Fresh Starts

Alabama is coming, and so are answers to these questions:

Can the UCLA offensive line recover?

Can the secondary just plain cover?

Will the Bruins, two seasons removed from brushing up against a national championship, get a measuring stick of where they now stand, or now don’t stand?

Will fans from Southern California have more jokes at the expense of the 20,000 or so Alabama faithful coming for the game (“Nice teeth!”) or will Alabama supporters have more at the expense of Southern California (“Nice capped teeth! Nice fake everything!”)?

Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl will serve as a status report for the Bruins, who begin the season with an immediate major test against an opponent capable of reopening the wounds related to their greatest weaknesses last year, when they were 4-7.

It will also be an immediate major test for the entire team.

UCLA got Boise State for starters in 1999. Alabama is more like the main course, ranked third in the nation, stacked on defense and dangerous in the passing game because of flanker Freddie Milons. Only four times have the Bruins begun a season against an opponent with higher standing--No. 1 Ohio State in 1962, No. 1 Nebraska in 1972, No. 1 Oklahoma in 1986 and No. 2 Tennessee in 1996, Bob Toledo’s first game as coach.

The Crimson Tide has a defensive front that could stop a river from running. It has a receiver who could cause Troy Walters flashbacks. UCLA, in those areas in particular, has a lot to prove.

THE OFFENSIVE LINE

If there’s a rip, slam, cutdown or joke, this unit has heard it the last 10 months, ever since the Bruins of ’99 were on their way to yielding the second most sacks in the Pacific 10 Conference and producing the second fewest rushing yards, though DeShaun Foster’s lingering sprained ankle certainly had a lot to do with that. But it’s a new year. A fresh start.

Against the No. 2 run defense in the nation.

Eight Crimson Tide starters are back from that group, not counting injured defensive end Kindal Moorehead, one of the best in the Southeastern Conference. Alabama gave up only 75.3 yards a game on the ground last season and 297.3 total yards a game, No. 9 in the nation.

The Bruin offensive linemen, needing to jump-start the running game and desperately needing to perform better in all facets, wanted the chance to show their improvement. They got one. Gulp.

“Absolutely,” guard Brian Polak said. “There’s no better way to gauge where you’re at than the quality of the opponent. Last year, we started with Boise State. We probably could have beat them even if we didn’t play well. We need some way to gauge ourselves right away. There’s no better test than Alabama.

“The last impression people had of us is that we’re horrible. Terrible. Not very good. Weak. Injury plagued. But coming out of the gate and having a good showing against Alabama would be a big boost.”

THE SECONDARY

Milons, Alabama’s junior flanker, had a school-record 65 receptions last season. Milons, Toledo said, is “a great football player. People are in for a treat to see him play.”

Oh, yeah. The Bruin defensive backs are probably thrilled.

Cornerback Ricky Manning is the only returning starter, but, given the way the Arizona State game ended, with a screen pass that became a 49-yard touchdown, and the Stanford game (465 passing yards) and Oregon State game (three scoring throws of at least 23 yards) this may not be such a bad thing for the Bruins. It at least has the potential to be better.

Two of the other three starters would probably have been No. 1s last season, before cornerback Jason Bell sat out the final nine games because of tendinitis in his right heel and strong safety Marques Anderson was expelled. Both were in the opening lineup in ‘98, so it is an experienced group, leaving free safety Jason Zdenek as the only real newcomer.

“You always learn a lot the first game,” said Bob Field, the defensive coordinator and secondary coach. “Especially if the opponent is the caliber of Alabama.”

THE PROGRAM

The Bruins are relatively free of injury. The only questions on the two-deep roster are linebacker Ryan Nece (shoulder), defensive tackle Ken Kocher (ankle) and guard Oscar Cabrera (ankle), and all three likely will play and Cabrera might still start.

And unlike last season, when they went to No. 14 Ohio State in the second week for another marquee nonconference game on national television, only one player is suspended, and he’s a backup. So Saturday will offer a true sense of where the program rates against the elite.

“I think we’re a better football team than we were a year ago,” Toledo said. “We’re a more experienced team, we’re not hurt right now, our quarterback has a better understanding of the offense and has some experience, our playmakers are healthy at this point. I believe defensively we’re better than a year ago.

“But it all remains to be seen. We’re playing the No. 3 team in the country, and even though we’ve improved, it might not show it that much. I hope it does.”

THE JOKES

You’re on your own.