Coaches Careful Not to Be Too Hard on Paus

UCLA coaches were clearly conscious about not being too critical of Cory Paus even after his terrible showing Saturday afternoon, not wanting to be too critical of their young quarterback even on a day when he completed nine of 28 passes and was briefly pulled from the game.

“He’s very fragile right now,” Coach Bob Toledo said after California’s 17-0 victory at the Rose Bowl. “I don’t want to destroy him. He’s going through growing pains right now. I don’t want to hurt him.”

Said Al Borges, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach: “He might be a little bit [fragile]. He’s a young guy and he played against a mean defense. He did a lot of growing up today. Hopefully it’ll help him down the line.

“But I think he’s got enough character that he’ll recover from it. He’s young and resilient. We still have confidence in him.”

The switch to Scott McEwan for two plays at the start of a drive in the second quarter, Toledo said, was an attempt to get Paus to settle down, after he opened the game two of 13 for seven yards and an interception. Putting Drew Bennett, the one-time backup quarterback, in during the third quarter was strictly to run the option and set up a trick play with Paus at receiver, a try that ended with Bennett throwing what became a critical interception at the Cal two.

“They [the Bears] played it better than we executed it,” Toledo said. “It’s real simple.”

Paus called the game “frustrating,” but said pressure from Cal’s front seven, the No. 1 sack unit in the Pacific 10, was not any worse than other games. But, he added, he is not in a fragile state.

“I’m sure he [Toledo] is worried about me,” Paus said. “But I’m not worried. I know I can play much better. And I will.”

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Ali Abdul Azziz, a backup linebacker for UCLA, left in the third quarter because of what appears to be a sprained shoulder. X-rays will be taken Monday to determine if there is additional damage. For now, he is questionable for the Oregon State game. “I have no idea what happened,” Azziz said. “I just know it’s extreme pain.” . . . Cal quarterback Kyle Boller completed nine of 20 passes for 113 yards, three interceptions and a touchdown.