BRUINS CAN'T GET PHYSICAL : MICHIGAN 38, UCLA 9.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

The short touchdown run mattered little, but it told everything. Everything the UCLA Bruins are not but hope to become.

With nine minutes left in the third quarter, Michigan tailback Chris Howard scored on a 6-yard touchdown run up the gut of UCLA's defense. More telling, Howard ran through defensive end Travis Kirschke, then over cornerback Javelin Guidry - dragging him for the final 3 yards.

And if two words describe Michigan's 38-9 victory over UCLA before 106,011 at Michigan Stadium, they are ``over'' and ``through.'' On a classic midwestern football Saturday - cloudy, cool and breezy, with the smell of grilled sausage permeating The Big House - the seventh-ranked Wolverines submitted a classic display of tough, rugged, Big Ten football.

``We were the more physical team today, and it showed,'' Wolverines cornerback-receiver Charles Woodson said.

For two weeks, the Bruins pointed to this game as a chance to erase their reputation for being soft. They played hard, and they did not quit, but there's no denying it: New strength coach Kevin Yoxall has work to do. They were Charmin.

``If I were watching this game, I'd think we were soft,'' nose guard Weldon Forde said. ``One thing we have to prove is we're not as soft as we looked. The score would tell you the defense is soft, but I think we played better than the score indicated.''

Forde was the only player who acknowledged Michigan's physical dominance. (If talking tough is being tough, UCLA is halfway to its goal.) Linebacker Phillip Ward spoke of poor attention of detail. Defensive end Damon Smith attributed the breakdowns to Michigan's position blocking, not its brute strength. And Safety Abdul McCullough pointed to missed opportunities.

But the numbers do not lie.

Michigan had 559 yards of offense - or 36 fewer than it gained in a 38-15 victory over the Bruins here in 1990.

Meanwhile, UCLA managed 170 yards total offense and had one first down in the second half, on its final possession.

The Wolverines rushed for 300 yards and averaged a whopping 5.4 per carry - the telltale sign of physical superiority. Their running game started slowly, gained momentum in the second quarter and was unstoppable in the third behind their 300-pound linemen.

``They ran the same (counter) play over and over,'' UCLA coach Bob Toledo said. ``They lined up and said, `Here we come. Stop us.'

``We couldn't get them stopped.''

Why? A quick check of defensive coordinator Rocky Long's resume is revealing. Last year, while at Oregon State, his blitzing style worked against all but a few opponents: those with powerful, straight-ahead running games that prevented OSU from ``shooting the gaps,'' Long said.

Not surprisingly, the undersized Beavers yielded 221 rushing yards to USC and 208 to Washington - the teams that ranked second and third, respectively, in the Pacific-10 in average per carry. (OSU did not play the league's best rushing team, UCLA.)

Until these Bruins find a few 280-pound tackles to clog the middle - instead of 250-pound nose guards Forde, Pete Holland and Jeff Ruckman - they're resigned to the same fate as Oregon State.

``The way to come at us is straight up the middle, and that's what Michigan did,'' McCullough said. ``We'd better be ready. I'm sure other teams will do the same thing.''

UCLA's offense was no help. The Bruins rushed for 108 yards, but subtract a 49-yard dash by Skip Hicks, and they gained 59 yards on 23 carries against what may be the best Michigan defense in two decades.

Quarterback Cade McNown completed 8 of 27 passes and had three interceptions. He spent most of his time on the run, and when he did find receivers they seemed allergic to the pigskin. Position coach Ron Caragher will be busy this week; unofficially, the Bruins dropped eight passes.

But the most telling fact is this: The Bruins' offense did not cross midfield in the second half, and only twice in the first.

``Our defense was on the field a lot because we couldn't get anything going offensively,'' Toledo said. ``We couldn't get our running game going. When we had guys open, we didn't hit them. When we hit them, they were dropped.''

Michigan opened the scoring early in second quarter on a well-designed play that fooled UCLA's defense. As quarterback Scott Dreisbach faked a handoff and rolled right, two Michigan receivers ran left-to-right slant patterns, drawing the entire defense in that direction.

But tailback Clarence Williams delayed for two counts after the fake handoff - which drew UCLA safety Shaun Williams to the line of scrimmage - and then dashed into the open field behind Williams. Dreisbach's pass was perfect and Williams raced 53 yards for the touchdown.

The Wolverines scored again six minutes later, this time catching the Bruins in a bad formation. At the time of the snap, from UCLA's 31, the Bruins had all three linebackers on the left side. Tailback Chris Howard ran right, evaded rover Wasswa Serwanga, then darted into the end zone.

NOTEBOOK

UCLA true freshman linebacker Rosco Zamano suffered a serious injury to the artery behind his right knee that has put his career in jeopardy.

Zamano, from Fontana, underwent surgery Saturday evening at the University of Michigan hospital to restore circulation to his lower right leg. He will be hospitalized for about a week.

``(Playing next year) is not out of the question,'' UCLA physician Dr. Gerald Finerman said. ``But this is a lot bigger than a torn (knee) ligament.''

Zamano dislocated his right knee with 13:30 left in the second quarter. Upon seeing the dislocation, Finerman cut off Zamano's shoe and sock and felt for a pulse in the lower leg. Unsuccessful, he realized there had been arterial damage, and an ambulance took Zamano to the hospital.

``The dislocation injured the major (blood) vessel running behind the knee,'' Finerman said. ``An angiogram (at the hospital) showed arterial blockage. It's extremely important to restore circulation to the rest of the leg.''

Finerman estimated the surgery would take three hours.

``If there is a tear to the vessel, they could sew it up or use a smooth segment of vein from his other leg to patch it,'' Finerman said.

``It's a quite frequent operation for vascular surgeons, and the folks at Michigan are top-notch.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: (color) Michigan running back Chris Howard (8)escapes from UCLA defenders for a 31-yard TD run.

Associated Press

Box: NOTEBOOK (see text)