Defensively, It Wasn’t a Field Day

If the Bruins had installed a new scheme last week, UCLA defensive coordinator Bob Field said he could have understood the defensive lapses in Saturday’s 38-35 loss to USC. He was baffled that his players successfully executed the only two new plays in the game plan--getting a sack on one and a quarterback hit on the other--but failed in the basic defense.

“The things we did not execute well are things that we’ve practiced all season,” Field said. “Whether that’s because I did a poor job of preparing them or the players did a poor job of executing, I don’t know.”

Coach Bob Toledo was hot after Saturday’s defeat, in which, he said, the Bruins missed 18 tackles. They gave up 557 yards and allowed the Trojans to drive 47 yards in 56 seconds for the game-winning field goal.

Toledo said Monday that he would evaluate Field and all assistant coaches after the Bruins’ bowl game.

Field has coached at UCLA for 22 years, 14 of them as defensive coordinator under former coach Terry Donahue. Toledo assigned Field to work with defensive backs and linebackers, then restored him to defensive coordinator when Nick Aliotti left under pressure after the 1998 season. Field said he believed Toledo would evaluate him fairly.

“I’m committed to working hard and getting this thing fixed,” Field said.

“But whether I’m here or I’m not here, whether I’m the coordinator or I’m not the coordinator, I believe in this program and I believe in these players. If they’re all healthy, this can be an excellent team.”

Field said injuries “are not the only reason we’ve performed poorly,” but their impact is undeniable. The Bruins have used nine starters along the defensive line, and all three starting linebackers are playing hurt. When the Bruins held Michigan to a season-low 20 points Sept. 16, they lost defensive end Kenyon Coleman, an All-American candidate, to a season-ending knee injury that heralded a wave of injuries.

At that point, the Bruins were 3-0 and giving up 21.7 points a game. Since, they’re 3-5 and giving up 35.3 points a game.

“It just started to snowball,” Field said. “We were beginning to have an attitude and play with an attitude. As we began to lose people, we began to lose that confidence.”

Toledo endorsed Field’s defensive scheme, one he said is used successfully by other colleges and in the NFL. Toledo, criticized for using Aliotti as a scapegoat, was reluctant to fault Field or any other assistant coach for a defense that has given up the most points in school history.

“To just blame one person would not be right,” Toledo said. “I’m the head coach. I’m ultimately responsible for all of it.”

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Toledo said he would ask the NFL to provide receiver Freddie Mitchell and other UCLA juniors interested in going pro--including safety Marques Anderson, receiver Brian Poli-Dixon and linebacker Robert Thomas--with letters projecting their draft positions.

“There’s only one guy on our team who, in my opinion, is ready for the pros,” Toledo said. “That would be Freddie.”

Mitchell was selected Monday as one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, presented to the top receiver in college football. He promised to review all information, including the NFL draft projection, with his family and Toledo before deciding whether to return for his senior season.

“If they say, ‘Freddie, you’re going to be one of the top guys picked,’ I would venture to say he’d leave,” Toledo said.

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The Sun Bowl and Aloha Bowl remain interested in UCLA, and the Pacific 10 Conference has shown no interest in altering contracts that allow the Sun Bowl to pick ahead of the Aloha Bowl. If Arizona beats Arizona State Friday, the Bruins will play in the Aloha Bowl. If Arizona State wins, the Bruins must wait and see. UCLA would play Wisconsin in the Sun Bowl and could play Boston College or Syracuse in the Aloha Bowl.