ANG Newspapers: Cal, UCLA getting ready to lace'em up, duke it ou t

By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER 

BERKELEY — There's no intercollegiate boxing at Cal and UCLA, but Saturday's football face-off between these two connected universities has the same anticipation of a championship fight.  "This will be one of those games," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said Tuesday. "I told the team on Monday that it doesn't get any better than this, two ranked undefeated teams, a near capacity crowd."  Just like a title bout between unbeaten fighters?  "That's how you approach it," Tedford said. "We have to get our body chemistry ready."

The 5-0 Golden Bears and the 4-0 Bruins may not add up to Louis-Schmeling or the Thrilla in Manila, but Saturday could be Hagler-Hearns, because the buildup has the same similarities.  "The energy level when you run out of the tunnel, the goosebumps," said Tedford, equating the two sports. "Especially in an afternoon game, hearing people go (crazy with divided campus loyalties) from the get-go."  There will be a sizable gathering of Old Blues at the Rose Bowl, which could swell the crowd, Tedford heard, to a nearly full 90,000, who will watch two heavy hitters, like George Foreman meeting Ron Lyle.  UCLA is averaging 42.2 points a game to Cal's 40.2. These are two offenses that come out swinging. The Roundhouse at the Rose Bowl?  "They're very explosive on offense," Tedford said. "They're capable of hitting on all cylinders. They have a big-time tight end (Marcedes Lewis), a great tailback (Maurice Drew) and a quarterback (Drew Olson) who's competitive and makes plays."  UCLA coach Karl Dorrell complained Tuesday that UCLA's running game isn't what it should be, explaining that "we're not executing, putting a hat on a hat (blocking-wise)."

Tedford feels that's fixable, like a boxer with a bruised hand.  "They can break out of it any time," he said. "They make most of their big plays on screens to Maurice Drew, who's almost impossible to tackle one-on-one. He has great lower body strength, great speed, and he won't go down with arm tackles."  UCLA has a big three in Drew, the junior out of De La Salle High; Lewis, the 6-5, 255-pound tight end with deep receiving speed, and Olson, the Piedmont senior who saved the game against Washington with a last-minute knockout Saturday.  "We're learning how to win," Dorrell said. "Cal will present a lot of problems. They run the ball as well as anyone in the conference. They run a very solid defense, with a strong front four and good cover guys. They have a large number of interceptions (6).  "This is a big game. They're a Top 10 team. We're trying to keep our improvement going. We are more confident. We have more experience."

And the Bruins have weapons on both sides of the ball.  "They're very experienced on defense, with a lot of talent," said Tedford. "(Spencer) Havner and (Justin) London have been there forever at linebacker. (Jarrad) Page is a very physical safety. They do multiple things on defense to keep you guessing."  Defense? In boxing terms, that would be Willie Pep and Benny Leonard. But Saturday is made for offense. And Cal is hoping that it's Jack Dempsey to UCLA's Jess Willard.  "We have to eliminate the big play, make them earn everything they get," Tedford said.