UCLA NOTEBOOK: UCLA HAS LONG ROAD TO BOWL.

Byline: Jon Wilner Staff Writer

To qualify for a bowl game, UCLA must win three of its final four games. To win three of its final four games, UCLA must win at least one on the road.

And that's a problem.

``We need to learn to win on the road,'' Bruins coach Bob Toledo said. ``That's something we talk about.''

The Bruins are 0-3 away from home entering Saturday's game at Oregon State. (They also play USC in the Coliseum on Nov. 20.)

UCLA lost at Ohio State and Stanford, but its worst road experience came three weeks ago at Arizona State, where the Bruins blew a 24-14 fourth-quarter lead and lost in the final minute.

Toledo believes the lack of sideline support is the most difficult aspect of road play. Because travel squads are limited to 60 players, there aren't many friendly faces when something goes wrong and young players look to the bench. Two-thirds of UCLA's travel squad is freshmen and sophomores.

``With an experienced team, I think they look more forward to the challenge of, `It's us against the world,' '' Toledo said. ``Young teams are intimidated. Young teams have to learn to finish games on the road. You've got to crank it up.''

Mr. Efficient: The Bruins keep stats on every aspect of the game, including tackles per play. According to defensive coordinator Bob Field, middle linebacker Robert Thomas leads the team with one tackle every 8.6 plays.

Linebacker Tony White is second (10.6), followed by safety Joey Strycula (12.4), linebacker Ali Abdul Azziz (12.7) and freshman linebacker Marcus Reese (12.7).

``Linebackers should have more tackles,'' Field said. ``Robert has probably had more opportunities than anybody.''

Red alert: UCLA's opponents have kicked just two field goals in seven games this season - thanks in part to UCLA's porous defense. Opponents have scored touchdowns on 71 percent of their red-zone opportunities (17 of 24).

In contrast, the Bruins have scored touchdowns on 56 percent of their red-zone visits.

High praise: The Bruins haven't lost confidence in freshman quarterback Cory Paus despite his 9-of-28 performance against Cal.

``He's going to be something else,'' cornerback Jason Bell said. ``Every day I tell him, `You're going to be it.' And he says, `You think so?' He's just got a lot to learn.''