Guy at the Controls Hasn’t Taken Control

The parade is going full throttle now, snaking through the heat of October, high-stepping to the drumbeat of defense, the clanging of Heisman, confetti and promise everywhere.

Not to inject a little rain, but...

What about the guy in front?

You know, the guy with the messy blond hair and scraggly short passes?

We know where the unbeaten UCLA football team could be headed after its 35-13 whipping of Washington on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

But do they have the quarterback to take them there?

“No!” shouted an alcohol-scented fan who crept up behind me in the press box Saturday afternoon and read the above paragraph.

OK, let’s try that again.

We all know about Robert Thomas and the Blizzard of Westwood defense, which set another ridiculous milestone Saturday by allowing the Huskies’ runners to plow only 16 yards.

We all know about DeShaun Foster, whose 301 rushing yards weren’t as impressive as the approximately 301 players he flattened along the way.

We all know that the only comma separating the Bruins and a national championship game at the Rose Bowl could be erased against Oregon here Nov. 10.

But there is one thing we don’t know.

Strap Bob Toledo to a polygraph and he would say it is something involving the most important person on the team.

His name is Cory Paus, the mere mention of whom causes UCLA fans to repeat that above question.

Do they have the quarterback to take them there?

The answer was no clearer Saturday than in their previous four wins.

Sometimes they do.

Sometimes they don’t.

Sometimes Paus was laying the ball out deep and perfect for Brian Poli-Dixon (great catch) or Tab Perry (bad drops).

But sometimes he couldn’t find Foster standing directly in front of him.

Sometimes-eight times, to be exact-he used pinpoint decisions to lead the team on drives that ended in Husky territory.

But sometimes he missed guys by five yards.

He has not thrown an interception this year, continuing a mistake-free streak that has spanned 11 months and 173 passes.

But he also has yet to take command of a game.

That would be eventually be required of any quarterback in a Toledo offense.

Sometime before January, Paus must take command if UCLA is to win a national championship.

Can he do it? Will he do it?

The only thing certain is that the Bruin future rests on that answer.

“There will come a time Cory is going to have to step up and make those plays,” Toledo said Saturday. “The way DeShaun is running, they’re going to start putting nine guys up there on the line. We’re going to be counting even more on Cory.”

What happens then, well, ask Paus about that Chinese script tattooed on his left shoulder.

“It means either dream or nightmare ,” he said with that grin. “Depending on your interpretation.”

Playing for a former quarterback who made ordinary Cade McNown a rich man, Paus has a dream job.

But playing under Toledo’s expectations can be a nightmare.

When Toledo recently told reporters about making some changes on the kickoff team, he refused to give names of those being demoted.

But when somebody asked him about Paus, he quickly offered that two weeks ago against Oregon State, he nearly benched him.

Of course, Toledo made sure Paus knew about those comments before they appeared in the paper.

Said Toledo: “I don’t pull any punches with him. I told him I may have to sit him down ... and if he starts slow again, I’d think about it again.”

Said Paus: “My reaction about almost being benched? It was, thank God he didn’t.”

Said Toledo: “But he needs to know, he’s the starter, he’s the guy, nobody is going to beat him out.”

Said Paus: “Coach Toledo and I have a great relationship.”

With his confidence and sense of humor, Paus is the perfect foil for the precision coach. Other young quarterbacks might have wilted under the pressure-McNown wilted later-but Paus only shrugs.

“Just know, I am not Trent Dilfer of the Baltimore Ravens,” he said, smiling, understanding what folks are saying. “Hey, last year, I was one of the top passers in the league and we lost six games. I can put up those numbers.

“But this year, I’m doing other things, and we’re winning, and that’s fine.”

Toledo wonders, though, if Paus really believes that.

He wonders if Paus is trying too hard to repeat last year’s numbers in the scheme of a more ground-oriented offense.

“We have different levels of reads, and too often he goes for the bomb

Paus smiles again and wonders if people are watching close enough.

“A lot of things I do out there, Coach Toledo maybe doesn’t see,” he said. “I’m running offenses, making checks and reads, keeping us out of bad plays.”

There is one area, however, that Paus will acknowledge he is struggling.

“On those fakes after I hand the ball to DeShaun,” he said. “I’m supposed to run away from the play, but I can’t help but stand there and watch him. That’s how I get in trouble.”

That’s not the only way he gets in trouble.

When he doesn’t stay in the pocket long enough, he gets in trouble.

When he lobs short passes off his back foot, he gets in trouble.

But then there are times, like Saturday, when Cory Paus takes a hit and lofts a perfect strike and Poli-Dixon makes a wonderful catch and the Bruins look unbeatable.

Maybe they are.

In the end, only Cory Paus will be able to tell us.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com