What do you get when you mix a little DeShaun Foster, some Corey Paus, a sprinkle of Brian Poli-Dixon and top it off with Robert Thomas?
A 6-2 squad and enough fight to challenge for the Pacific-10 Conference title, that’s what. But take out a suspended Foster, and you get a squad riddled with questions.
With a 3-2 conference record, UCLA is not the team to beat in the Pac-10 anymore, especially after consecutive losses to newly formed juggernauts Stanford and Washington State. But that doesn’t mean the Bruins don’t have any fight left in them.
“The thing that I’m going to do with this football team … is I’m going to remain positive,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. “We’re going to bounce back and we’re going to win more football games. Not all is lost.”
But UCLA loses its top running back in Foster, a Heisman and Doak Walker Trophy candidate. The senior rushed for 301 yards against Washington earlier this season in a 35-13 win, but his play had suffered in recent weeks when UCLA lost to Stanford and Washington State. He was suspended Wednesday for what the school called an “extra benefits” violation.
How it will affect UCLA’s game is still to be seen, but Toledo is quite unhappy with Foster’s actions.
“I’m extremely disappointed. He knows what’s right and what’s wrong, and he’s being disciplined and suspended and we’ll go from there,” Toledo told ESPN.com on Wednesday. “He said he was very sorry for what happened. He didn’t realize it was going to be like this. We’ll find out more about it later.”
Foster’s absence will put the game solely on junior quarterback Cory Paus’ shoulders, with untested sophomore Akil Harris starting in Foster’s place.

At 171.8 yards per game in the air, Paus is eighth in the category in the Pac-10, ahead of only California’s Kyle Boller and Stanford’s Chris Lewis. However, after beating out Ryan McCann and Scott McEwan for the starting spot this season, the quarterback is the team’s present and future signal-caller.
A banged-up Paus will start against the Ducks, despite throwing three interceptions in the fourth quarter against Washington State.
“They dared us to throw the ball, and we couldn’t do it (against WSU),” Toledo told the Daily Bruin.
Cougar safety Lamont Thompson’s Pac-10 tying four picks were more than any UCLA receiver caught from their quarterbacks last weekend. Paus didn’t start against the Cougars, but was in the game long enough to make his mark. If the same happens, look for McEwan, despite not playing at 100 percent, to get the call.
“I told Cory that he needs to perform well because Scott is ready in reserve,” Toledo said.
The receiving trio of Tab Perry, Ryan Smith and Poli-Dixon suffered a blow, as all three have been injured in recent games against Stanford and Wazzu.
Poli-Dixon is expected to play against Oregon on Saturday, but the once-strong group will certainly be less effective. He will have to carry the load, however, with Perry remaining hospitalized with four broken ribs and Smith still suffering from a sprained ankle.
“I know my body better than anybody else, and I feel great,” Poli-Dixon told the Los Angeles Times. “Not only was I not playing, but the team was struggling. I’m ready to make up for it.”
And then there’s the UCLA defense.
With their defense ranked No. 1 in the Pac-10 and 23rd in the nation, the Bruins give up 310.6 yards per game of total offense, and hold their opponents to 16.9 points per game, good for 12th in the country.
They are anchored by Thomas, a 6-foot-2 linebacker, who is an All-America and Butkus Award candidate. The senior has a toughness not matched by many in the conference, and has used that to record 89 tackles so far this season. His 20 tackles for losses this season are the most in the Pac-10.