Opponents Feel Effects When This Front Moves Through

Maurice Drew, Drew Olson and Marcedes Lewis have been the big playmakers for eighth-ranked UCLA’s offense but the engine behind the Bruins’ 7-0 start has been their line.

Tom Cable, offensive coordinator and line coach, has put together a deep and talented front that has been able to open holes for Drew and Chris Markey and protect Olson. When a starter has been injured, a backup has stepped in and the Bruin offense, the fifth-highest scoring unit in the nation at 44.4 points a game, has continued to roll.

“It’s just nice to be blocking for guys like we have, they’re always making plays,” said sophomore Noah Sutherland, who started at strongside tackle in place of an injured and ill Brian Abraham in UCLA’s 51-28 victory over Oregon State on Saturday.

“We have guys who break a couple of tackles and make everyone look good.”

Abraham, limited because of a nagging ankle injury and flu-like symptoms, participated in only a few plays on special teams against the Beavers, and starting center Mike McCloskey suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter and did not return.

If McCloskey, who had an MRI test Sunday, is sidelined for a while, redshirt freshman Aaron Meyer, who played the rest of the game against Oregon State, will start at Stanford on Saturday.

“For the first time playing, in a difficult circumstance [Meyer] played well,” Coach Karl Dorrell said. “I’m sure that he’ll learn a lot from [Saturday’s] playing experience. It was really his first time playing in a game that was still a game.”

With senior Robert Cleary starting at weakside guard because of Chris Joseph’s season-ending knee injury, UCLA racked up 497 yards against the Beavers -- who stuffed California’s offense a week earlier -- with three backup linemen.

“That was pretty cool in that we didn’t have a letdown,” Cable said. “I’m really happy for those two kids because neither one of them had really played.”

One constant has been senior weakside tackle Ed Blanton, who has started 31 of UCLA’s last 32 games. Blanton said he has made sure that his teammates remember to stay focused.

“I was here in ’01 when we started out 6-0 and finished 7-4, I know what can happen,” Blanton said. “Sure, this feels great, and it feels good right now, but we still have a lot of work to do.

“Nobody ever thought we’d be here, so we have had to take on the attitude of being together.”

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On Saturday, backup quarterback Ben Olson played in his first game since his senior season at Thousand Oaks High in 2001. He was in for eight plays and threw one incomplete pass.

“For sure, I wanted to go in there and air it out,” he said. “The coaches would have gotten mad at me if I [audibled to a pass play].”

“But the game was real slow to me, which makes me feel good to know how prepared I was. It was a good experience.”

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Drew, the national leader in punt returns with a 30.85-yard average, has a school season-record 401 punt return yards. Drew, second in the nation in scoring at 13.71 points a game, is averaging 28.1 yards a touchdown this season and scores every 9.19 times he touches the ball.