Bruin Defense Makes an Impression : Bulldog Quarterback Buechele Knocked Unconscious by Linebacker Kline

UCLA’s defense had Fresno State quarterback Eric Buechele seeing stars.

Buechele was knocked out cold on the first play of the second quarter when he was sacked by UCLA inside linebacker Doug Kline in the Bruins’ 17-0 win over Fresno State Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

Buechele, who was sacked five times for minus 35 yards, including four times in the first quarter, had to leave the game after Kline slammed him to the turf, and he didn’t return. On the play before being knocked out, Buechele had been sacked on the final play of the first quarter by outside linebacker Ben Hummel.

“I didn’t know what happened on the play or to me. I can’t remember it,” said Buechele, a sophomore who prepped at Servite High in Anaheim.

“The coaches felt I should stay out for my own protection. I guess I got my bell rung.”

Said Fresno State Coach Jim Sweeney: “He (Buechele) got knocked unconscious like Joe Louis. We played the very best team in the Pac-10 and the very best defensive team in UCLA history. We had a difficult time coping with the speed of their defensive line.”

Kline, a red-shirt junior who was making his first start in four years at UCLA in place of injured linebacker Chance Johnson, said he didn’t know he’d knocked Buechele out of the game.

“I just got a good hit on him. I didn’t even know he got knocked out until I went off the field and they told me that he had gotten knocked out,” Kline said.

“I was just excited to get a sack. It was my first sack at UCLA.”

UCLA’s defense did a number on Fresno State, handing the Bulldogs their first shutout in 64 games dating back to 1981.

“The shutout means a lot,” said linebacker Ken Norton, who led the Bruins with eight tackles. “We take a lot of pride in it.”

Fresno State, which never got its rushing attack untracked, had a net minus 26 yards on the ground.

“I’m as pleased as punch with the defense,” UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said. “Our defense played outstanding all day long. Fresno State has a good offensive line, and I didn’t think we get to their quarterback like that.”

Dave Telford, who replaced Buechele at quarterback, didn’t fare much better.

UCLA’s defense, which had eight sacks, dumped Telford three times for minus 24 yards.

“That’s got to be the toughest defense I’ve faced,” said Telford, shaking his head. “They were bringing a lot of people at us on defense. They were rushing six or seven people every down, and we weren’t prepared for it.

“You could see them coming on defense, but with our protection we were supposed to have everything taken care of. They have a great defensive front and good linebackers. I wish we would have had more time to throw so we could have seen how good their secondary is. Their defense made a lot of difference to our play-calling, a big difference.

“We did some things well, but we weren’t too happy with our offense.”

Fresno State had a difficult time containing the speed of UCLA outside linebacker Carnell Lake.

Lake, who had six tackles, including two sacks, was so fast that he seemed to be in the Fresno State backfield almost as quickly as the ball was snapped.

“Carnell Lake was absolutely fantastic,” Donahue said. “His speed made the difference.”

Said Lake: “The defensive coaches made a lot of pressure calls for us, and we were thinking sack a lot. A lot of times we had a seven-man rush.”

Mike Lodish, who moved from nose guard to left defensive tackle to replace the injured Jeff Glasser, also played well for the Bruin defense. Lodish had two sacks for minus 17 yards.

“We knew they’d pass about 80% of the time, so we tried to establish a good pass rush at the start of the game and play to the best of our ability,” Lodish said. “We kept coming every play and we accumulated a lot of sacks.

“It felt good to get the shutout. It showed that we came ready to play.”

The Bruins did a good job of playing team defense, with everyone contributing.

Defensive right tackle Jim Wahler and Kline had one sack apiece, and Hummell had two sacks.

“We had a great day,” Wahler said of the Bruin defense. “I think a lot of people underestimated how pumped up we’d be. I think people expected us to underestimate Fresno State.

“I think this is as good as the defense has been. Instead of trying to overpower them on our pass rush like we do against Pac-10 teams, we were dancing around and going to the outside. We were using a lot more finesse. It’s nice to see people appreciate the defense.”

Bob Field and Tom Hayes, UCLA’s co-defensive coordinators, said the Bruins used a lot of stunts to keep Fresno State’s offense guessing.

“There were two reasons we played so well,” Hayes said. “First, I think all the players played real well and second, I don’t think Fresno State handled our pressure very well.”