Thanks to Bob Toledo's efforts, UCLA has the best collection of the talent in the Pac-10.

But to win the conference title, all those former high school blue-chippers will have to overcome the program's soft, no-defense image.

Those knocks certainly pre-date Toledo's arrival in 1996, but he hasn't been able to change it -- especially the defense part. Even when UCLA was within minutes of playing for the national title in 1998, the Bruins were horrific on defense, allowing more than 28 points per game, and collapsing when it mattered most against Miami.

In the past seven seasons, spanning 80 games, UCLA has yielded an average of nearly four touchdowns.

Last year, it went from bad to worse -- the Bruins allowed a school record 368 points and Toledo fired defensive coordinator Bob Field, who had served as a UCLA assistant for 22 years.

It's against this backdrop that the Bruins will have their fourth defensive coordinator in five seasons -- Phil Snow, who had been Arizona State's defensive coordinator for the past seven seasons. He was fired along with head coach Bruce Snyder last season, and was hired by Illinois in December before the Bruins whisked him back to the Pac-10.

Snow, known for coaching aggressive defense, has had to break old habits.

In the secondary, UCLA has mostly relied on zone concepts. Now, Snow wants his defensive backs to play man-to-man with any and all receivers.

UCLA also was the worst team in the Pac-10 a year ago in sacks (less than two a game), and in keeping the other guys from converting on third down (at almost a 40 percent rate).

"I think well be more aggressive than we've been," Snow said.

"Last year, you look at third down and it's all a four-man rush and they weren't hitting or confusing the quarterback. So we'll give them a lot of different looks. We'll have 11 guys up, then we'll back off. We'll show them we're off, then we'll come up and blitz, blitz, blitz. At least (the quarterback) will have to make the right decisions."

Senior defensive end Kenyon Coleman, coming back from a knee injury that wrecked most of his 2000 season, will be the lead force in establishing a more powerful front line, although he has plenty of help from Rodney Leisle, Ken Kocher, Rusty Williams, Dave Ball, Mat Ball and Anthony Fletcher.

"I feel no pressure," Coleman said. "Ken Kocher is awesome. Anthony Fletcher is awesome. All along the front, we have awesome players."

In the linebacker corps, too.

Senior middle linebacker Robert Thomas is a physical stud who led the Bruins with 88 tackles last season and led the Pac-10 by forcing six fumbles. And Ryan Nece has started UCLA's last 21 games, playing through pain a year ago.

In the secondary, senior strong safety Marques Anderson and junior Ricky Manning Jr., an all-league cornerback, will set the tone for Snow's man-to-man philosophy.

On offense, much rests on the right shoulder of junior Cory Paus.

His efficiency rating of 145.8 would have led the conference last season if a separated right shoulder -- sustained on the first play of the season against Alabama -- hadn't sidelined him for a month.

According to Toledo, Paus has a strong arm, reads defenses well and possesses the intangibles to be an outstanding collegiate quarterback, which is something UCLA hasn't had since 1998. But since Cade McNown left, the Bruins have won only 10 of 23 games.

Paus said he believes he has made great strides with Toledo's complex offensive system.

"I think the quarterback is asked to make a few more decisions in this offense than in some other offenses," Paus said. "But once you get it down, it makes a lot of sense."

On offense, the Bruins must replace both guards, but are stocked with young, talented linemen, notably junior left tackle Mike Saffer. They will be clearing the way for senior tailback DeShaun Foster, who has the skills to be one of the nation's best, although he has battled injuries the past two seasons.

UCLA is hoping that 6-5 senior Brian Poli-Dixon can make cornerbacks fear him the way they did Freddie Mitchell, who left early for the NFL. Look for Tab Perry, a 6-4, 218-pound sophomore, to thrive in a secondary role to Poli-Dixon.

The offense is rarely the question. More defense will be needed to carry the Bruins through another rugged non-conference schedule (at Alabama, home vs. Ohio State) and into a wide-open conference race.

Last year, the Bruins stopped no one in the Pac-10, allowing more than 35 points per game.

The pressure is on Snow to produce.

"If we don't play well, they should get after me," Snow said. "It's no different than anywhere else. Yeah, I welcome it. It's gonna be fun."

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