Line of Credit

Shawn Stuart, the senior center, says “We take pride in our obscurity,” which comes right out of the Offensive Lineman’s Handbook, before the chapters on “Chop Block Without Getting Caught” and “Pancakes: They’re Not Just for Breakfast.”

And then he acknowledges that attention is starting to come like an eight-man rush.

UCLA’s unit gets clips off the Internet about how opposing players are fired up to go against them. The Oregon coach raves. The Arizona coach notes how they manhandled his team, especially in the deciding fourth quarter “and we have to admit that.” As if it would be possible not to, a dominating 297 rushing yards later.

The Bruins are running a protection racket. Cade McNown has been sacked four times in five games, an impressive average under any circumstances but especially because this team isn’t exactly going out of the wishbone. The ground game is producing 201 yards a game without a dominant back, second in the Pacific 10 Conference only to Oregon, which had one before Reuben Droughns was hurt Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

What from the start of the season was supposed to be a UCLA strength has surpassed even those expectations, no matter that an untested sophomore replaced an All-American at right tackle and that there have already been three starters at left guard, the current one having been in junior college last year. The new guys have played well. The old guys--seniors Andy Meyers and Stuart and junior Kris Farris--have played very well.

Those four sacks? No Bruin can recall more than one that actually was the fault of the offensive line, and some think it’s actually none. The others came either when a running back failed to pick up a blitz, when the defense sent half the student body after McNown or on a coverage sack, when the credit belongs to the secondary that blanketed UCLA receivers and forced McNown to stay in the pocket too long.

The Bruins must have the best offensive line in the conference.

“We say we’re the best line in the country,” Farris, the left tackle, quickly advises, or corrects. “That’s what we say. We believe that and that’s how we play. We want to be the most physically dominant O line in the country, and that’s how we approach every game. That’s why 20 KOs is a big thing for us. Our whole game plan is, if we can knock you down, then we’re going to end up winning.”

KOs are better than de-cleaters or pancakes, long the other scales by which offensive linemen are measured, those moments when the opponent is so dominated that he is taken off his feet or ends up smashed flat on his back. KOs are a little bit more. They are, in Farris’ words, where “you drive him off his feet, pushing him back until he loses his balance. And when he gets up, I throw him back down again, jump on him and spear him in the back.”

The Bruins try to combine for 20 a game, which is usually much easier to attain when officials don’t catch the part about the second impact or the imprint of the helmet between the shoulder blades. The other goals are to win the game--always priority No. 1--zero sacks, 200 yards rushing and no stupid penalties such as jumping offside.

Holding is not considered a stupid penalty on their list, so Farris is in the clear. He’s also dominating no matter where the hands are, a 6-foot-9, 315-pounder who doesn’t hesitate to rag-doll an opponent who dares be in the UCLA backfield after the play has stopped or McNown has already released the ball and the official has looked elsewhere. He’s the best player on the best line, at least in the conference.

Meyers, the right guard, and Stuart are the anchors, the seniors playing side by side. Those three alone, even after the loss of star right tackle Chad Overhauser and solid left guard Chad Sauter, made this a Bruin strength from the start.

“It’s been really, really encouraging,” Meyers said. “Us older guys have tried to instill a work ethic in the younger guys. We’ve passed along what had been passed down to us. So instead of people saying this is a rebuilding year for the UCLA line after losing an All-American and an All-American-caliber player in Sauter, people can say, ‘They’ve really just been reloading.’ ”

In stepped Brian Polak, the much-improved sophomore, to take Overhauser’s place, an extra responsibility because it also includes protecting McNown’s blind side. Oscar Cabrera replaced Sauter, at least for a game, before a sprained ankle knocked him out. Matt Phelan got the starting job, then was moved again to become Meyers’ backup. James Ghezzi, the transfer from Glendale College, is now No. 1 at left guard, but it has become an ongoing battle for the spot now that Cabrera is sound again. Either way, that’s three starters in five games there.

“It’s satisfying,” said Mark Weber, the offensive line coach. “Not much of a surprise, though, because those guys have prepared to do what they’re doing. Brian Polak worked his tail off. We knew he would be good, but how good? Same thing with Jim Ghezzi. Those guys, they worked hard over the summer and they prepared. Oscar prepared.

“The other thing that happened is, those veterans--Kris, Stu and Andy--they’ve gotten better. Those guys help elevate other guys’ play. They help in the communication, they help in the intangibles. There’s a lot of pride there.”

Said Stuart: “The young guys, who are working into playing and didn’t play necessarily last year, are really doing a great job of picking up their level of play. Andy and Farris and I, we’ve played a while, so you expect that from us. You expect that and we expect it from ourselves, not to give up sacks. But the young guys, to be able to come in and do that really well and not give up sacks is something that should be looked at.”

They’re looking, they’re looking. Mike Bellotti, the Oregon coach, calls the unit “probably one of the best offensive lines in the nation, not just the Pac-10 Conference.” So much for obscurity, inadvertently KOd in the confusion.

“It just gets harder every week because everybody hears about the few numbers of sacks,” Weber said. “Everybody wants to get to Cade McNown. Everybody wants to shut us down on the running game. You’re hearing week after week how they [opponents] are getting eight people in the front and loading up the front. It just gets tougher each week.”

Yeah. But for whom?

“Those are the kinds of things we’re going to face,” Farris said. “Bring it on, as far as we’re concerned. We want the best that every team has to offer. It will make us feel that much better when we beat them.”

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Top of the Line

Sacks allowed by top five Pac-10 schools: *--*

Team Games Sacks Yards UCLA 5 4 32 Washington 6 9 54 Oregon 6 9 53 Arizona 7 10 66 Stanford 6 11 56

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