UCLA Tries to Rebound Against Oregon State

CORVALLIS, Ore. —  Believe it or not after the tarring it took in Tucson last week, the UCLA football team will show its face in public again today.

On network television, no less.

The Bruins, still alive in the Rose Bowl race despite a 42-7 loss to Arizona, begin a five-week, do-or-die stretch with a game against Oregon State at Parker Stadium.

UCLA faced a similar situation last year--with less than satisfactory results--after losing to Washington State in the eighth week of the season. The Bruins staggered past Oregon and Stanford before losing to USC and settling for the Cotton Bowl.

But until the Bruins lose another game, Coach Terry Donahue won’t count them out of the Pacific 10 Conference race. They’re 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-10, virtually tied for second place with Arizona and Washington State behind unbeaten USC.

At the same time, Donahue acknowledged that for UCLA to reach the Rose Bowl for the first time in four seasons, it would have to show more interest in future opponents than it did in Arizona.

In its first two games and in its last three, UCLA was unable to reach the emotional level that it attained in last month’s 24-23 loss to Michigan, which probably was the Bruins’ best game.

“We exhibited that we have the capability of playing at a certain level,” Donahue said. “It’s hard to do it every week, but you shouldn’t do it one out of six. You ought to do it five out of six.”

Or in the Bruins’ current predicament, five out of five .

They hope to begin rebuilding their season against an Oregon State team that is 2-3-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the Pac-10.

The Beavers were 41-3 losers to Washington State, 35-7 losers to Nebraska and 35-18 losers to Fresno State. They have allowed a staggering 37 sacks, have averaged only 81.7 yards a game rushing and yet are described by Donahue as a “very competitive, vastly improved football team.”

Certainly, they’ve made strides in 4 1/2 seasons under Coach Dave Kragthorpe. Their 4-6-1 record last season was their best since 1971, when they were 5-6, and they ended a 13-game winless streak against Oregon with a season-ending 21-10 victory.

“We’re not so very far off,” said Kragthorpe, acknowledging that the Beavers aren’t yet where they want to be. “The biggest problem we’ve had with our program is that, so many times we have been so close. We’ve won a few games against teams with superior talent, but there have been other times when we have come close.

“(But) all those coming closes and ifs and maybes just don’t get it done in terms of turning the program around. A victory over a team of UCLA’s stature would be an exceptionally big step forward for our program.”

It hasn’t happened since Nov. 11, 1978, when UCLA quarterback Rick Bashore failed to complete any of his 10 passes and Kieron Walford kicked a 36-yard field goal with 3:08 left to give Oregon State a 15-13 victory on a cold and windy day in Corvallis.

It had been almost as long since UCLA lost a conference game by 35 points, as it did last week when Arizona ran through the Bruins for 480 yards rushing.

Did Oregon State learn anything from the Wildcats?

“They did a couple of different things offensively, but not things we are capable of doing,” Kragthorpe said. “We’re not going to change what we do.”

What the Beavers do in a ball-control offense is pass. They led the Pac-10 in passing each of the last three seasons behind Erik Wilhelm, the conference’s all-time passing leader, but have fallen to sixth this season behind his replacements, Nick Schichtle and Matt Booher.

It hasn’t helped that the quarterbacks have been sacked so often.

What’s the problem?

“Personnel,” Kragthorpe said. “There’s nothing complicated about it. Some of our people just aren’t getting the job done.”

Those people have improved, though. In the last two weeks, they’ve allowed only eight sacks.

How good are the Beavers?

“They’re certainly a team that is capable of beating UCLA,” Donahue said.

After last week, who’s to argue?

Bruin Notes

Rain is forecast. . . . Nick Schichtle, a former UCLA walk-on and transfer from Riverside City College, was Oregon State’s starting quarterback in its first four games and was sacked 25 times, including nine by Boise State and 10 by Nebraska. He injured his left shoulder against Nebraska, reinjured it two weeks ago against Fresno State and hasn’t played since.

Last week, in a 17-17 tie against Arizona State, Oregon State junior Matt Booher completed 22 of 29 passes for 179 yards and ran for 97 yards in 22 carries. . . . A 55-yard field-goal attempt by Troy Bussanich on the last play of the game was short and wide to the left. . . . Oregon State hasn’t had a winning season since 1970, when it was 6-5. . . . UCLA is listed as a 13-point favorite.

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue reported no new injuries after last week’s 42-7 loss to Arizona. “We didn’t hit anybody,” he said. . . . Linebacker Meech Shaw, who missed last week’s game because of a pinched nerve in his neck, is listed as doubtful. . . . Sophomore Scott Spalding is expected to start at offensive guard in place of senior Rick Meyer, who will alternate between guard and tackle.

Hard to Believe: Last week’s ambush by Arizona was UCLA’s first double-digit margin of defeat in conference play in this decade. The Bruins’ other 15 Pac-10 losses in the 1980s were by a total of 66 points, and their worst previous conference loss of the decade was last season’s 31-22 loss to USC. UCLA, in the last 9 1/2 seasons, has lost only two other conference games by more than six points.