Ultimate Test for the Bruin Defense

The man in charge of filling the sandbags in preparation for the impending torrential downpour is asked what someone in his position does during a week like this.

“Pray,” Nick Aliotti, UCLA’s defensive coordinator, responds.

Maybe there’s some comfort since Aliotti might have company in that regard--from Oregon’s defensive coordinator, Bob Foster. They’ll be easy to spot today at the Rose Bowl. They’ll be the guys with clumps of hair in their hands.

The meeting of the second-ranked Bruins and 11th-ranked Ducks in a 12:30 kickoff looms as both a Pacific 10 Conference showdown and an NBA all-star game, Oregon ranked second in the nation in scoring at 50.6 points a game and UCLA third at 48. That torrential downpour.

“We did go get some new lightbulbs for the scoreboard, so we won’t burn out too many,” Bruin Coach Bob Toledo said.

Now to see if the defenses come through as well. This is either the greatest opportunity of the season for each--”If we do a great job against Oregon, that puts UCLA defense on the map,” linebacker Ryan Nece said--or the day they find out what it’s like to be a Washington General.

Oregon is No. 1 in the conference in scoring, UCLA is No. 2.

Oregon is No. 2 in passing, UCLA is No. 3.

Oregon is No. 1 in rushing, UCLA is No. 2.

Oregon is No. 1 in total offense, UCLA is No. 2.

Rosary beads, anyone?

The Ducks, though known almost entirely for the offense led by quarterback Akili Smith and tailback Reuben Droughns, also lead the Pac-10 in total defense and scoring defense. That gives them far more credibility than the Bruins in the task at hand.

Instead, the focus probably will be more on the UCLA defense, since its offense is certainly able to hang with the visitors if things do turn into Showtime. That would be the UCLA defense that, while impressive against the run, especially of late in holding Washington State and Arizona to fewer than 95 yards each, is still playing another kind of transition game.

While key players move in and out of the rotation because of injury, and the inexperienced have been given battlefield promotions into prominent roles, the Bruins have slipped to ninth in the conference in total defense and seventh in scoring defense. Making the struggles all the more dramatic, they have come in the first season with a new coordinator, Aliotti.

The chance to make a statement comes in circumstances that are either dreadful, considering the opponent, or ideal. The Bruins can erase weeks of difficulty with a solid showing today--a major victory that would come as Aliotti faces the school where he coached for seven years.

Aliotti was in charge of the Gang Green defense during the Rose Bowl season of 1994, before he accompanied Rich Brooks to the St. Louis Rams. He has been close friends with Duck Coach Mike Bellotti since their days as teammates at UC Davis, years before Bellotti succeeded Toledo as the offensive coordinator in Eugene.

“It is hellish,” Toledo said of Aliotti’s week. “He’s a little uptight, a little nervous.”

Understandably so. Aliotti arrived just in time to preside over injury reports, a line that has played two true freshmen and a walk-on, and a corps of linebackers that is only slightly more experienced. He knows people might not remember that Rocky Long’s unit in 1997, before Long became head coach at New Mexico, was sixth in the Pac-10 in total defense and gave up at least 27 points in five of 12 games--just as he knows first impressions count.

And now he gets Oregon.

“It’s fun to be around these kids, I’ll say that,” he said. “It’s refreshing. . . . But it is difficult whenever you’re putting in a new system and there’s so many things to say and coach. You can’t get it all coached, unfortunately. Then you couple that with the expectations of this season. . . .

“You take pride in what you do and I’m a prideful man and I’d like for this team to not only live up to the expectations that they have for themselves, but also to my expectations too.

“We’ve grown through the year with games, but we’re young. I never say that as an excuse. It’s just that we haven’t seen all that stuff. We haven’t seen it enough times. It’s going to take our best effort. I’m just hoping we can slow them down and contain them a little bit in hopes that our offense scores a few more points than their offense.”

Of course, there’s always the hope that neither will be as potent as advertised.

Uh-huh.

Said Toledo: “We are expecting rain.”

TODAY’S GAME

No. 2 UCLA (4-0) vs.

No. 11 OREGON (5-0)

When: 12:30 p.m.

Where: Rose Bowl

TV: Channel 7

Radio: AM 1150