DON'T MISS FINISH UCLA, STANFORD PLAY CLOSE ONES.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

UCLA's last three games have come down to the final 10 seconds, and it won't be a surprise if this one does either. After all, the Bruins are playing Stanford at the Rose Bowl, where their games' outcome has been more unpredictable than the Stanford band.

Four of the last five games Stanford and UCLA have played in Pasadena have been decided inside the final two minutes. The last time they were here, the Bruins, 28-point favorites, needed a touchdown-saving strip by Marques Anderson to preserve a 28-24 come-from-behind win.

And considering the way both teams have played this season, it should come down to the last play. Stanford beat USC on the last play of the game, scored the game-winning touchdown against Texas with 1:12 remaining and lost to Washington last week with 17 seconds left.

The loss to the Huskies was devastating in that Stanford had recovered two onside kicks and scored three touchdowns in the final six minutes, including a 2-yard run by quarterback Randy Fasani to take the lead with 53 seconds left.

The Bruins, after losing in triple overtime to Cal and blowing a 10- point fourth-quarter lead to Oregon State, are coming off a 27-24 win over Arizona on Cory Paus' 13-yard touchdown run with 48 seconds to play.

The Bruins come in, if not with a swagger, then with restored confidence. The win over Arizona snapped an eight-game losing streak on the road and leaves them one victory shy of qualifying for a bowl game.

``It's very satisfying to be able to not lose a close game,'' Paus said. ``It's easier to take a loss when you get beat by three or four touchdowns, because a lot of things really didn't go right. When you lose by one, two or six at the end of regulation or in three overtimes, that's tough.

``We're still in a position to have an all-right season. Hopefully, we can use this win on the road and build a little momentum.''

Momentum won't come from their injury-wracked defensive line.

The starting lineup is expected to consist of freshmen Dave Ball and Rodney Leisle, sophomore Rusty Williams and senior Kory Lombard, a former walk-on who is making his first start. Sophomore Steve Morgan and converted tight end Saia Makakaufaki are the only two healthy backups.

Stanford, meanwhile, has run for 380 yards the past two weeks against USC and Washington. Its blocking should only get better with the return of center Zack Quaccia, who missed the last three weeks with a knee injury.

And in case you thought the Bruins didn't need to concern themselves with the pass, Fasani could join Todd Husak and Joe Borchard as the third Stanford quarterback in a row to pass for more than 300 yards against the Bruins.

The past two seasons, UCLA has allowed 1,147 yards against the Cardinal - 877 of them through the air.

UCLA cornerback Ricky Manning, who had two interceptions in the win over Arizona, calls those numbers ``a coincidence.'' With DeRonnie Pitts the only reliable deep threat, Manning says the Stanford receivers aren't as good as they've been.

``Our secondary is better and their receivers aren't as good, especially without Troy Walters and (Dave Davis), who was pretty good,'' Manning said. ``It's been a coincidence and it should change.''

Stanford at UCLA

Today

3:30 p.m.

Ch. 9/ 1150 AM

WHEW, THAT WAS CLOSE

UCLA-Stanford meetings in the '90s have gone down to the wire. A look:

--1998: UCLA 28, Stanford 24. Marques Anderson makes touchdown-saving strip and Travor Turner sacks Stanford quarterback Todd Husak at the Bruin 45 on the final play of the game.

--1996: Stanford 21, UCLA 20. Chad Hutchinson's touchdown pass with 58 seconds left put Stanford ahead. UCLA, with timeouts to spend, let 26 seconds go off the clock between plays and ran out of time. The loss cost the Bruins a bowl berth.

--1994: UCLA 31, Stanford 30. Wayne Cook's two-point conversion pass to J.J. Stokes put the Bruins ahead with 3:05 to play. They survived when Eric Abrams missed a last-second 32-yard field goal.

--1990: UCLA 32, Stanford 31. John Hopkins kicked a 49-yard field goal to put Stanford ahead with 1:14 to play. Then, the legend of Tommy Maddox was born when the freshman drove the Bruins down the field and Brad Daluiso kicked a 21-yard field goal for the Bruins with one second left.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

In 1998, the last time Stanford visited UCLA, Marques Anderson stripped Jeff Allen of the ball, saving the day.

Daily News

Box: WHEW, THAT WAS CLOSE (see text)