Week Off Allows Bruins Time to Heal

Having last week off did more than refresh some tired legs at UCLA. The bye has given Coach Bob Toledo back some players.

Toledo said Monday that cornerback Marques Anderson, back from surgery for an undisclosed ailment, and fullback Matt Stanley (shoulder) will get as much playing time as they can tolerate on Saturday. Cornerback Jason Bell (hamstring), safety Jason Stephens (stomach) and defensive tackle Ken Kocher (ankle) could see limited action.

Stanley, who has missed four games, would bolster the UCLA blocking as well as give quarterback Cory Paus another receiver out of the backfield.

“We’ll try to keep Stanley out of contact as much as we can,” Toledo said. “But the doctors feel he can go. Whether it’s this week or next week the shoulder is going to be the same for him, so if we can bring him back . . . “

Linebackers Dennis Link (hamstring) and Asi Faoa (ankle) are doubtful, Toledo said.

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If there was one game last season that stuck with Paus more than any other, it was the 17-0 loss to California at the Rose Bowl. It was the Bears’ first shutout of the Bruins in 36 years.

“It left a terrible taste; not just [for] me but all the offense,” said Paus. “We didn’t play particularly well last year as a whole. But that game was the worst offensive performance.”

In that game Cal held UCLA to 12 first downs and 168 total yards.

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Cal is 1-4 overall, 0-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference and mired in a four-game losing streak, but Toledo guaranteed the Bruins will not look past the less-than-Golden Bears.

“They’ve got some outstanding defensive players,” Toledo said. “[Defensive end Andre] Carter is an All-American candidate in my opinion. [Nose tackle Jacob] Waasdorp plays 100 miles an hour.

“And their punter Nick Harris, he has bothered us for three years. I can’t even count the number of times he has put us in a hole.”

Harris, a senior, is considered to have one of the strongest legs in college football. But his true value is in his ability to pin opponents inside their 10 yard line with high, short kicks that don’t roll into the end zone.

“He was very good last year, and he worked this summer to be an expert in the ‘pooch’ punt,” Cal Coach Tom Holmoe said. “It’s paid off in a huge way. It’s not a fluke; the ball just doesn’t happen to bounce like that 20 times in the first five games.”