By Rob Miech
CBS SportsLine Staff Writer
Sept. 26, 1998
LOS ANGELES -- UCLA offensive tackle Andy Myers peered out of a window Thursday afternoon in the Bel Air guest house that Cade McNown rents.
"Know what I'm looking at?" Myers asked.
"No," McNown said.
"I'm not looking at a hurricane."
|
The third-ranked Bruins have been indeed relieved their game at Miami was canceled Thursday because of Hurricane Georges. The brunt of that fury missed Miami, but the chancellors and athletic directors of both schools agreed not to play the game in lieu of placing many in peril.
THE DECISION FROM THAT CONFERENCE CALL barely made its way to UCLA's coaches and players before their busses left campus for Los Angeles International Airport. It's the first cancellation in the history of both programs.
"You don't know," UCLA coach Bob Toledo said after practice Friday. "Why jeopardize a bunch of peoples' safety for a football game? This is a game. We wanted to play the game. ...
"But at the risk of putting someone's well-being in jeopardy? No."
After Myers' cute line, McNown peeked out of his window at a cloudless and windless day on Thursday.
"I don't know how much effect it might have on the national picture," McNown said. "We're ranked high, and Miami's not ranked. If we'd have gone down there, people would say we have more to lose than to gain, and they (the Hurricanes) have more to gain than lose. But if the game is played, we'll get after it.
"We want to play people. You only get so many chances to play. At the same time, you have to be realistic and smart."
SO THE BRUINS GET AN unscheduled bye. Toledo took his wife, Elaine, to brunch, then had some of his assistants over to his Westlake Village home to watch some of Saturday's other games.
McNown hoped to play golf, but interviews with a cable television station nixed that idea. Wide receiver Danny Farmer will watch games all day, and safety Larry Atkins will sleep in until at least noon.
"More like 4 (p.m.)," Atkins said. "And I'll take little naps over the whole weekend."
They're enjoying their highest ranking in 10 years and a school-record 12-game winning streak, but the Bruins did not nap at Friday's practice. All-out tackling was prohibited, but they went full speed in full pads for more than two hours on what is normally a shorts, T-shirts and walk-through day.
Toledo also showed about 20 minutes of tape on Washington State, next weekend's opponent. Early Friday night, UCLA junior linebacker Ramogi Huma was asked about "the game," and he quickly talked about the Cougars' offensive tendencies.
|
|
'Personally, I would like to play the game,' UCLA coach Bob Toledo said about the prospect of rescheduling the canceled game against Miami.
(Allsport)
|
"Oh," Huma said, pausing, "you mean the Miami game?"
And that was another element of Toledo's response to the cancellation.
"I want to get Miami off their minds," Toledo said. "I don't want to think of Miami anymore. I want them thinking about Washington State."
SATURDAY WAS TO BE A big day in the Pac-10, with USC playing at Florida State and Washington playing at Nebraska. UCLA-Miami was supposed to round out the hat trick, and the hurricane's wrath cost the Hurricanes about $1 million in lost revenue, according to Miami athletic director Paul Dee.
UCLA would have earned about $700,000 from its television share and guarantee. However, the Bruins might lose even more if the game isn't rescheduled. Should UCLA and two other teams go undefeated this season, the Bruins could be No. 3 and miss out on a national championship game in the Fiesta Bowl.
With a victory over Miami, the new Bowl Championship Series rankings could vault UCLA into that mythical top two because of strength of schedule. Then again, the Bruins most likely wouldn't be ranked third with a Miami loss on their resume.
If the game isn't played, UCLA would only be affected in the conference if it finishes in a three-way tie for first and the tie-breaker boils down to non-conference schedule, where one or two teams at 3-0 would have the edge over the Bruins' 2-0 record.
"Personally," Toledo said, "I would like to play the game."
Toledo will meet with Bruins athletic director Pete Dalis, who has been out of town attending a wedding, on Monday to discuss rescheduling the game, possibly on Dec. 5.
"Nobody really knows," Toledo said. "I don't even know. It's so mind- boggling. But I shouldn't worry about it, because I don't have any control over it. I listened to (TV analyst) Lee Corso say, 'We're going to put them down (in the rankings) now.' But it should be treated like a bye. Why should we suffer 'cause we couldn't play a game?
"But I can't do anything about it. I'm not one of those guys who cries over spilled milk. We go out and try to do the best we can. The things I don't have control over I don't worry about too much, to be honest with you."
McNOWN BELIEVES THE BRUINS GOT the best of both worlds this week, getting in a full slate of intense practices before receiving a few free days to rest and heal before their conference opener.
"You don't want to lose your edge," said McNown, a favorite for the Heisman Trophy who is seventh in the nation in total offense (326.5 yards a game) and 12th in pass efficiency (163.1).
"That's the thing with a bye week. The fact that we didn't know it would be a bye week is great. We kept our intensity and got the benefit of having a week off without going and getting people hurt and banged up. You'd love to play a game to keep your competitive edge, but we tried to get after it (on Friday)."
He discounted needing to prove his Heisman candidacy or show off his team's skills before an East Coast audience.
"If we continue to stay in the top five," McNown said, "they'll see what's going on."
Rob Miech is a sportswriter on CBS SportsLine's staff.