They’ll Try to Avoid a Dead End

It’s time again for UCLA to begin, which is rarely a problem. The end, fraught as it has been with deceit, treachery and mind-boggling miscalculations--not to mention repeated humiliation at the hands of USC--looms like an ominous storm far down a long highway.

But for now it’s only sunshine, and an insular suburban sunshine at that. The Bruins open camp Saturday at Cal Lutheran, a small private university 40 miles northwest of UCLA tucked beside rocky hills in Thousand Oaks.

It’s a getaway, to be sure, to the same sleepy campus the Dallas Cowboys used as training camp from 1963-89. There are two reasons UCLA will train outside of Westwood for the first time: Spaulding Field needs time to mend after getting torn up by a stream of summer camps, and the Bruins want a respite from the distractions of UCLA in late August.

“Our campus is a zoo,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “There is construction going on, there are cheerleader camps, people running all over the place. This gives us a chance to develop unity and focus on football in a quiet environment.”

Desiring a setting as tranquil as a therapist’s office is understandable. The collective Bruin psyche became as battered as Spaulding Field last season when UCLA lost four consecutive games after a 6-0 start, free-falling from the rankings and down the Pacific 10 Conference standings.

Even a season-ending victory over Arizona State could not wash away the bitter taste of a 27-0 loss to USC and the off-the-field problems of tailback DeShaun Foster and quarterback Cory Paus.

Foster, a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, was penalized by the NCAA for driving a vehicle that did not belong to him and was suspended for the last four games. Paus, a gritty competitor who battled a thumb injury all season, failed to inform Toledo of two off-season convictions for driving under the influence.

Those incidents unfolded amid losses to Stanford, Washington State, Oregon and the cross-town rival Trojans, and called into question Toledo’s control of the program. Doubts linger, and the coach is under the microscope of new Athletic Director Dan Guerrero.

A key issue will be the fitness of Paus, a senior who is within reach of several school records but whose late-season tailspin on the field and lack of judgment off it make him a question mark.

“Our rapport is good,” Toledo said. “I’m willing to forgive and forget. We have an understanding. He can’t afford to make any more mistakes.”

The short leash might be wishful thinking. Toledo must exhibit patience with Paus because there doesn’t appear to be another viable option at quarterback. Paus’ backups are redshirt freshman John Sciarra and incoming freshmen Matt Moore and Drew Olson. The fates of the beleaguered coach and errant quarterback might be inextricably linked.

Certainly, this is a season of reckoning. In the last three years, UCLA is 17-17 and only 3-7 in November and December, with three losses to USC.

The Bruin schedule is murderous, ranked second in difficulty by a national magazine. And a roster that lost 23 seniors, 11 of them starters, must tackle it.

No wonder UCLA is nowhere to be found in the rankings and was picked to finish sixth in a Pac-10 media poll.

There are considerable strengths, however. The offensive line returns nearly intact, Paus has a brigade of talented receivers, the defensive line is solid and defensive backs Ricky Manning Jr. and Matt Ware are among the best in the country.

Replacing Foster’s yards and integrating exciting newcomers Junior Taylor, Marcedes Lewis and Tyler Ebell are the biggest challenges on offense. Replacing All-American middle linebacker Robert Thomas is the toughest task on defense.

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UCLA season-ticket holders were surprised this week when they received their packets and saw that tickets to the Bruins’ game against USC were priced at $28 less than those for the game against Washington State.

It turns out the prices are a mistake that probably originated when the Washington State game was moved from Nov. 16 to Dec. 7 to accommodate national television.

UCLA’s long-standing policy has been to increase ticket prices for more desirable home games, and none is more desirable than the cross-town rivalry. But the price on the tickets that went out to season-ticket holders for the game against the Trojans on Nov. 23 is $30. Tickets for the Washington State game read $58.

Actually, the opposite is true, which anyone buying single-game tickets will discover. Season-ticket holders will receive e-mails in the next few days explaining the error, which did not change the value of the season packages.

“They are valid tickets,” said Ken Weiner, associate athletic director. “If anyone has a problem with it, we’ll reissue the tickets individually.”