Ucla Receiver Makes Big Catches
Either opponents can’t stop him with single coverage or won’t stop him with double coverage, but UCLA junior receiver Danny Farmer isn’t complaining. He simply catches pass after pass - most of them difficult and all of them important.
“He’s such a clutch performer,” Bruins coach Bob Toledo said. “He catches the ball and he knows where the first-down marker is. He makes huge catches. He breaks tackles.
He’s not very fast, but he outruns everybody.”
Farmer is third in the Pac-10 in receiving yards per game (96.5) and second in yards-per-catch (20.3). He was at his best Saturday at Oregon State - feeling his way in the first half (one catch, 31 yards) as the Bruins distributed the ball democratically, then dominating in the second with four receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
His best play, a diving sideline catch in the final minutes, set up Chris Sailer’s go-ahead field goal.
“At halftime, I go in and tell the coaches what’s open,” Farmer said. “So does Cade (McNown). We make small adjustments and try to spread the ball around. Obviously, if it’s a close game, I want the ball that much more.”
Farmer’s off-season move from split end to flanker is responsible for much of his prosperity.
Flanker usually is higher on McNown’s read scale than split end, which makes Farmer the primary receiver more often than he was last year. In close games, the Bruins call plays designed for the flanker.
“We can do more things with him at flanker,” Toledo said. “We can move him around, and if they double-team him, (Brian) PoliDixon can make plays.”
In a reversion to their 1996 form, the Bruins allowed 206 yards in kickoff returns to Oregon State. They continually kicked to Tim Alexander despite his repeated success and they failed to cover or tackle him.
“We didn’t kick well, we didn’t cover well and we didn’t tackle well,” Toledo said. “And we had a field goal blocked because of low trajectory.”
Otherwise, no problems.
No personnel changes are planned for the kickoff coverage unit.
Washington’s beleaguered secondary received a boost this week when junior cornerback Jermaine Smith returned from a five-game absence due to a knee injury.
The Huskies have allowed 1,229 passing yards in their last three games against USC, Oregon State and Oregon, and have the worst pass defense in the Pac-10.
“He brings us stability,” Washington coach Jim Lambright said. “And that’s something we’re in dire need of at this point.”
It’s possible McNown will be second in Heisman Trophy voting but the second-team All-Pac-10 quarterback.
McNown trails Texas’ Ricky Williams, according to a survey of Heisman voters by the ScrippsHoward News Service. Meanwhile, several Pac-10 coaches have said on the bi-weekly conference call Oregon’s Akili Smith is the league’s best quarterback.
Senior safety Larry Atkins is one of 10 semifinalists for the Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back. The others include USC’s Daylon McCutcheon, Arizona’s Chris McAlister and Georgia’s Champ Bailey.