August 24, 1998
LOS ANGELES (AP) - While Terry Donahue enjoyed an enormously successful 20 years as UCLA's head coach, seldom was there talk of a national title.
There is now.
When the Bruins face Texas on Sept. 12 at the Rose Bowl, they'll be trying for a school-record 11th straight win to kick off what they hope is a championship season.
I think they're going to be mad as hell,'' coach Bob Toledo said of the Longhorns.
That's understandable. After opening last season with narrow losses to Washington State and Tennessee, UCLA began its 10-game season-ending winning streak with a 66-3 victory over the Longhorns in Austin, Texas. The Bruins finished it with a 29-23 victory over Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
UCLA was rated fifth in the final Associated Press poll - its highest ranking at the end of a season since 1982, and was seventh in the preseason poll.
Quarterback Cade McNown, a third-team All-American, is one of seven starters returning from an offense that ranked third nationally with a 40.7-point average.
One of our goals is to compete for a national championship,'' said Toledo, promoted from offensive coordinator when Donahue retired after the 1995 season. We realized last year that is a possibility.''
The Bruins went 5-6 in Toledo's first year at the helm before last season's 10-2 mark - their best since 1988.
This is a new year, this is a new team,'' Toledo said. It's not the same team that won 10 games in a row. (But) there's no reason why UCLA shouldn't be one of the top teams in the country.''
The Bruins must replace two of their top offensive weapons: Skip Hicks, who rushed for 1,282 yards and scored a school-record 26 touchdowns, and Jim McElroy, who caught 47 passes, 10 for TDs.
Jermaine Lewis and Keith Brown will compete for the starting tailback position, and freshman DeShaun Foster is considered a can't-miss prospect. Danny Farmer leads the returnees at wide receiver.
The defense is less experienced, with just four starters back. Another highly rated freshman - linebacker Robert Thomas - could be an immediate factor.
When Washington State, led by Ryan Leaf, beat UCLA 37-34 last Aug. 30, it wound up determining the Pac-10's Rose Bowl representative, since the Cougars and Bruins lost just one conference game each.
Leaf passed up his senior year to turn pro, and the inexperienced Cougars don't figure to challenge for the Pac-10 title this year. Of course, they were picked to finish seventh before last season.
No. 8 Arizona State, which barely missed winning the national championship two years ago and went 9-3 last season, figures to be the top threat to UCLA.
Other probable contenders are No. 18 Washington, Southern California and No. 24 Arizona, with Oregon, Washington State, Stanford, California and Oregon State considered long shots.
There are a lot of teams that could compete for this thing,'' Arizona coach Dick Tomey said. There are eight different teams that have won or shared the title in the last six years. I kind of feel there's somebody lurking back there who isn't highly thought of who's going to have something to say.''
Because of the new national championship system, it's possible the Pac-10 champion and Big Ten champion won't meet in the Rose Bowl game, since the Fiesta Bowl has been designated the national championship game and the teams ranked 1-2 at the end of the year will play there.
I want to play for the national championship,'' Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder said - no surprise considering the Fiesta Bowl is played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. If your work ethic and goal-setting are in order, go like hell and see where you wind up.
This conference is so good, every weekend the chances of someone being upset are very good.''
Arizona State has eight returning starters on offense, including quarterback Ryan Kealy, who has fully recovered from his knee injury late last season. Big things are expected from J.R. Redmond, a backup who gained 865 yards and averaged 6.1 yards per carry.
Like most of the Pac-10 teams, Washington, 8-4 last year, returns its quarterback, and like McNown, Brock Huard is regarded as one of the best at his position.
I cannot be more pleased about him returning,'' Washington coach Jim Lambright said.
USC is coming off two mediocre seasons (6-6 and 6-5), a rarity for the Trojans. It cost John Robinson his job; he was replaced as coach by quarterback guru Paul Hackett.
I'm delighted to be back,'' said Hackett, a former assistant at USC who returned after serving as offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. I've been received very well because I'm undefeated.''
How long that will last is unclear.
Rebuilding is not part of my philosophy,'' Hackett said. We are planning and expecting to win.''
So is Arizona, which won its final four games last season to finish 7-5.
What these guys did at the end of the season was so inspiring,'' Tomey said.
The Wildcats have seven starters back on offense and a favorable schedule with UCLA and Arizona State both playing in Tucson.
Even though Washington State returns only two starters on offense and four on defense, coach Mike Price is optimistic.
We're going to be a very competitive team, we're going to surprise some people,'' he said. We're fast, we can win a track meet. I don't know if we can win any football games. Being a bowl team, that's our goal.''
Steve Birnbaum, a 6-foot-4 junior, succeeds Leaf at quarterback.
He's good, he's definitely good enough to play,'' Price said. We can win with him.''