Bruins work on pass protection

Concerns about the offensive line, shelved during UCLA’s three-game winning streak, surfaced in the 35-7 loss to California on Saturday.

The Bruins allowed a season-high five sacks. The Bears were able to pressure quarterback Kevin Prince on numerous other occasions.

UCLA on Thursday faces an Oregon defense, built on speed, that ranks 16th nationally in sacks. So things need to improve quickly.

“We are definitely working on pass blocking this week,” tackle Sean Sheller said. “We did not do a very good job staying in front of guys against California.”

The Bruins used the run so successfully in victories over Houston, Texas and Washington State that the pass blocking wasn’t an issue, even though Texas sacked Prince four times.

That changed when the Bears repeatedly beat UCLA linemen on the outside. Falling behind 28-0 in the first half didn’t help, as the Bears were able to “tee off,” offensive line coach Bob Palcic said. But UCLA ranks near the top in sacks allowed — only 22 teams have allowed more per game.

That caused some shuffling along the front this week. Sheller, Mike Harris and Micah Kia have rotated at tackles, with Kia playing both the left side and right.

“There are breakdowns in protection for a lot of reasons,” Palcic said. “But the line was not as sturdy as we should have been. We were faulty in some of our techniques and that was my fault.”

Prince update

Prince was limited in practice Thursday, as he was still experiencing swelling in his right knee. He did passing drills, but took only three reps in 11-on-11 situations.

“We’re managing the symptoms, there’s not much else to do,” said Prince, who injured the knee against Texas and sat out the Washington State game.

Prince, who had surgery on that knee as a senior at Encino Crespi High, said team doctors were unsure why the knee continues to swell. He had an MRI two weeks ago, but said, “It’s tough to really see what’s wrong and whatnot when I already had the knee surgically repaired. It’s kind of a muddy picture.”

Ward improves

Guard Eddie Williams missed Thursday’s practice, as he went home to Hawaii to attend a funeral. Freshman Chris Ward filled in at right guard with the first team.

Ward got a few plays in the Texas game, when Williams left briefly with a minor injury. He has worked at tackle and guard spots this season.

“I’ve learned that things I got away with in high school won’t work here,” Ward said. “In high school, they could beat me outside, but I was still strong enough to hold the edge. I had to learn better footwork.”

Quick kicks

Freshman running back Jordon James sat out practice with a leg injury.… Wide receiver Nelson Rosario (high ankle sprain) was out of his walking boot, but was still limping noticeably.

chris.foster@latimes.com

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