Cowan can take a breath

The first half was for those head-slapping plays. That’s when UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan would aim the ball toward the first row of the end zone. Or the ground, when the officials would throw a flag, huddle, then announce that they thought about calling intentional grounding but, wait, there was a receiver in the area.

The second half was for the hand-clapping plays.

In the first half of the Bruins’ 25-7 win over Oregon State Saturday at the Rose Bowl, Cowan was eight of 16 for 44 yards and no touchdowns.

He also had minus-two yards rushing and generally looked as nervous as a rookie and not the third-year sophomore who has been playing since Oct. 7, when Ben Olson tore a knee ligament.

It wasn’t until Cowan and junior wide receiver Marcus Everett played toss and catch for a 45-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, a one-play drive that put UCLA ahead, 13-7, and into a lead the Bruins would never give up, that Cowan seemed to shake off his nerves and insecurities.

“At halftime I talked to Patrick a little,” Everett said, “and told him to calm down and play like he was capable. I just think he was being a little uptight in the beginning. He was feeling the pressure of the losing.”

And maybe the pressure of Olson getting healthier, getting back to practice, getting eager to get back in a game. Cowan had not competed well against Olson when the starting job was up for grabs in the off-season and while not his fault, he was the starter during the four-game losing streak UCLA ended against the Beavers.

“Not nerves, nothing like that,” Cowan said. He tried to conserve his words after the game, tried to keep his emotions inside, refused to smile or brag or take any credit.

But in the second half Cowan threw two touchdown passes (the second went to Everett also). He finished the game with a line of 12 for 23 for 126 yards and the two touchdowns.

He also rushed for 24 yards, including a quick-footed scamper of 16 yards on a second-and-nine play and for nine yards on a third-and-nine on UCLA’s second touchdown drive. At the end of it, while he was on the run, Cowan threw to Everett for the score that put the Bruins up, 19-7, and took the life out of Oregon State.

Everett said Cowan had more authority to his game when he was moving. “Patrick’s pretty mobile,” Everett said. “He can move around well, throw across his body when he’s on the run. He’s good at rolling out and when that happened in the second half he really seemed to get on track.”

A week ago Cowan completed 22 of 40 passes for 329 yards but the Bruins lost to Cal. Everett thought Cowan took that defeat hard. Coach Karl Dorrell said he needed to get his quarterback “settled down” at halftime.

Afterward, Cowan kept trying to speak in cliches. “Really happy we won,” he said. “Just excited about the win,” he said. “This is a new season now,” he said, “and we’re 1-0 in the new season.”

His smile almost broke through when he described his 45-yard touchdown to Everett. “We got the safety to come up,” he said. “That’s what we wanted and it worked.”

Ten feet away, Olson smiled and gestured and said how well his knee felt and how excited he was for this win and for the rest of the season. Cowan said he was “just trying to succeed.”

Two quarterbacks, two attitudes.

diane.pucin@latimes.com