FINAL SCORE MASKS BRUINS' STRUGGLES UCLA OFFENSE STILL TRYING TO FIND RHYTHM UCLA 31, STANFORD 0.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer

PASADENA - It was not a disaster, but it certainly did not turn out to be the panacea UCLA sought.

For as dominant as the defense played, the offense remained out of sync and inconsistent, if not boring, and was greeted by a loud chorus of boos at halftime.

So when UCLA left the Rose Bowl following Saturday's defeat of hapless Stanford - its first shutout since Oct. 30, 2004, when it blanked the Cardinal at the Rose Bowl - the same questions about a lackluster offense remained.

The Cardinal, showing why it is 0-5 (0-3 Pac-10) for the first time since 1983, came in allowing a national-worst 312 rushing yards per game. The Bruins ran the ball effectively, but not in the dominating style it hoped, amassing 149 yards on the ground through three quarters.

Opposing quarterbacks were completing 71 percent of their passes against the Cardinal, but Bruins quarterback Ben Olson was just 15 of 28 for 155 yards through three quarters.

And a Stanford team which allowed 39 points per game, and no fewer than 35 in any game, frustrated UCLA's offense into no first-half points, and didn't surrender a touchdown until 2:45 remained in the third quarter.It wasn't until Justin Medlock's 40-yard field goal with 10:28 to play gave UCLA a 17-0 lead that the win seemed secure.

While UCLA's offense continually misfired, its defense made Stanford look like, well, Stanford, possessor of the second-worst offense in the Pac-10.

UCLA's aggressive, swarming defense was no match for a Stanford offense averaging just 15.8 points per game and had scored more than one touchdown in a game once.

The slow-footed Cardinal had 69 yards of offense in the first half and had four first downs. Not even prime field position aided the Cardinal. Bruins returner Terrence Austin muffed a punt at midfield, which was recovered by Stanford's David Lofton. A personal foul on UCLA's Christian Taylor gave Stanford a first down on the Bruins' 31-yard line. But the drive stalled without a first down and Aaron Zagory's 40-yard field goal attempt was wide right.

Until the final 75 seconds of the third quarter, those were the only plays Stanford ran in UCLA territory. And then, when the Cardinal got down to UCLA's 26-yard line after Richard Sherman's 29-yard reception, quarterback Trent Edwards was intercepted at the goal line by Bruins cornerback Trey Brown on the next play.

But promising field position wasn't enough to kick-start UCLA's offense, either.

Linebacker Christian Taylor's interception early in the third quarter gave the Bruins the ball on their own 49, but a two-yard run by Chris Markey and two incomplete passes forced a punt.

UCLA's offense finally broke through late in the third quarter, and finished a drive for the first time. Olson connected with tight end Logan Paulsen for 20 yards on a third-and-2 and Kahlil Bell had a 32-yard run down the right sideline to put the ball on Stanford's 13-yard line.Markey converted another third down, fighting for a yard as the Bruins moved to the 3-yard line. Two plays later, freshman running back Chane Moline scored on a 2-yard run to cap a 10-play, 74-yard drive as the Bruins went ahead 14-0 with 2:45 remaining in the quarter.

UCLA iced the game when Moline added another touchdown on a one-yard run with 5:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Kenneth Lombard returned a fumble by Trent Edwards less than half a minute later to put the Bruins up 31-0.

The Cardinal entered the Rose Bowl with four losses, one in which it blew a 20-point lead at San Jose State and last week's 36-10 home loss to Washington State. Stanford also lost to Oregon and suffered a 28-point home defeat by Navy.

So the Cardinal seemed to be the perfect tonic for a UCLA squad seemingly eager to put last week's debacle at Washington in the past.

UCLA looked to be en route to an easy victory when Gavin Ketchum blocked Jay Ottovergio's punt and Eric McNeal scooped it up and ran 12 yards for his first career touchdown, putting the Bruins ahead 7-0 just 4:37 into the game.

It was UCLA's first blocked punt for a touchdown since Sept. 28, 2002, against San Diego State, but it was one of few first-half highlights.

The Bruins offense mustered 220 yards in the opening 30 minutes, but nary a point.

UCLA's red-zone offense was again brutal as two first-half drives stalled inside Stanford's 20-yard line. The first came when quarterback Ben Olson tried thread a third-down pass into Marcus Everett, but the ball was instead intercepted by safety Trevor Hooper in the end zone.

That was dubious enough, but the way the Bruins' drive stalled at the end of the first half was downright disheartening.

Having driven from its own 13 to the Cardinal 1-yard line on 14 plays, UCLA had a chance to go into the locker room with a two-touchdown lead, but squandered the opportunity.

On a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Olson rolled left. But his pass to converted defensive end William Snead, who was moved to tight end during the week, was off the mark. On fourth down, Markey, who was punishing the Cardinal between the tackles, lost two yards on a pitch out to the right side.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) UCLA's Ryan Moya drags Pannel Egboh along after making a catch.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

(2) Stanford's Jay Ottovegio has a punt blocked by UCLA's Gavin Ketchum, right, in teh first half. UCLA recoverd the blocked kick for a touchdown.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer