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GAME DAY PREVIEW Game time: 3:30pm ET Alabama at UCLA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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PASADENA, California (Ticker) -- Alabama makes its first visit to the Rose Bowl in more than half a century to face an opponent that looks to make amends for a disappointing season. The third-ranked Crimson Tide last played in Pasadena on New Year's Day 1946, when it defeated Southern California. This week's opponent is UCLA, which returns 16 starters from a team that was 4-7 last season. Some of UCLA's troubles last season were the result of injuries, with 45 players starting at least one game. A grand opportunity to show that 1999 was a fluke comes against Alabama, a school that is considered a national title contender but one that lost star defensive end Kindal Moorehead for the season to a torn right Achilles tendon in practice last week. Alabama still has plenty of weapons, led by receiver Freddie Milons, a Heisman Trophy candidate who caught a school-record 65 passes for 733 yards past season. The quarterback is Andrew Zow, who completed 56 percent of his passes. Sophomore Cory Paus, who started seven games as a freshman last season before breaking his collarbone, returns as quarterback for UCLA after beating out Ryan McCann for the starting job. Normally an Achilles heel in Westwood, head coach Bob Toledo will lean on a defense that will have seven starters back from last season. "I think our offense carried us the last two years," Toledo said. "This year, hopefully our defense will be our strength." Alabama won the only previous meeting between the schools, 36-6, in the 1976 Liberty Bowl.
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