UCLA NOTEBOOK: BOWL MEANS MORE THIS TIME.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

UCLA's last two outings - a win at Oregon and a loss to top-ranked USC - were two of its most complete games under Karl Dorrell, and the second-year coach is hoping to use the Las Vegas Bowl as a springboard to the 2005 season.

The Bruins begin preparations today for the Dec. 23 contest with Wyoming, and Dorrell doesn't anticipate problems with his players getting excited to play in lower-tier bowl for a third consecutive season.

``I think it's a great opportunity for us to finish the season with a strong sense of doing some great things and building (momentum) going into next year,'' Dorrell said. ``We're going to have a lot of returning players. It'll be fun for our program to use this as something that can catapult us for next year.''

One of the reasons Dorrell believes the Bruins, who played less-than-inspired football in last season's bowl loss to Fresno State, is the number of marquee returning players next year. Of UCLA's 22 starters on offense and defense, only six are seniors.

Among the players that Dorrell said developed well during the season were the corps of defensive linemen, including Kevin Brown, Justin Hickman, Brigham Harwell, C.J. (Niusulu) and Kyle Morgan. Each returns next season.

Among other underclassmen Dorrell also lauded were members of the offensive line, which will return three starters, receiver Junior Taylor, tailback Chris Markey and several members of the secondary, including safety Chris Horton and cornerback Trey Brown.

``That's why we feel really good about our future,'' Dorrell said.

Dorrell also acknowledged he enjoyed coaching this season more than his initial season, when the Bruins lost their last five to finish 6-7. As the 2003 season wore on, there was friction on the coaching staff, some of the seniors had their efforts questioned, and Dorrell was roundly criticized for everything from his handling of quarterbacks Matt Moore and Drew Olson to, of all things, not being more rah-rah on the field.

``It was fun coaching these guys this year,'' Dorrell said. ``They want to be special. They want to be good. They really want to work and be as good as they can be. It's fun when you really have guys who aspire to do those kinds of things.

``As a coach it's really rewarding when you have guys with that type of attitude. We're going to keep building on that attitude and keep getting better.''

--Bowl arrangements: Tickets for the Las Vegas Bowl are available through UCLA. Season-ticket holders can buy one $50 ticket and get another ticket free through Dec. 17. Travel packages also are also available.

For more information. call the UCLA ticket office at 310-UCLAWIN or visit the school's Web site at uclabruins.com.

--Few practices: One reason coaches love bowl games is the additional practices, but UCLA won't benefit much because of finishing the season just a few days ago against USC.

UCLA returns to practice today and will practice seven times before arriving in Las Vegas. The Bruins will practice three times at UNLV before playing in the bowl game.

--Odds and ends: Guard Shannon Tevaga was named third-team freshman All-American by The Sporting News. Tevaga, Markey and linebacker Aaron Whittington were each named to the publication's freshman all-Pacific-10 Conference team. ... UCLA's Chris Kluwe is at Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., today for the announcement of the Ray Guy Award for the nation's top punter. He is one of three finalists.

Brian Dohn, [phone]

brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com