BRUINS: A FOR EFFORT, L FOR LOSS MISTAKES DOOM UCLA IN DEFEAT CAL 38, UCLA 24.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer

BERKELEY -- Despite the downward turn UCLA's season has taken, the promise of a team still fighting and playing hard rang true.

Tailback Chris Markey ran with more moxie than he had in weeks, backup quarterback Patrick Cowan had his most effective game and the defense, despite facing high-powered California, battled with grit and determination.

However, none of that was enough to offset two crucial turnovers deep in Cal territory, a pair of missed field goals and poor tackling, as this one ended like UCLA's previous three games, with players shaking their heads and staring at the floor after a 38-24 defeat to the 10th-ranked Bears Saturday in front of 72,516 at Memorial Stadium.

While Cal (8-1, 6-0) won its eighth straight to remain in control of the Pacific-10 Conference race, the Bruins (4-5, 2-4) lost for the fourth straight game and need to win two of their last three games to qualify for a bowl.

``This obviously isn't how we wanted our season to go, and it hurts. It hurts a lot,'' UCLA fifth-year senior receiver Junior Taylor said. ``But we still are going to go (today) and watch the tape and get over it, and then focus on Oregon State. We know we need two more wins to get bowl eligible, and we need to get a win, just to feel a win again.''

Coach Karl Dorrell is now 0-10 on the road against ranked teams despite one of UCLA's best efforts of the season.

``I was really pleased with our effort, as a team,'' Dorrell said. ``I thought our team played hard. We weren't the smartest in all circumstances. We had some penalties in the first half but we kept fighting through it.''

But UCLA's defense could not stop the Bears, who punted once, had four touchdown drives of at least 67 yards, converted 6 of 9 third downs and averaged 7.5 yards per play.

Cal quarterback Nate Longshore (Canyon High of Canyon Country) completed 20 of 24 for 266 yards and three touchdowns and DeSean Jackson broke open the game with a dazzling 72-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Jackson's hesitation move before darting right and sprinting down the sideline, juking punter Aaron Perez before racing to the end zone, to give the Bears a 28-10 lead with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter.

``I had to do something,'' Jackson said. ``I saw a crease in the middle and a few blockers, and I just made a great move.''

The Bruins also tackled poorly for the second straight week as Marshawn Lynch (81 yards) and Justin Forsett (60 yards) combined for 141 rushing yards.

``It's ridiculous,'' Bruins defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said of the tackling. ``I always say wait until I view the tape, but golly, (Lynch) was running like he was Jim Brown or something. He's a very good player, but you still have to make a tackle. It's bothering me, to be honest. It's bothering me.''

Longshore had scoring passes of 10 yards and 44 yards to Robert Jordan and connected on a 24-yard middle screen pass for a score with Lynch.

``He was putting the ball pretty much where he wanted to,'' UCLA linebacker Christian Taylor said of Longshore. ``They converted some third downs. They're a real good offense. They played well. They beat us. Their offense beat us good.''

UCLA's offense had a better rhythm than in recent weeks -- partly because Dorrell took a more active role in game-planning and play-calling -- and had a season-high 516 yards of offense. But the Bruins still had trouble finishing drives, and that was exacerbated by a pair of missed field goals from Justin Medlock.

Cowan was 22 of 40 for a career-high 329 yards and ran for an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter, but also threw two interceptions to kill UCLA drives deep in Cal territory.

Markey ran tough, finishing with 136 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. He also had six catches for 63 yards.

``Our players played hard, and I think there was some real good improvement offensively,'' Dorrell said. ``I think we worked hard on that, and I think that came through little bit. It was unfortunate we had two interceptions and could have put some points on the board and we also had missed field goals.''

Although Cal pulled away and won easily, it was hardly an easy triumph.

The usually reliable Medlock, who was 18 of 20 on field goals, missed from 39 and 44 yards, the second of which would have pulled the Bruins within one point early in the second half.

Instead, Cal took over and went 73 yards on seven plays, capped by Jordan's 44-yard catch in which the nearest defender, Dennis Keyes, was well behind in coverage. It gave the Bears a 21-10 lead with 7:38 remaining in the third quarter.

``I think they were just giving us the looks that we wanted and the offensive line was giving me time,'' Longshore said. ``With that combination, there's always a chance to be successful.''

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) UCLA William Snead gains yardage before getting tackled by California's Mickey Pimentel on Saturday.

(2) UCLA running back Chris Markey breaks away from the Cal defense during a second-half run.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News

(3) Cal running back Marshawn Lynch scores on a 24-yard reception in the first half of Saturday's game.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press