Offense can’t generate energy

Looking back at UCLA’s 24-20 loss to No. 9 Arizona State:

Rewind

As expected: The offense struggled and the Bruins lost.

Ben Olson (knee) and Patrick Cowan (collapsed lung) were out injured. Osaar Rasshan was at quarterback.

Kahlil Bell was out injured and Chris Markey was limited to a few plays. Walk-on tailback Craig Sheppard was the Bruins’ running game.

Rasshan had positive moments but had a pass intercepted in a key moment. Outscoring a potent Arizona State team was a lot to ask of an offense whittled down at the skill positions.

The Sun Devils didn’t bring their A game, but they scored enough to beat the Bruins’ B-side offense.

Unexpected: Sheppard is no “Rudy.” He has some game, though no one is bidding on film rights yet. He gained 54 yards and scored the only touchdown by the Bruins’ offense. He also gained 28 of the Bruins’ 51 yards on a field-goal drive in the first quarter.

He suffered a hip pointer in the first half to join a long list of injured Bruins tailbacks this season -- Bell (knee), Markey (toe, ankle), Christian Ramirez (concussion) and Chane Moline (wrist).

Stepped up: The special teams . . . again.

Kai Forbath kicked two field goals. Punter Aaron Perez put Arizona State inside the 15-yard line three times.

Add to that another kickoff return for a touchdown by Matthew Slater and a 68-yard punt return by Terrence Austin that set up Sheppard’s touchdown.

Basic coach-speak claims special teams can win you games. Of course, that’s if the offense and defense cooperate.

Stepped back: The defense’s ability to tackle.

Missed tackles preceded every Arizona State touchdown. Kyle Williams slipped through Dennis Keyes’ arms. Dimitri Nance ran through three UCLA players. Keegan Herring was stopped at the line of scrimmage, but no one bothered to wrap him up and he was off on a 71-yard jog.

The defense had a good day overall -- including five sacks and a fumble recovery -- but the Bruins’ low-energy offense needed the defense to be perfect.

Coach’s quote: “I saw a tremendous effort in every phase,” Coach Karl Dorrell said. “The effort was probably the best we’ve seen. We’ve played some good teams, and had similar efforts, but we played hard.”

As for Rasshan’s performance in his first start, Dorrell said, “Early on, he was antsy and had the adrenaline going. He settled down and played pretty well. He was inexperienced and did not see things at times, but that’s part of being a young quarterback. We can fix that.”

Injuries: The Bruins came out of the game with no significant injuries. But, then, who is left to be injured at this point?

The Bruins have lost defensive end Nikola Dragovic for the season, as he underwent hernia surgery last week. Defensive tackle Jess Ward, out with a knee injury, went through early stretching with the team but did not suit up for the game.

Looking ahead to the Bruins’ bye week (Monday through Saturday, not televised, UCLA’s practice field):

Fast forward

First look: There are two weeks to prepare for an Oregon team that appears to have a clear path to the national title game. On top of that, Ducks quarterback Dennis Dixon has Heisman Trophy possibilities. Two weeks might not be enough.

Rasshan will spend that time acquiring more knowledge of the offense. Olson will spend it trying to show coaches he is well enough to play.

As of now, Rasshan is starting.

“That’s the plan right now,” Dorrell said. “We’ll continue to play the guys we’re allowed to play with.”

As for Olson, Dorrell said, “He wasn’t able to do much last week. He hasn’t been able to progress as much as he wanted to.”

Topic of the week: Dorrell remains a hot-button item. Some have wondered whether he needed to win all of UCLA’s last three games to keep his job.

Now, will two victories, one over USC, be enough to hold off the pressure Athletic Director Dan Guerrero seems to be getting? Two victories, though, merely keep the UCLA program treading water. That would give Bruins fans a 7-5 season and a spot in a low-rent bowl game.

Bruins fans expected to be living in a high-tax bracket at this point.

--

chris.foster@latimes.com

--

Begin text of infobox

Season log (5-5)

* Sept. 1: Stanford (3-7, 2-6); won 45-17.

* Sept. 8: Brigham Young (7-2); won, 27-17.

* Sept. 15: at Utah (7-3); lost, 44-6.

* Sept. 22: Washington (3-7, 1-6); won, 44-31.

* Sept. 29: at Oregon State (6-4, 4-3), won, 40-14.

* Oct. 6: Notre Dame (1-9); lost, 20-6.

* Oct. 20: California (6-4, 3-4); won, 30-21.

* Oct. 27: at Washington State (4-6, 2-5); lost, 27-7.

* Nov. 3: at Arizona (4-6, 3-4); lost, 34-27.

* Nov. 10: Arizona State (9-1, 6-1); lost, 24-20; in the words of one Bruins fan, who said in an e-mail: “The only silver lining I can see is that at least they finally lost to a team with a winning record.”

* Nov. 24: Oregon (8-1, 5-1); the Bruins need one more win to be bowl eligible; shame they can’t replay that Notre Dame game. There is a rooting interest in this game for those people across town who still hang on to Rose Bowl hopes.

* Dec. 1: at USC (8-2, 5-2).