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Monday, October 18
Updated: October 26, 4:52 PM ET
 
Credit the Cal defense

(Editor's note: UCLA wide receiver Danny Farmer will file a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season. For more information on the Bruins, visit the official UCLA site.)

Oct. 20, 1999

The Cal game (a 17-0 loss) was a difficult game for us. The offense really couldn't get anything going. It's difficult when you can't run the ball and we had a tough time doing just that. Not being able to run put a lot of pressure on us and it forced us to throw the ball, but unfortunately we couldn't do that either.

Danny Farmer
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Farmer is a Biletnikoff Award candidate.

The Cal defense played great and put a lot of pressure on our quarterback, and I think that was the difference in the game. They were able to stop our run game, which in turn stopped our entire offensive attack. I just have to credit the Cal defense for that.

Our next game against Oregon State is a must win game for us. I think the guys have practiced hard this week and understand that this is a must win in order for us to get to a bowl game. Guys are going to be focused and ready. We've had a couple of tough days at practice. It's going to be a tough game because it's always difficult to play up there, but I think we're going to be ready to play and it's going to be a fun battle for us. It will be a tough challenge offensively because we have to try and get our game plan re-established. I'm looking forward to it.

In relation to how our season is going, I think anytime you have a year that doesn't go exactly as you planned going in, you have to be able to look at some of the positives. One thing I think that has been extremely positive this season is that everyone has really tried hard and worked hard, but things haven't really gone our way.

If you look at everyone individually, they've all given their best effort and that's something that I can look to for motivation. Also, I think that the character of the team is a little better now because people realize what it's like to lose, and that's something that might have needed to happen to this team.

THE FULL DOSE OF DIARIES
Miami's André King:
A different kind of Hurricane
Oregon State's Ken Simonton:
Getting back on track
USC's Travis Claridge:
Time to put up or shut up
Oregon's Reuben Droughns:
Getting his groove back
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops:
Consistency is the key

You know, guys came into this season that have won 20 games in a row and didn't realize what it took to win those games. So I think the losses might be a good thing for the team because the mentality has picked up as a result of it. Now, everyone knows that they have to work hard to go out and win some games, and I think that's a positive.

One thing I've enjoyed doing this season is looking at how other receivers in the Pac-10 are doing. I think if you look at this conference, you have a collection of some of the greatest receivers in the nation. Every team has great receivers and that is something that the Pac-10 can brag about a little bit. You have guys like R. Jay Soward, Troy Walters, Tony Hartley, Dennis Northcutt and other guys that have just come into the league that are going be great receivers someday. It's a lot of fun watching those guys play because they are such great talents.

It was fun watching Troy Walters go for 200 and something yards against us. I think for me it's just fun for me watching receivers go out and run great routes and get open, even though it's at the expense of our defense. It's fun watching those guys go out and make big plays because I think that's what college football is all about -- big plays.

There are a lot of "big play" receivers in the Pac-10 and that is what this conference has to offer.





UCLA's official athletic site

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