Weldon Forde

The play is called "Fresno," a tribute to the university's big raisin, football Coach Jim Sweeney. UCLA put "Fresno" in this week, when Sweeney announced his retirement. Skip Hicks took the fourth-quarter screen pass from Cade McNown, outran California defensive end Jeremiah Parker with ease, then shifted into high gear to coast away from Kevin Devine and shake Kato Serwanga from his shoulders as easily as a bull would a fly.

Cade McNown was not trying to match Ryan Leaf, and good thing, because the way Leaf's passes sent the Bruin defenders spinning and slipping on Saturday, even Peyton Manning might not have been able to match him. Which is interesting, since Manning and the Tennessee Volunteers come up next in this frightening, front-loaded UCLA season. And James Brown and Texas after that.

With three minutes to play in the first half Saturday night at Knoxville, Tenn., Abdul McCullough found he had about 1,000 friends in Neyland Stadium and 105,297 others hoping he would fall on his face. The football had come to him, fluttering from the time Peyton Manning had thrown it with Weldon Forde hanging on him. The ball sailed over Tennessee's Andy McCullough, into Abdul McCullough's hands for an interception on his 49-yard line.

The UCLA Bruins accomplished a lot in the first month of their season. They beat opponents big and small, from Miami to Fresno State. They established a strong running game with tailback Karim Abdul-Jabbar and a powerful offensive line. They developed an effective passing game, led by impressive freshman quarterback Cade McNown. They successfully switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense that lets them take advantage of their speed. Yes, the Bruins have done just about everything.

Brian Willmer had another long day Saturday, opponents running into him at twice his size, teammates running past him at twice his speed. But it was nothing like his Wednesdays. "Now Wednesdays, those are tough," he said. That is the day this UCLA middle linebacker arrives on campus at 9 a.m., and doesn't leave until 10 p.m. For 13 hours, there are graduate studies, football practice, and more graduate studies. Crunch time is when he runs off the field just before 6 p.m.

Take that, Kirk Herbstreit, you Saturday-morning-quarterbacking, first-guessing ESPN prognosticator you. Take that for saying UCLA could suffer its worst loss in history. The Bruins didn't, but . . . " 'But' is killing us," quarterback Cade McNown said after the Bruins rallied from a 24-point deficit Saturday at the Rose Bowl, only to fall short in a 30-24 loss to third-ranked Tennessee. "I don't just want to give a good effort. That's not good enough. I want to win.

"You guys owe it to yourselves to play 60 minutes . . . with great effort, great intensity. It's the last time we're going to walk out that tunnel together, guys. The last time we're going to walk out as the 1996 UCLA football team. I'm proud to be a part of it." --Bob Toledo, addressing the Bruins just before last fall's USC game * Jolie Oliver is as much a part of UCLA's defense as Weldon Forde, Shaun Williams or Brian Willmer.

Larry Atkins went shopping Saturday and got one of just about everything. And a couple of sacks. Cade McNown went out and got a record. UCLA picked up a 34-10 victory over Oregon State. Bob Toledo might not show the game video at a coaching clinic, but he would be willing to hang the Rose Bowl scoreboard in the Louvre. "Whether you win 2-0 or 34-10, it really doesn't matter," said Toledo, the Bruin coach who was celebrating his first five-game winning streak.

UCLA tried a double reverse, a double-reverse pass and a reverse on a kickoff, but the Bruins couldn't get a reversal of fortune Saturday night. They dug a hole for themselves at Neyland Stadium, fell in and couldn't climb out in a 35-20 loss to No. 2 Tennessee in their season-opener, before 106,297.