Can't wait to-see-L-A

Facing UCLA has not been an easy task for the Huskies three of the past four years: They won only once in 2000, 35-28. Washington has been outscored 69-37 the past two seasons.

Now the Huskies (1-0, 3-1), ranked 18th by the Associated Press, do not want to blow it at the Rose Bowl -- especially the Californians that have been converted into Huskies.

"When you're from Southern Cali, playing for UCLA or USC is what you hope for," said junior cornerback Derrick Johnson. "But I was drawn to Washington and I'm a dog for life; I'm ready to take it to them."

Traditionally, the Washington Huskies have had a plethora of recruits from all different

parts of California; this year the team has 29 Golden State natives.

Several guys from Southern California said they are anxious to play a home game away from home in the storied Rose Bowl. It will be the first road game since the 28-9 loss to Ohio State.

O-linemen Khalif Barnes and Todd Bachert come from the San Diego area, from Spring Valley, Calif. and Mission Viejo, Calif., respectively; and both are excited to get back to California. Barnes said he wants to erase the bad memories of losing to UCLA his first two years.

"Anytime you play college football in front of folks who watched you grow up is good," said Barnes. "Last year they came in here and left a bad taste in my mouth, it wasn't one of my best games, so it's time to gear it up."

Johnson estimated 50 people will be in the crowd on his account; some bought tickets, others made use of the freebies Johnson provided after trading with teammates for future games.

Bachert is also excited to see friends and family, but the main focus is getting the win over the Bruins who have been a thorn in the side of this group of Huskies.

"We got a bad track record against UCLA, we got to win, it's another Pac-10 team we need to beat," Bachert said.

Defensive tackle Jerome Stevens could be the most homesick of all the Californians after staying in Seattle all summer working and getting into shape. Stevens said he is excited to see his mom and dad, but he also gets to see an old friend, UCLA running back Tyler Ebell. The Bruin tailback holds the freshman rushing record after being just six yards away from a 1,000-yard season in 2002.

Stevens is from Oxnard, Calif.; he and Ebell, from Ventura, Calif., went to rival high schools, and Stevens wants to relive the rivalry one last time by stopping Ebell from gaining any ground in his trip back home to Southern California.

"We were jawin' on the field, I let him know after I tackled his ass," Stevens said. "It's in my nature to get the win over them and being back home in front of people I love is awesome -- it's my birthday that day."

Trading Places

One for two sounds like a bad deal, but that is the hand the Huskies were dealt, and they are not folding.

UCLA's new quarterback coach Steve Axman and coach Karl Dorrell were on former coach Rick Neuheisel's staff while at Washington. New Husky co-defensive coordinator Phil Snow was designing zone blitzes to frustrate Cody Pickett at this time last year. Pickett threw four interceptions in the Bruins' 34-24 win in Seattle last year.

"There really was no cash involved in that or players," said Husky coach Keith Gilbertson in jest. "Both parties are saying that it benefited us both. Hopefully, there are two or three recruits yet to be named in the deal."

The familiarity of staff, post-trade, begs the question: What about using audibles and hand signals?

"We've changed our hand signals, we've changed our cadence in the line-of-scrimmage procedures," Gilbertson said. "We're not standing in their huddle, and they aren't standing in ours. Some of our signals mean something, some of them mean nothing."

Washington will try to throw the coaches for a loop with the fake signals, one of the many mind games head coaches play. Players downplay the musical coaching chairs because the team on the field is unchanged.

"They left Washington, so it [doesn't] really matter, we're just going to play the Bruins," junior cornerback Derrick Johnson said.

Head-on collision

When a 245-pound running back is in the Saturday plans, Husky linebackers are forced to consider a plan of attack.

Manuel White Jr., a relative of former Husky cornerback Jermaine Smith, is a Ford F150 in shoulder pads. He is averaging 5 yards per carry, bruising defensive lines that make space for 180-pound Tyler Ebell and his jitterbug moves.

"If they give him the ball 35 times, that's 35 car wrecks," Gilbertson said.

Redshirt freshman Scott White stressed the importance of gang tackling, and forcing Ebell to go east-west rather than north-south.

"We have to attack him before he gets his shoulders square," White said. "He's a load to bring down, obviously, but we got to get him before he starts going downhill."

UCLA is last in the Pac-10 rushing the ball (85 yards per game), last in scoring offense (16 points per game) and eighth in passing offense, therefore the skill guys like White won't receive much help if neutralized.

Stiff uppercut

Rodney Leisle, senior defensive tackle, will sit out the first half Saturday after an altercation in which he threw a punch.

Asked about the first half benching coach Gilbertson said, "Well I was hoping he would punch the guy twice."