Bruins Ready to Make Hackett Eat His Words

The moratorium has been lifted, so the Bruins finally got the chance to jump on Paul Hackett, even though the USC coach has recently revised his standings and said UCLA has the best offense the Trojans have seen this year.

Hackett’s comments four weeks ago about Oregon being the best team in the conference drew scowls and attention around Westwood, seeing as how the Bruins had already beaten the Ducks. But UCLA wanted to focus on the opponent at hand. That changed Monday, when the Trojans became the opponent at hand.

“When somebody says something like that, you store it in the back of your mind,” tight end Mike Grieb said. “You try not to make too big a deal out of it. But it’s definitely there.”

Said cornerback Ryan Roques: “We remember those words. We don’t like it when other people tell us we’re not good enough to do that or good enough to beat this team.”

So much for Hackett’s theory that he hadn’t given UCLA any bulletin-board material because the rivalry lives enough on its own.

“Of course we’re going to use it for motivation,” guard Andy Meyers said. “Absolutely. Absolutely.”

*

Coach Bob Toledo moved Craig Walendy into the starting lineup at fullback over Durell Price, saying they are producing at the same level and that he wants to give the honor to the senior in his final USC game. Price is a junior. . . . Freshman nose guard Ken Kocher attended last year’s USC-UCLA game at the Coliseum as a recruiting guest of the Trojans--and rooted for the Bruins.