UCLA FOOTBALL: BRUINS IN NEED OF TWO WINS VICTORIES AGAINST ASU, USC WILL ENSURE BOWL BID.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. - UCLA blew a 16-point lead before losing at Washington, had the three-point heartbreaking loss at Notre Dame and, despite playing hard at California twoweeks ago, the Bruins fell by two touchdowns.

A win in any of those games, and UCLA would not be in its current predicament. The Bruins, who are 0-4 on the road, need one more win to become bowl eligible, and must win today at Arizona State and Dec. 2 against USC to ensure a bowl bid.

And as if what is being asked isn't enough, the Bruins must shake themselves out of a fog after receiving the devastating news that former cornerback Marcus Cassel, a senior on last year's 10-2 squad, died Friday morning after being involved in a car accident in Santa Monica.

UCLA's players learned of Cassel's death before the buses started leaving campus for the airport Friday. Cassel, 23, remained friends with many current Bruins.

UCLA likely will try to honor Cassel in some form during tonight's game, and nodoubt it will be an emotional lead-in to kickoff, which is slated for 7:15 p.m.

If the Bruins can wrestle their emotions under control, there is importance, in a football sense, in this matchup.

UCLA (5-5, 3-4 Pac-10) would become bowl eligible with a win, but could only go to a bowl game if the Pac-10 did not have six teams finish the season above .500, or if less than 64 teams in Division I-A do not finished better than .500.

``We need to win two games, really, to get a bowl game for sure,'' UCLA defensive lineman Kenneth Lombard said.

``Even if we beat ASU, there's no guarantee we'll go to a bowl. But the focus right now is winning on the road. Beat ASU and win on the road; that's what I think most guys are focused on.''

The Bruins, who are tied for sixth, are hopeful their 25-7 defeat of Oregon State, which ended a four-game losing streak, catapults them to a strong finish.

``We got that nasty taste out of our mouth, and it proved we can win again,'' UCLA fullback Michael Pitre said. ``I think, that alone, is enough motivation. The sense of urgency should be there, being that we want to get to a bowl game. We have two guaranteed games left. There's nothing guaranteed after these two, but if we take care of Arizona State and take care of USC, we'll have another game.''

But life for the Bruins on the road has been much different than at the RoseBowl.

In losses to Washington, Oregon, Notre Dame and Cal on the road, the Bruins were outscored 117-80. Furthermore, the defense is allowing 12.8 points per game at home, and 29.3 per game on the road.

Now, UCLA is going against a Sun Devils squad that broke out offensively last week, and will clinch a bowl berth with a win.

Arizona State (6-4, 3-4) scored 17 first-quarter points and quarterback Rudy Carpenter (Westlake High) had arguably his finest game of the season, throwing for 339 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-14 demolition of Washington State.

``It's a big, big challenge for us to win this on the road,'' Bruins coach Karl Dorrell said. ``We know that. We talked about it.''

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