It Won’t Be a Snap for Bruins

New center. New quarterback.

Familiar UCLA problem?

James Ghezzi, a guard and tackle until being pressed into duty at center last week, was involved in two fumbled snaps against Washington, one after Ryan McCann had replaced Cory Paus. It would take a lot longer than seven days for the Bruins to forget that.

“Sure it’s a concern,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “We fumbled twice. They scored on one of them. That’s two turnovers. They got a field goal out of one of them.”

Ghezzi, who had practiced at center before but had not played there in a game since his freshman season at Loyola High, took over for injured Matt Phelan in the first quarter against Washington, a fourth-stringer in a most unexpected role. The Bruins didn’t even get out of the period before an exchange between Ghezzi and Paus went awry. The Bruins were fortunate the Huskies couldn’t capitalize after taking over on the UCLA 17.

McCann went in early in the second quarter. Late in that period, McCann appeared to pull back from center too soon, resulting in another fumble. The Huskies started at the UCLA 34 this time and converted that into a field goal with seven seconds remaining in the half--which turned out to be a key because the eventual tie forced overtime, before the Bruins won it there.

Ghezzi and McCann, with several days of practice this week, seemed confident the problem was in the past.

“Coach Toledo said no more fumbles,” McCann said. “So that’s the final word.”

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Injured USC quarterback Carson Palmer has been declared out for the season and will redshirt.

But his rehabilitation from a broken collarbone is going well, and he has moved from tossing the ball 10 yards 30 times to tossing it 40 times.

“Had we had a bowl, I think he would have been ready,” Coach Paul Hackett said. “I’ll be optimistic. That’s one good thing about not going to a bowl game: I don’t have to make a decision, right?”

Meanwhile, Paus is also expected to be at 100% for spring practice after suffering a broken collarbone against Washington. He may need to be, because McCann had Bruin coaches talking about a renewed competition for the starting job even before the injury. A good showing today by McCann would get his campaign off to an early start.

Toledo called Paus’ first season “a very inconsistent performance. He did some good things and some bad things. I think the [chest] injury against Fresno State [in September] really set him back.

“It was probably about like we expected. I think the disappointing thing is that he didn’t improve from week to week, like we wanted him to.”

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USC cornerback Kris Richard lives in a house divided: His mother went to UCLA and his father went to USC.

But not this week, said Richard, who lives at home with his parents in Carson.

“All USC: 100%,” he said.

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A UCLA promotional photo featuring a Bruin on top of a helpless-looking Trojan on the field has become inspiration to USC.

“We have it in our locker room to remind us,” linebacker Markus Steele said.

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Freshman Marcell Allmond will start at receiver in R. Jay Soward’s place, although USC hopes Soward will be able to play despite a sore hamstring. . . . UCLA’s winning streak in the series is eight, but the Bruins have not lost at the Coliseum since 1987. That includes four victories and a tie. . . . Trojan tailback Chad Morton was named to the first-team Pac-10 all-academic team for the fourth consecutive year. Quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst, fullback Brennan Ochs and safety Frank Carter also made the team. . . . The 23 points last week against Washington marked the lowest output for the Bruins in victory in Toledo’s four seasons.