Bob Highfill
Record Staff Writer
Cal is off to its best start in nine years. UCLA has opened the season with four wins for the first time since 2001. Something has to give when two of the Pac-10s highest-scoring teams meet in a crucial game at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Bears 5-0, 2-0 hope to stay unbeaten as they work toward November's meeting with No. 1 USC, while the Bruins 4-0, 1-0 hope to continue what has been a promising start on their road to respectability. UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell says he sees nothing but balance on both sides of the ball when he looks at Cal. "They have a very well-executed offense and defense," Dorrell said during the Pac-10 coaches conference call on Monday. "The run very sound defense. They're very aggressive. Offensively, they're very balanced." The Bears, ranked ninth by USA Today and 10th by the Associated Press, lead the conference in total defense and scoring defense, while UCLA, ranked 16th by USA Today and 20th by AP, has averaged 42 points per game. "They've gone 10 quarters without allowing a touchdown," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said of his defense. UCLA will present a much stiffer challenge than those posed so far by Sacramento State, Washington, Illinois, New Mexico State, and Arizona, which Cal outscored by an average of 29 points. Bruins' quarterback Drew Olson is third on UCLA's career passing list and has completed 69.7 percent of his passes. Tailback Maurice Drew has gained 311 yards and averaged 6.1 yards per carry. He's third in the nation with 25.13 yards per punt return with two touchdowns. The Bruins are coming off a 21-17 scare against Washington, coming back from a 17-7 deficit in the fourth quarter. "We're not executing when it comes down to all of us doing what we're supposed to do," Dorrell said. "We just have to do a better job executing." And that won't be easy against a Cal defense that has allowed only 288 yards and 10.6 points per game.
The Bears have been especially stingy on third down, allowing opponents to convert at a 31.8 percent rate. Another key has been Cal's running game, second to USC in the Pac-10 at 259.4 yards per game. "We're going to try and stay balanced," Tedford said. "We've had a lot of success running the ball and until somebody stops us we're going to keep running." Justin Forsett emerged when starter Marshawn Lynch went down with a broken finger in the season opener. Forsett is third in the Pac-10 in rushing 117 yards per game and forms a formidable trio with the now-healthy Lynch and Marcus O'Keith.
Hawkins healthy
Edison High graduate Lavelle Hawkins, a sophomore wide receiver at Cal, didn't play last week against Arizona because of a sprained ankle that he sustained the previous week at New Mexico State. Tedford said he should be available to play Saturday. In three games this season, Hawkins has caught three passes for 51 yards 17 yards per reception. Hawkins and Ayoob were teammates last season at City College of San Francisco. Both are making the transition to Tedford's offensive scheme. "It's been spotty for Lavelle because it depends on what the defenses are giving us. It depends on what the coverages are where we go with the ball," Tedford said.
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