DREW, UCLA COULD BE GOOD.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

SAN DIEGO - As openers go, it was ... what?

A little of many things, and most of them very good.

Not all perfect, not without concern, but UCLA did open the season with an easy victory Saturday at San Diego State.

UCLA should be able to defeat San Diego State easily, of course, but then there are those who would tell you the Bruins should have been doing a lot of things they haven't been the past few years.

UCLA never has lost to the Aztecs in 21 meetings, and it wasn't like there was a lot of anxiety over Saturday's outcome.

Not after Maurice Drew, the little back who could, ripped through San Diego State like he was on jet skates.

Drew clearly was the best player on the field in the first half, scoring three touchdowns - including a 64-yard run on UCLA's first play and a 72-yard punt return that left mouths open, San Diego's included.

The trouble for UCLA was Drew wasn't on the field in the second half, or at least most of it.

Drew limped off after his first and only carry of the second half and shortly after was walking gingerly to the training room. He returned shortly afterward to the sideline.

Drew is 5-foot-8 and 205 pounds of dynamite, a rocket that can go off at any moment and seemingly the one player Karl Dorrell cannot afford to lose.

If the Aztecs had any doubt of this - and they shouldn't have had, because he gained 222 all-purpose yards against them last season - it was erased on that first UCLA play.

The Bruins' now-more-experienced offensive line opened a mammoth hole on the left side, and Drew was through it in a blink. He accelerates so quickly, it's like he skips gears.

It was a 14-6 game midway through the second quarter when Drew caught a punt only to have an Aztec immediately zeroing in on him.

Drew spun a complete circle so quickly, he momentarily lost his balance. He regained it in an instant, then jetted straight up the field.

Somehow he went untouched for 72 yards, his 12th career touchdown of more than 40 yards.

It was a game-breaker that seemed to break San Diego's spirit.

UCLA led 24-6 at the half and never was threatened.

Elsewhere, the news for Dorrell was mostly good.

Quarterback Drew Olson, back from knee surgery, probably looked better than most expected. His final numbers might have been more impressive if his wideouts wouldn't stop short on their routes.

When Drew went out, Chris Markey stepped up and did a marvelous imitation. He broke runs from scrimmage and returned punts and just generally looked a lot like Drew, only three inches taller.

The UCLA defense that is supposed to be so much faster and athletic this season was and wasn't. At times, it looked just the way Dorrell had described. Others, it struggled to contain an Aztecs offense operating behind new quarterbacks.

San Diego State is not exactly Oklahoma, although Oklahoma didn't look like Oklahoma in its opening loss to TCU.

But the Aztecs make for a troubling opening opponent, because it's difficult to gauge how good you are even when you're mostly handling them with ease.

Next up for UCLA is Rice, which went 4-7 last season. Then comes Oklahoma, suddenly looking beatable, and a Cal team that just lost its quarterback for the season, and Washington, which lost Saturday to Air Force.

All four games are at home, and UCLA will have to fight the thought of starting 5-0.

Dorrell teams have a history of starting well, then fading. His first team started 6-2 and finished 0-5. Last year the Bruins started 4-1 and finished 2-5.

Certainly, they will want Drew back and healthy if they're to make any kind of real noise this season, the kind Dorrell needs. He was injured at the end of last season, essentially missing their final three regular-season games.

Marcedes Lewis is a marvelous talent, perhaps the best tight end in the country, and he has an NFL future. But, for openers, it seems clear UCLA will need Drew if they're to truly take that next step.