BRUINS QB OLSON OUT 4-6 WEEKS COWAN WILL TAKE SOPHOMORE'S PLACE AS STARTER.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer

An MRI exam revealed Monday that UCLA quarterback Ben Olson has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss four to six weeks, but surgery is not needed.

The best-case scenario would give Olson an outside shot of playing Nov. 4 at California, while six weeks off would leave only the Dec. 2 regular-season finale against USC after his return.

Olson's backup, redshirt sophomore Patrick Cowan, will make his first college start Saturday at No. 18 Oregon.

Meanwhile, UCLA was not pleased with the hit by Arizona's Jason Parker that knocked Olson out in Saturday's win against the Wildcats, nor were the Bruins pleased with a hit that left middle linebacker Christian Taylor with a sprained left ankle late in the first half and questionable for the Oregon game.

Bruins coach Karl Dorrell said complaints about both plays were forwarded to the Pacific-10 Conference's coordinator of football officiating, Verle Sorgen.

``It was low,'' Dorrell said of Parker's hit. ``I think they did a dirty hit on Christian, too, but you know, that's part of the deal. ... We report what we think are malicious plays. We had a couple to report, both (on Olson's) and on Christian's.''

Olson's injury occurred in the first quarter, when Parker dove into the lower portion of Olson's left leg, well after Olson released the ball on an incomplete pass.

``The guy was kind of tripped up,'' Dorrell said. ``He was trying to come in. He may have got his feet tangled, but the bottom line, it was low.''

Later in the half, Taylor suffered a sprained left ankle, and he said afterward it came on a late hit.

Taylor also accused Arizona of ``cheap shots'' during the game.

Penalties were not called on either play. Sorgen said he would review the game tape Wednesday, but after the game Parker defended his hit on Olson.

``I came down my gap, slipped the guard and just dove at him trying to make a play, and I think I landed on his leg,'' Parker said. ``I couldn't tell if he had let the ball go. It wasn't anything I tried to do on purpose. I just kind of fell on him. You never want to see anyone hurt. Everyone just goes as hard as he can and you pray everyone stays healthy.''

Olson's injury puts UCLA in a precarious position regarding its quarterbacks as it heads into the toughest stretch of its schedule: at Oregon, at No. 9 Notre Dame (Oct. 21), home against Washington State (Oct. 28) and at No. 10 Cal.

Cowan, who was not made available to the media Monday, has attempted 32 passes in his collegiate career, playing only in a mop-up role until Olson's injury.

Cowan was 20 for 29 for 201 yards and two touchdowns against the Wildcats, but will face the harsh and extremely loud Autzen Stadium crowd in Eugene, Ore.

``Our team will rally around him,'' Dorrell said. ``They feel just as confident about him and Ben, whoever's at the trigger for our offense. Pat's proven that he can win, because of what he accomplished last week, and we'll continue to get better with Pat now at the helm.''

Cowan's backup is talented but unpolished redshirt freshman Osaar Rasshan, who has yet to play a down in college and received very few practice reps in the past month. Dorrell said Rasshan, who shows good scrambling ability but inconsistent accuracy in controlled scrimmages and practices, will get 30 percent of the reps this week.

UCLA's third-string quarterback is true freshman walk-on McLeod Bethel-Thompson from Balboa High of San Francisco.

``We do have to develop a reasonable gameplan for Osaar,'' Dorrell said. ``That's not going to be out of the realm of what we do offensively. It's going to tailor to what his skills are.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) OLSON

(2) UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan took over after Ben Olson was injured Saturday.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer