Demotion Possible for Safety Attar

Sophomore Audie Attar did not rest comfortably after making the first start of his career in UCLA’s 38-31 victory over Arizona State on Sept. 30.

“They made me look bad, and I don’t like to look bad,” Attar said. “I couldn’t sleep all night.”

Attar, replacing Marques Anderson at safety, was repeatedly beaten by Todd Heap, the Sun Devils’ All-America candidate at tight end. But Attar, who admitted his “nerves were flying” early in the game, played better as the game went on and finished with a team-high eight tackles.

While Attar hopes for the chance to redeem himself, UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said Attar might go from first string to third string this week. Anderson is expected to return Saturday, and Toledo said redshirt freshman Kevin Brant has impressed the coaches.

“We need Audie to perform better,” Toledo said. “He made some mistakes and played very mediocre, in our opinion.”

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The Bruin coaches believe their offense runs much smoother with Cory Paus at quarterback, and they plan to minimize his exposure to rampaging rushers as much as possible. Injuries have forced Paus out of four of nine starts, so the Bruins worked at practice last week on shorter, quicker passes and on more plays with blocking backs. The Sun Devils sacked Paus five times, and California, this week’s opponent, plays a ferocious defense.

“We don’t need Cory to take those hits,” Toledo said.

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The Bruins (4-1) moved to No. 13 in the Associated Press poll released Sunday. UCLA, previously No. 16, plays at Cal this week, the Bruins’ first game against a team that did not play in a bowl game last season.