Bruins Unhappy to Be Behind Alabama

The latest Associated Press rankings did not go unnoticed by UCLA, which was happy to have made such a dramatic climb after the first week but also confused, to say the least, that it was still three spots behind Alabama.

“As you can see,� tailback DeShaun Foster said, “the polls don’t really mean anything.�

The commanding 35-24 victory over the Crimson Tide on Saturday at the Rose Bowl jumped the Bruins from unranked--officially 26th in total votes--to No. 16, their highest spot since Sept. 11, 1999. That they still were ranked behind a team they dominated was the issue.

“The poll thing really baffles me,� Coach Bob Toledo said. “Are you going on last year or are you going on this year? When you beat someone, you should be ahead of them. That is the thing that disappoints me about the polls. I don’t understand it.�

But he can use it.

“I try to use a lot of things for motivation,� Toledo said. “So that could be one of them, yeah.�

*

How well did the sprained ankle of guard Oscar Cabrera hold up, after originally threatening to keep him out the first two weeks? He played the entire game against Alabama.

In fact, in a return to the stability of the offensive line of two seasons ago, the Bruins made only one brief substitution Saturday: Shane Lehmann for Brian Polak at the other guard when Polak suffered a slight ankle sprain in the third quarter.

Cory Paus’ separated shoulder was the only significant injury from the game. Split end Brian Poli-Dixon appeared to also have had one after sitting out almost the entire second half because of cramps in his legs, but it was a precautionary move.

“If we needed to throw the ball at the end, he would have gone back in,� Toledo said.

Meanwhile, Ken Kocher went 14 plays on his sprained ankle and probably will remain a reserve against Fresno State, a reduced role for one more week as the Bruins try to bring him back slowly.

Anthony Fletcher, coming off what Toledo said was the best game in his two-plus seasons as a Bruin, and Rodney Leisle will remain the starting defensive tackles.

*

The Alabama game was the first part of a home-and-home series. The Bruins go South for the 2001 opener, on Sept. 1. Michigan’s trip to the Rose Bowl next week is the conclusion of the two-game contract that began Sept. 28, 1996, with the 38-9 victory for the Wolverines in Ann Arbor.