COWAN TO RESCUE FOR BRUINS AFTER OLSON IS INJURED, BACKUP QB LEADS UCLA PAST ARIZONA UCLA 27, ARIZONA 7.

Byline: JILL PAINTER Staff Writer

PASADENA -- UCLA quarterback Ben Olson limped off the field with the help of a trainer and teammate Junior Taylor during the first quarter against Arizona.

You could almost hear a collective ``uh-oh'' in the Rose Bowl.

Backup Patrick Cowan always plays, but his main job had been as the holder on the kicking unit, a thankless line of work.

In the instant Arizona defensive lineman Jason Parker rolled over Olson's left knee well after he'd delivered an incomplete pass, Cowan was expected to lead the Bruins to a win over a team that embarrassed them in every way last year.

That's exactly what Cowan did in leading the Bruins to a convincing 27-7 victory over Arizona in front of a crowd of 65,644.

He did it in style, too. Cowan led the Bruins on a scoring drive on his first series. He found receiver Marcus Everett for a 7-yard touchdown on a play-action pass for the first score of the game.

Cowan threw for 201 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to power UCLA.

What's the big deal?

``I just went out there and had fun,'' Cowan said. ``I just played football.''

There's no telling if Olson's sprained left knee is a big deal or not, but Olson was told there was probably no damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, which takes the longest to rehabilitate.

Olson, who was injured on UCLA's seventh offensive play, stood slumped over his crutches on the sideline in the second half. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday.

Cowan made it hard for anyone to dwell over it too long. He played well, completing his first four passes and 20 of 29. His most important statistic was that he had no turnovers. He clearly was comfortable on rollouts, and gained confidence with each completion.

He executed UCLA's gameplan, which wasn't altered when Olson left the game. In fact, on Cowan's first and second plays under center, he executed a pair of passes.

``We weren't going to change the gameplan,'' UCLA offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda said. ``We had confidence in him, and the fact he scored on the first drive was an important part of it. It was great to see him have that kind of success. He's worked hard and he was ready.''

Both starting quarterbacks were knocked out of the game on questionable hits, but neither play drew a penalty. Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama suffered a concussion after a Bruce Davis hit in which he led with his helmet in the second quarter.

UCLA middle linebacker Christian Taylor suffered a sprained left ankle on a play he felt was a cheap shot, too, and missed the second half.

``I definitely didn't think they played a fair football game, but the scoreboard took care of itself,'' UCLA safety Chris Horton said.

Although he admitted the play happened so fast, Olson didn't think the hit on him was a dirty play. Parker said he never saw Olson throw the ball.

Arizona backup quarterback Adam Austin couldn't move the Wildcats, but that certainly had something to do with UCLA's stingy defense.

UCLA (4-1), which improved to 2-1 in the Pac-10, held Arizona (2-4, 0-3) to minus-13 rushing yards and 235 passing yards.

For everyone who figured UCLA's fall quarterback competition was anything but a competition, they learned something about Cowan. He can play. However, he felt he had nothing to prove.

``I just came out to play with my teammates,'' Cowan said. ``It doesn't really matter what people say or think.''

They'll be saying good things now.

Comments on the running game won't be as glowing. UCLA didn't rack up a big day on the ground against Stanford -- which boasts the country's worst run defense -- last week and didn't produce much this week, either.

UCLA had just 65 rushing yards. Bruins tailback Chris Markey ran for 40 yards on 14 carries and Kahlil Bell had 11 yards on three carries.

The Bruins were booed after they went 3-and-out on the first series. Markey gained 1-yard on a running play on third-and-6. Many parts of UCLA's game were ugly but the Bruins did come away with points on all three of their trips inside the red zone, which had been a problem this year.

Plus, the defense was stellar as usual.

Cornerback Trey Brown had a team-high eight tackles and three pass deflections and Horton had seven tackles. True freshman Alterraun Verner did his thing again by returning an 89-yard interception for a touchdown, Verner's second of the season.

UCLA's defense held Arizona scoreless in the second half.

But Cowan was the hero on this day, even though he doesn't think of it quite like that. He's not real vocal. After completing his first pass, he stopped, looked toward the sideline and got the next play. There was no clap or pumping fist. Even after touchdowns, Cowan had to quickly get back to his duty as a holder.

Even the fact that coaches called for a pass, instead of a run, on his first play under center didn't tickle him silly.

``I didn't really see it like that,'' Cowan said. ``I just ran the plays.''

A big deal, indeed.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) UCLA's Patrick Cowen threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

(2) UCLA's Trey Brown brings down Arizona's Mike Thomas during the first half of Saturday's game.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer