PAC IT IN? BRUINS FALL BACK IN RACE LOSS HURTS SHOT AT CONFERENCE TITLE OREGON 30, UCLA 20.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer

EUGENE, Ore. -- Player after player was asked after Saturday's game about the realistic chances of achieving the Bruins' season-long goal of winning a Pacific-10 Conference title, and the body language and the soft, sometimes barely audible words told the story.

UCLA did more than drop a Pac-10 road game in a 30-20 defeat by No.18 Oregon at Autzen Stadium. The Bruins basically saw their pie-in-the-sky hopes of being involved in the conference race dashed -- and it's only mid-October.

``We put ourselves in a horrible situation,'' UCLA senior receiver Junior Taylor said. ``We have to go out and play Notre Dame hard (next week) and bounce back and get a win. We have to continue to play, because you never know what's going to happen in the Pac-10, but we're definitely in a big-time hole.''

The Ducks scored 20 points on their first three possessions, and by the time the Bruins' defense stabilized, it was far too late for a stagnant, get-in-the-way-of-itself offense to make a difference.

UCLA (4-2, 2-2 Pac-10) has two losses in the conference, and with USC and Cal both unbeaten in league play and Oregon (5-1, 3-1) also ahead, it does not bode well for the Bruins.

``Our goal doesn't change,'' UCLA center Robert Chai said. ``Just because you lost this game, and you might be out of the Pac-10 championship, but it doesn't mean you're not going to try and win games anymore. We still have a couple of big games left.''

Problems that troubled Bruins teams of the past materialized for the first time this season, including three 15-yard personal foul penalties in the first half, false starts that stalled drives and a tackling exhibition reminiscent of the past two seasons.

UCLA's defense had allowed 50 rushing yards per game, but was punished by tailbacks Jonathan Stewart (20 carries, 121yards), Jeremiah Johnson (11-69) and quarterback Dennis Dixon (12-66) for 256 yards on the ground.

The Bruins' offense, meanwhile, totaled 216 yards and had just one drive of more than 50 yards.

``They ran speed-option the first four games, and they came out and started running dives,'' UCLA middle linebacker Christian Taylor said. ``They didn't run much of their base offense that they normally run.''

Even when the defense figured things out after an atrocious first quarter in which Oregon ran 17 plays for 164 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 20-3 lead, UCLA's offense was stale.

Redshirt sophomore Patrick Cowan completed 16 of 31 passes for 112 yards and an interception in his first career start, which came because of Ben Olson's injured knee. The mediocre performance featured no pass longer than 14 yards.

The Bruins didn't get into the end zone until Kahlil Bell's 1-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter, when UCLA cut Oregon's lead to 27-13.

``We didn't play well early,'' UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. ``There were some penalties that were a factor in the game early. (Oregon) had a great rhythm offensively in the first half.''

UCLA's defensive problems in the first quarter set the tempo and left the offense facing a huge deficit.

Four plays into the game, Oregon receiver Brian Paysinger got a favorable matchup against linebacker Kyle Bosworth and hauled in a 39-yard pass from Dixon to UCLA's 22-yard line. Two plays later, tight end Dante Rosario snuck into the left flat and caught an uncontested 11-yard touchdown pass, although the extra point was blocked.

Oregon then took seven plays to score on its next possession. Jeremiah Johnson capped a balanced drive with a 7-yard run as the Ducks went ahead 13-0 with 5:32 left in the quarter.

``Usually, I think I do a good job scheming to stop (an offense), but I thought (Oregon) did a good job of scheming in that first quarter,'' UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said. ``(Oregon) had me on my heels a little bit.''

It didn't end there.

After a UCLA field goal, Stewart seized back momentum with a 47-yard kickoff return. Three plays later, Dixon (10 of 17 passing, 144 yards) lofted a perfect pass over UCLA safety Dennis Keyes to Paysinger, who scored to make it 20-3 with 1:01 remaining in the first quarter.

``We kind of knew their schemes,'' Oregon right guard Palauni Ma Sun said. ``We had their (defensive) schemes down. It was push, push, push.''

The Bruins, who trailed 20-6 at the half, had a few chances to fight back into the contest, and saw drives stall because of penalties, including a false start against tight end Logan Paulsen on first down at UCLA's 45 on the first drive of the second half.

``We have to execute better,'' Dorrell said. ``We have to play with a lot more focus, particularly on the road, understanding you're not going to get calls going your way. You've got to play great football.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Oregon's Jonathan Stewart, left, tries to elude UCLA's Trey Brown on Saturday.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

(2) A swarm of Oregon defenders brings down UCLA running back Chris Markey, center. Markey rushed for 98 yards.

Don Ryan/Associated Press