Moore looks for happier return to Los Angeles.

Byline: Bob Rodman The Register-Guard

O r e g o n S t a t e v s . U C L A

PASADENA, Calif. - The Matt Moore Madness seems to have diminished considerably.

The Oregon State senior, who began his college career in 2002 as the first true freshman quarterback to start a game for UCLA, drew all kinds of attention a year ago when he returned to the Rose Bowl wearing another football team's uniform.

Moore was the target of jeers from the Bruin student section. and he seemed to have heard every discouraging word, throwing two interceptions as then-No. 8 UCLA won its seventh straight game 51-28.

"Last year, I was stupid for even listening to all those people," Moore said earlier this week as the Beavers prepared for today's Pac-10 Conference game against the Bruins that is scheduled for a 3:15 p.m. start on that hallowed Pasadena turf.

"It really doesn't matter to me this year. I might go out there with headphones. Who knows?"

Oregon State, he said, has bigger fish to fry.

"The Beavers are trying to win five games in a row," Moore told a gathered group of media. "We're looking to become bowl eligible. I'm not the writer, not as creative as you guys, but those would be the story lines in my paper."

Oregon State is 6-3, an amazing jump from its 2-3 record a month ago. Turnover free for the last two games, OSU rolls into its fight against UCLA tied for third in the Pac-10 at 4-2, is ranked 24th in the BCS standings and is one win away - it needs seven because of a 13-game regular-season schedule - from bowl eligibility.

But the Bruins, the Beavers insisted, are the focus.

Never mind UCLA has lost four straight games and at 4-5 (2-4 in the Pac-10) must win two of its last three games (against OSU, Arizona State and USC) to be available for a possible bowl bid.

"We know the position we're in, or lack thereof, in terms of the conference race," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said.

Never mind that since Bruin quarterback Ben Olson sustained a knee injury in a win over Arizona on Oct. 7, UCLA has lost to Oregon, Notre Dame, Washington State and California, though piling up a season-high 516 yards of offense against the Golden Bears. Olson, however, resumed practicing this week.

"I'm sure they are hungry, that they are tired of losing," OSU center Kyle DeVan said.

And keep in mind that UCLA is the only Pac-10 team to currently have a three-game win streak going against Oregon State, that it is second in the league against the rush, allowing 91.6 yards a game, and has held five of its nine opponents to 60 yards or fewer on the ground.

"That's a good UCLA team," OSU coach Mike Riley said. "It got a lot of yardage against Cal and has played solid defense throughout the year."

The Bruins' Justin Hickman and Bruce Davis are among the better defensive ends in the nation, combining for 20 quarterback sacks and 30 1/2 tackles for loss.

It was defense that yanked the Beavers out of their downward dash in early October. After being outscored 54-19 in losses to Cal and WSU to start the Pac-10 season, OSU has defeated Washington, Arizona, USC and Arizona State by a combined score of 121-68.

"We needed to grow, find ourselves within the system and we needed some confidence, and the only way you get that is to get a win," Riley said.

"The Washington State game, even though we lost, was the start of it because we played a terrific defensive game. Then we were able to beat Washington, and that added some more confidence."

The Beavers have a Pac-10-high 32 quarterback sacks for a league-best 234 yards lost. Coupled with 46 tackles for loss, OSU is averaging 8.7 tackles for loss, second-best in the nation.

Offensively, the Beavers have been led by three players.

Moore is 68-of-104 passing (65.4 percent) for 1,033 yards and four touchdowns during the four-game win streak.

Split end Sammie Stroughter leads the Pac-10 and is seventh in the nation in receiving yards at 91.6 yards a game.

Tailback Yvenson Bernard is second in the Pac-10 with his 101.5 rushing yards a game despite missing the USC game with an ankle injury.

"We're improved, they're improved," Bernard said. "It'll be a good game."

OSU OUTLOOK

THE STARTERS

Oregon State OFFENSE Pos. Player Class Ht. Wt. QB 8 Matt Moore Sr 6-4 193 TB 26 Y. Bernard Jr 5-9 204 FL 17 A. Wheat-Brown Jr 6-1 218 SB 82 Brandon Powers Jr 6-2 215 SE 19 S. Stroughter Jr 6-0 188 TE 89 Joe Newton Sr 6-7 256 LT 61 Adam Koets Sr 6-6 294 LG 62 Jeremy Perry So 6-2 313 C 75 Kyle DeVan Jr 6-2 294 RG 67 Roy Schuening Jr 6-4 318 RT 66 Andy Levitre So 6-3 324 DEFENSE Pos. Player Class Ht. Wt. LE 27 Joe Lemma Sr 6-3 257 LT 97 Ben Siegert Sr 6-4 288 RT 98 Curtis Coker Jr 6-1 309 RE 49 Jeff Van Orsow Jr 6-4 266 SLB 45 Derrick Doggett Jr 6-3 210 MLB 43 Alan Darlin Jr 6-1 251 WLB 42 Joey LaRocque Jr 6-2 230 LC 6 Keenan Lewis So 6-1 194 SS 24 Sabby Piscitelli Sr 6-3 225 FS 23 Bryan Payton So 6-2 211 RC 36 Brandon Hughes So 5-11 175 UCLA OFFENSE Pos. Player Class Ht. Wt. QB 12 Pat Cowan So 6-5 218 TB 28 Chris Markey Jr 5-11 204 FB 32 Michael Pitre Jr 6-0 244 FL 1 Brandon Breazell Jr 6-0 156 SE 9 Marcus Everett Jr 6-1 196 TE 86 Logan Paulsen So 6-5 247 ST 78 Aleksey Lanis RFr 6-6 316 SG 71 Shannon Tevaga Jr 6-3 316 C 54 Robert Chai Sr 6-3 280 WG 60 Chris Joseph So 6-5 282 WT 74 N. Sutherland Jr 6-5 299 DEFENSE Pos. Player Class Ht. Wt. LE 17 Justin Hickman Sr 6-2 263 DT 75 Kevin Brown Jr 6-2 293 DT 93 B. Harwell Jr 6-2 286 RE 44 Bruce Davis Jr 6-3 237 SLB 42 A. Whittington Jr 6-2 215 MLB 33 Christian Taylor Jr 6-2 222 WLB 51 Reggie Carter RFr 6-1 218 LC 23 Trey Brown Jr 5-9 185 SS 14 Chris Horton Jr 6-1 210 FS 11 Dennis Keyes Jr 6-2 194 RC 3 Rodney Van Jr 5-11 170

SCHEDULE AND STATS

Oregon State 56Eastern Washington17 14Boise State42 38Idaho0 13California41 6Washington State13 27Washington17 17Arizona10 33USC31 44Arizona State10 Todayat UCLA3:15 p.m. Nov. 18at Stanford12:30 p.m. Nov. 24Oregon12:30 p.m. Dec. 2at Hawaii8:05 p.m. UCLA 31Utah10 26Rice16 19Washington29 31Stanford0 27Arizona7 20Oregon30 17Notre Dame20 15Washington State37 24California38 TodayOregon State3:15 p.m. Nov. 18at Arizona State7:15 p.m. Dec. 2USC1:30 p.m. Rushing OREGON STATE Att Yds TD Bernard 179 812 9 Polk 54 213 1 UCLA Att Yds TD Markey 147 779 2 Bell 60 239 2 Passing OREGON STATE A-C-I Yds TD Moore 139-227-6 1,815 8 UCLA A-C-I Yds TD Cowan 92-172-6 1,115 5 Receiving OREGON STATE Rec Yds TD Stroughter 47 865 2 Newton 28 348 4 UCLA Rec Yds TD Markey 25 225 0 Taylor 23 277 2

Matchup: Oregon State vs. UCLA When and where: 3:15 p.m. at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. TV: Live on Comcast 14 Radio: KKNX-AM (840), KNND-AM (1400). In Spanish on KXOR-AM (660) Line: OSU by 2