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 31-0 defeat of hapless Stanford, good vibes about getting past last week's crushing loss at Washington were present, but so were more questions about a lackluster offense.

The Cardinal, showing why it is 0-5(0-3 Pac-10) for the first time since 1983, came in allowing a nation-worst 312 rushing yards per game. The Bruins (3-1, 1-1) ran the ball effectively, but not in the dominating style it hoped as they amassed 166 yards and got touchdown runs of 2 yards and 1 yard from freshman Chane Moline.

Opposing quarterbacks were completing 71 percent of their passes against the Cardinal, but Bruins quarterback Ben Olson was 20 of 37 for 219 yards and two interceptions.

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. Chane Moline's 1-yard run and Kenneth Lombard's 5-yard fumble return made a closer game appear lopsided.

``We're close,'' Olson said of the offense. ``A couple of those balls got away from me, and you can't have that happen. I think we're really, really close to being a really good offense. We're moving the ball. Nobody's stopped us yet. We feel we've stopped ourselves more than anything else.''

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 scored more than one touchdown in a game once. The Bruins registered seven sacks, forced four turnovers and allowed the Cardinal to run just four plays on UCLA territory.

``We came out really inspired,'' Bruins defensive end Bruce Davis said. ``Last week, that hurt a lot. We had something to come out here and prove, and I think we came out here and proved a lot. I think we made a big statement in the Pac-10.''

Not even prime field position aided the Cardinal. Bruins returner Terrence Austin muffed a punt at midfield, which was recovered by 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.

It was the closest Stanford came to scoring in being UCLA's first shutout victim since Oct. 30, 2004, when the Cardinal lost 21-0 at the Rose Bowl.

``The goal was to shut Stanford out,'' Bruins cornerback Rodney Van said. ``They're a good team, but we got it done, and I'm glad. They didn't have much. We studied hard. We were in the film room. We had extra meetings, extra tackling, extra everything. Overall, it was an impressive effort.''

For the first 35 minutes, UCLA's offense looked a lot like the Cardinal offense. Not even promising field position was enough to kick-start UCLA.

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.

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 to 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.

And UCLA looked to be enroute to an easy victory over an emotionally unstable Stanford when Gavin Ketchum blocked Jay Ottovergio's punt and Eric McNeal scooped it up and ran 12 yards for his first career touchdown as the Bruins went 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.

``I knew we were going to get one,'' Ketchum said. ``It was the scheme. We worked it every practice, and we knew we were going to get something big.''

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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