NOTHIN’ BRUIN

The UCLA Bruins are spending more time in the basement than Wayne and Garth, and there is little doubt why.

Karma.

Theirs was a season doomed from the start, even if players and coaches denied the mounting evidence before the first game had been played. They smiled and waved at the snowball as it rolled downhill past them.

Players were charged in a handicapped-parking case and looked for public absolution by saying their intent was not to cheat the physically disabled but to scam the system, presumably some sort of attempt to plea bargain the actions down to understandable. Danny Farmer, one of the best receivers in the country, seriously sprained his ankle in a training-camp scrimmage throwing a block. The fireworks show that was supposed to come at the Rose Bowl after the season opener had to be postponed because of a malfunction.

Which is to say nothing of the other fireworks system that malfunctioned. The Bruins at least used to be entertaining in defeat--they scored 30 points a game in the 5-6 finish of 1996 and broke 30 seven times while going 7-5 in 1995, Terry Donahue’s final season. But they’re down to 24.1 now, have one touchdown in the last nine quarters and the defense just gave up 55 points, the most in 29 years.

OK, so maybe it’s not all karma.

The Bruins are 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Pacific 10, in last place one season after finishing in first, in a dreadful year for the conference at that. They just lost by 48 points to an opponent that had been 10th when the game started, their largest margin of defeat in 69 years.

On the bright side, at least they weren’t hit by that snowball. There were enough problems already.

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THE INEXPERIENCE: Of the 60 players on the traveling roster for Oregon State last week, 26 were redshirt freshmen, true freshmen or walk-ons. Mostly the scrubs? Hardly. Fourteen were on the two-deep chart. Thirteen more were sophomores.

“I keep saying it and I know people don’t want to hear all the excuses, and I understand that too,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “I don’t mean to be making excuses. All I’m telling you is they’re a young football team that will get better and learn from their mistakes.”

Only eight players have started every game. Of those, six had only spot duty in the past at their position or did not have any role before: tackle Blake Worley, center Troy Danoff, defensive end Rusty Williams, free safety Joey Strycula, kicker Chris Griffith and punter Nate Fikse. The two with experience are both on the defensive line, Kenyon Coleman and Ken Kocher.

In the first three games alone, 21 players made the first starts of their careers. In all, 22 players have started on defense, 18 on offense.

Compare that to last season: 10 started all 12 games and an additional six were in the opening lineup at least nine times.

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THE QUARTERBACK DECISION: It is the ultimate hindsight, because it looked like a great move when Drew Bennett relieved the injured Cory Paus against Fresno State and sparked the win. But what has become obvious in the long run is that the Bruins invested a lot of time in spring practice, fall practice and the first two games in Bennett--who has thrown one pass in the last four games and has been moved to receiver.

Not only was there little payoff with Bennett, but the platoon system took valuable time away from Paus, whose current play shows how much he lacks experience. He could have been getting a lot more in camp and the first two games. The judgment by coaches became a significant setback.

Toledo does not concede it was a mistake to go so long with Bennett. But he does say of Paus’ situation, “I’m sure he would be a little bit better. How much better, I really don’t know. That’s hard to tell. But any time you get more snaps, more reps, you get better.”

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THE RUNNING GAME: It has always been a staple, even with a star quarterback like Cade McNown. But this season, it became nothing short of critical because the young quarterback needed the support, so the success of the offense wouldn’t rely on his arm and so defenses couldn’t play only for the pass.

Instead, UCLA is seventh in the conference in rushing, and the team highs the last three games have been 42 yards against Oregon State (Jermaine Lewis), 67 yards against California (Paus) and 69 yards against Oregon (Keith Brown).

“You gotta rush the ball better,” offensive coordinator Al Borges said. “You’ve got to take the pressure off the guy under center.”

The Bruins miss DeShaun Foster, who has had a combined three carries the last four games because of a sprained ankle. But most of the blame has gone to the offensive line, not the backs, because of the inability to create holes. And that’s not even getting into the difficulties with pass blocking.

“We’ve all struggled, the tight ends and the O line,” tight end Bryan Fletcher said. “Every position on offense has struggled. It’s hard to throw the ball successfully when your running game is not working.”

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THE LEADERSHIP VOID: “There’s no question,” Toledo said. “We only have 12 seniors, and not many of them are really playing. It’s hard to be a leader when you’re not playing. And then when you play, you have to lead by example. I think the players are really concerned about them doing their own thing right now, as opposed to leading.”

Indeed, for as much as the Bruins miss the playing skills of several members of last season’s team, the departure of then-seniors Andy Meyers, Shawn Stuart, Brendon Ayanbadejo, McNown et al., and the decision of Kris Farris to leave a year early for the NFL have created a leadership vacuum. That has been most obvious in recent weeks, when it has been most needed, in the face of adversity. When someone needed to get in teammates’ faces.

“Yeah, you’d like them to do that,” Toledo said. “We have some nice kids that aren’t that way right now.”

Consider that Toledo picked a redshirt freshman, Williams, as a captain for this week against Arizona.

“That tells you something,” Toledo said. “Because he’s a vocal guy and he’ll grab you by the ears. He doesn’t care. And he plays hard. I think Cory Paus would be a great leader if he was having some success, but he’s worried about himself right now.”

Said Williams: “I try to do what I can do. To be a leader, you’ve got to play like a leader and you’ve got to lead by example. I try not to be too vocal, because who wants to hear some guy hooting and hollering when he’s not playing as well as he should be. I feel like my play has come up a little bit and now maybe I can say a little bit more than I have been.

“We’ve been looking for some leadership. I guess maybe it’s because we have a small senior class or because things aren’t going well.”

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THE INEPTITUDE: Defensive players need to be able to tackle.

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THE INJURIES: Farmer, a preseason All-American candidate, has missed two games and most of two others because of the ankle and a strained groin, the current ailment. Foster has missed the last two games because of a sprained ankle. Split end Brian Poli-Dixon fractured his wrist in the third game and is probably out for the season.

The only comforting part for the Bruins is that those losses have come at the positions with the most depth, receiver and tailback. But that’s still 31 touchdowns from 1998 being reduced to roles more suited for complementary players.

Meanwhile, Jason Bell, a starter at cornerback, lasted only two games before being forced out with continued heel problems. Travor Turner, a backup defensive end but UCLA’s best pass rusher, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener. Paus missed a game and a half because of sore chest muscles from the hit that knocked him out of the Fresno State game, a moment he felt derailed his progress more than the early rotation with Bennett.

And then there’s the related column: the unexpected losses not from injury.

Forget Farris’ decision, which didn’t come as a surprise. UCLA is without three others who would have been counted on to play prominent roles. Marques Anderson, a starter last season, was dismissed from school for off-the-field incidents, a blow for the secondary in need of any help. David Wilford and Scott Weigand could have been boosts for the troubled offensive line, but Weigand quit the team and Wilford was dismissed from school because of academic problems.

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THE SUSPENSIONS: The focus at the start of the season remains a focus near the end.

One of the defendants found the legal proceedings so serious that he dropped his voice to bass level and sang “Nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen,” as he entered the court room through a back door. It came in a low voice, but a very mocking tone.

Months later, the troubles are still being seen, well beyond the two-game suspensions the university gave 10 key players. In truth, the fallout from the handicapped-parking scheme has lasted eight games, and counting, and certainly much more than expected.

“I think you’re probably right,” Toledo said. “I agree with what you’re saying.”

Any thoughts of needing only a game or two for the 10 to work themselves back into the flow disappeared amid a series of nagging injuries that the coach traces to the active Bruins having to play and practice that much more at the start of the season. And that’s just the physical toll.

“I don’t think there’s any question that had an effect on our football team this year,” Toledo said. “A big effect. From a moral standpoint, a camaraderie standpoint, from a workmanship standpoint.”

The snowball.

“The continuity,” Fletcher said. “I agree with Coach. It has taken us a while to come back. The only thing we can hope is for it to be back this week. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen.”

Production Reduction

UCLA’s key statistics through eight games this year compared to eight games last year.