UCLA Wants to Have Won for the Road

Troy Aikman threw for three touchdowns. Alfredo Velasco kicked a 50-yard field goal. Darryl Henley, Eric Turner and Matt Darby were in the secondary. Eric Ball was the running back.

It was Oct. 22, 1988. It was the last time UCLA, ranked No. 1 at the time, won at Arizona Stadium, 24-3.

The 10 years since--several generations on the college football timeline--have left the Bruins beaten and beaten up at Tucson, four games of humiliations and hospitalizations, sharply contrasting with four consecutive wins at the Rose Bowl. And just in case none of the current players were aware of the past, or tried to discard it as 3 unrelated to impending events of Oct. 10, 1998, Coach Bob Toledo spent a few minutes at the end of practice Wednesday, noting said history.

“A lot of incentive,” Toledo said later. “A lot of motivation.”

A lot.

Saturday night, now at least partially aware of what has come before, No. 3 UCLA returns to Tucson to play No. 10 Arizona, and maybe even the ghosts of Tucson past. In addition, of course, to the more obvious elements.

“That’s a smaller town, basically a college town,” said Bruin split end Brian Poli-Dixon, who is from Tucson. “Pretty much that whole town is going to be behind that team, wanting to beat us.”

Just in case UCLA didn’t have enough working against it. Injuries. Suspension. Playing on the road.

Oh, and history:

* Oct. 14, 1989. Arizona bolted to a 28-0 halftime lead and won, 42-7, handing No. 22 UCLA its worst conference beating in 10 years. The Wildcats, taking advantage of a bye the week before, switched from the veer to the I formation, then rushed for 480 yards, only 12 shy of a school record and the best ever against a Bruin defense. David Eldridge accounted for 205 of those, and two touchdowns, in 20 carries.

“It appeared from my vantage point that they could have been in any formation they wanted to be in and it wouldn’t have made a whole lot of difference,” then-UCLA coach Terry Donahue said.

“This is the worst licking we’ve taken in a long, long time. I’m not sure I can remember a more inept performance by one of my teams.”

The Bruins gained 344 yards in all, scoring their only points on Brian Brown’s 24-yard run, and Velasco’s extra point, with 4:14 left.

* Oct. 3, 1992. The 11th-ranked Bruins were held scoreless in the first half for the first time in nearly three years--since their last visit to Tucson. So much for the good news.

Linebacker Arnold Ale suffered a season-ending broken leg. Linebacker Bradley Craig was hospitalized as a precaution against possible internal injuries. Linebacker Shane Jasper sprained his knee and missed several games. Split end Sean LaChapelle got off easy. He had only broken ribs and missed the second half of the game.

In the end, Arizona, which had nearly beaten second-ranked Miami the week before, had a 23-3 victory, and UCLA had 36 yards rushing. The Bruins finally scored when, after they’d been stopped on the one-yard line, Louis Perez kicked an 18-yard field goal with 1:21 remaining. That kept alive their streak of having scored in 243 consecutive games but the crowd booed lustily.

“We obviously took a severe beating, both on the scoreboard and physically,” Donahue said.

* Oct. 22, 1994. At least it wasn’t an upset this time. No. 14 Arizona beat unranked UCLA, 34-24, scoring 20 unanswered points from late in the third quarter until late in the fourth, when the Bruins made the final score more respectable.

The loss was the Bruins’ sixth in a row but they beat Stanford at the Rose Bowl the next week to avoid tying the school record for futility.

Ontiwaun Carter had 164 yards rushing for the Wildcats, and Skip Hicks led UCLA with 42. Arizona quarterback Dan White completed 14 of 21 passes, 10 of them on third-down conversions, two of those for touchdowns.

“We were playing zone, we were playing man, we were blitzing, we were doing everything we could,” Donahue said.

* Nov. 16, 1996. UCLA’s chance for a winning season ended amid a flurry of big plays by Arizona.

The Wildcats came back to win, 35-17, scoring after intermission on an interception return, a 36-yard pass on fourth down, and a 100-yard kickoff return by Chris McAlister for a 28-17 lead with 12:14 remaining. They dominated the second half, and any late chance by the Bruins to recover ended when they committed two fumbles, one by Cade McNown and another by Keith Brown at the Arizona 18.

“It was a series of errors,” said Toledo, who had succeeded Donahue as coach. “We didn’t perform. We didn’t block people. We didn’t run. We didn’t pass-block. We didn’t complete passes. I mean, we just didn’t execute.

“They out-physicaled us. They kicked our butt.”

* Oct. 10, 1998. Stay tuned.

* SATURDAY

No. 3 UCLA at No. 10 Arizona

* Time: 7:15 p.m.

* TV: Fox Sp. West

* Radio AM 1150

* DIANE PUCIN

UCLA tailback DeShaun Foster is one player who keeps his feet on the ground. Page 7

* Week 6 Primer: Page 6

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Trouble Bruin

UCLA is 4-5 in its last nine meetings with Arizona, but winless in Tucson since 1988:

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Year Site Result 1997 Rose Bowl UCLA, 40-27 1996 Tucson Arizona, 35-17 1995 Rose Bowl UCLA, 17-10 1994 Tucson Arizona, 34-24 1993 Rose Bowl UCLA, 37-17 1992 Tucson Arizona, 23-3 1991 Rose Bowl UCLA, 54-14 1990 Rose Bowl Arizona, 28-21 1989 Tucson Arizona, 42-7

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