an old high school rival, Wilcox.

The fourth-down success salvaged a march that had staggered with a false-start penalty and McNown’s missing wide-open tight end Gabe Crecion at the Duck 30.

On the touchdown play, McBride, who has struggled because of injuries through much of the season, ran a simple post pattern, leaving Oregon’s Ronnie Gibson in his wake and scoring easily to make it 7-7.

Actually, Oregon’s mission Saturday night was much like that of UCLA. The Ducks, 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the conference, had been scoring points aplenty, but most from long range in quick-strike plays.

However, Oregon scored its first touchdown against the Bruins on a one-yard run by Derien Latimer to lead 7-0. It was the Ducks’ only lead of the night.

As for UCLA, it was a far cry from a week ago, with the Bruins rushing for 303 yards and holding the ball for 38 minutes 12 seconds. It was exactly what Toledo wanted when he talked to his players to last Monday.

“The thing you want as a coach is the players to respond to what you tell them,” he said. “This was a must win and they responded.”

Hicks, who had a heart-to-heart with Toledo, most of all.

“It feels good that coach kept his confidence in me,” Hicks said. “He challenged me this week and I wanted to answer it.”