When the UCLA team bus returned to Westwood Saturday night after
the Bruins’ dramatic victory over California, they were
greeted by the sound of honking horns from cars passing by. Unlike
the last two years, however, when the horns were interpreted as
simple recognition or misguided anger, this time, they were
welcomed as support. “It’s just a lot different than
I’ve seen here in the past,” senior safety Jarrad Page
said. “The past few years around campus, everyone’s
been talking bad about us. I’ve never been here when
it’s been good.” Most players say they can feel the
increasing buzz around campus, citing specifically the more than
usual amount of people turning their heads when they walk by to the
whispers they pretend not to hear. But they also know the increased
attention is probably warranted, as UCLA fans haven’t had a
football team ranked so high to root for since 2001, as the Bruins
enter this Saturday’s game the 12th-ranked team in the
country. “Everybody loves to get respect,” Page said.
“You can’t not love that.” “It’s good
to be up here on cloud nine right now,” running back Maurice
Drew said. Though the players say they appreciate the support,
they’re cognizant of the fact that they can’t let it
diminish their focus, something UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said
he’s instilling in his team this week. “We hope
we’re mature enough as a football team to recognize support,
but not let it distract us,” Dorrell said. “We may have
had a little bit of a letdown against Washington and we were
fortunate to come back and win that one. “For us to be as
good as we are, we have to maintain a sense of urgency.”
Still, though it may seem with every win the number of friends
Bruin players never knew they had grows exponentially, some are
perfectly content to receive no recognition at all. When Drew
attended his English discussion class on Monday, which several
football players are enrolled in, his teacher asked the other
football players how they played in the game before turning her
attention to Drew. “She asked me how my weekend was, and I
told her it was fine,” said Drew, who tied his own school
record with five touchdowns on Saturday. “Then she asked me
if I got to watch the game on Saturday, and I told her I
did.”
SCAREDY CATS: Drew on the possibility that
teams may start punting the ball away from him: “I’m
not going to fair catch it,” Drew said. “But I hope
they’re not scared to kick it to me.” The junior leads
the country with 33.8-yard punt-return average.
MISSING COUGARS: While Washington State
linebacker Will Derting will not play in this weekend’s game
against the Bruins, it is expected Cougar wide receiver Jason Hill
will be in uniform this Saturday in Pullman, Wash.
INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore offensive tackle Chris
Joseph tore the meniscus in his left knee in the first quarter of
Saturday’s game and will require surgery. Dorrell said that
Joseph will be out indefinitely, but doesn’t expect the
sophomore to miss significant time. Joseph was replaced by Robert
Cleary against California. … Sophomore defensive tackle Brigham
Harwell re-injured his already sprained right ankle, but is not
expected to miss any practice time. … Redshirt freshman offensive
lineman Tony Lee will return to the team after recovering from
surgery to remove a loose bone in his right knee.
EXTRA POINTS: Drew’s 299 all-purpose
yards on Saturday was the second-highest total of any player this
year … UCLA’s trip to Washington State will be the
team’s first game outside the state of California … The
Bruins’ game on Oct. 22 against Oregon State at the Rose Bowl
is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. and will be televised nationally
by TBS.