COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Cook Confident He’ll Play Against USC

He wore a jacket and baseball cap as he stood on the sidelines, living a nightmare.

Wayne Cook had been at his parents’ home in Newbury Park all week, hoping that his bruised kidney had healed sufficiently to allow him to play against Arizona State on Saturday. He passed a medical examination on Friday, by then too late, and he watched UCLA flounder on offense in a 9-3 loss to the Sun Devils.

“I wish I could have done something to help the team,” he said. “It was real hard to watch.”

His contribution was limited to advising reserve quarterback Rob Walker, “trying to keep his head up, trying to keep him going,” Cook said.

And time after the game was spent planning for this week and Saturday’s game against USC at the Coliseum, a game that will determine the Pacific 10’s Rose Bowl representative. USC needs a victory or a tie. UCLA, which beat Arizona earlier in the season, needs a victory.

Cook’s status will depend on the doctors. “They’re pretty sure it’s going to be no problem,” Cook said. “I’ll come back and practice (today). Monday’s not a real hard practice. Then they’ll see if I’m clear on Tuesday. If I am, I’m done and clear to go.”

Cook sustained the kidney bruise in the first quarter of the Bruins’ game at Washington State on Nov. 6, and a preliminary examination indicated he could play against Arizona State. Subsequent tests determined otherwise.

He was declared out Thursday, and Arizona State coaches said they found out Friday.

But the Sun Devils stuck with their defensive plans.

“We didn’t change a thing,” Coach Bruce Snyder said. “I think it would have screwed us up, if we had.”

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue was cautious about Cook’s return.

“I’m hoping he can come back but I don’t know if I have an expectation level . . . “ he said. “I think we’ll probably know by Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday evening if he will play.”

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Though J.J. Stokes caught seven passes for 73 yards against Arizona State, he was kept out of the end zone after seven consecutive games in which he caught at least one touchdown pass. . . . Jamir Miller was held out of the lineup because of a pinched nerve in his neck, sustained in the Oregon State game. He said that the injury would not keep him from playing against USC. . . . Snyder has won four in a row over UCLA, two games as coach at California and two at Arizona State. . . . Arizona State’s four victories in a row is its longest winning streak since 1986. . . . Bjorn Merten, who kicked a 24-yard field goal for UCLA, is now 16 for 18 from inside the 40 this season and 18 for 22 overall.