Bruins May Have Trouble Ending Skid : UCLA: Explosive Oregon offense, led by Bill Musgrave, figures to pose a problem as Bruins try avoid their fifth consecutive loss.

Dennis Green called Stanford’s 17-14 victory over UCLA last Saturday a “benchmark” for his team.

Unfortunately for the Cardinal’s first-year coach, the school’s fans are not that easily duped. Beating the Bruins has become commonplace this season.

If the trend continues--and oddsmakers believe that it will--it’s Oregon’s turn today at the Rose Bowl in the final home game of what could be the worst of Coach Terry Donahue’s 14 seasons.

UCLA is 3-6, and one more loss--the Bruins close out the season against USC next week in the Coliseum--would make this its worst season since 1971. Two more losses and it would be the Bruins’ worst since 1963, when they were 2-8.

Bulldozed by Arizona last month and outscored by Oregon State, Washington and Stanford in the weeks that followed, UCLA has lost four consecutive games in one season for the first time since 1971 and four consecutive conference games in one season for the first time since 1948.

“The program was at the pinnacle of college football in many respects,” Donahue said after the defeat by Stanford, “and now it’s fallen to rock bottom.”

Eager to help the Bruins achieve their longest losing streak in 26 years--they haven’t dropped five in a row in one season since 1963--are the explosive Ducks.

Last week, in a game described in an Oregon news release as “the most offensive contest in which an Oregon squad has been involved,” the Ducks generated a school-record 667 yards, including a school-record 489 passing yards by quarterback Bill Musgrave, but still lost to Brigham Young, 45-41.

They are averaging 31.6 points a game and rank second in the Pacific 10 Conference in passing offense and total offense, and third in rushing offense. Only 15 NCAA Division I-A teams are averaging more than Oregon’s 426.2 yards a game.

Musgrave, a junior and third-year starter, is well on his way to replacing Chris Miller as the Ducks’ all-time leading passer, and tailback Derek Loville was the Ducks’ all-time leading rusher even before the season started. Flanker Terry Obee is Oregon’s leading receiver for the third consecutive season.

On defense, cornerback Chris Oldham is tied for the conference lead with six interceptions and also ranks third nationally with an average of 28.5 yards per kickoff return.

“This Oregon team has as much skill as any team that Rich (Brooks, the Ducks’ coach and a former UCLA assistant,) has ever had,” Donahue said. “This is an awfully good Oregon team. They’re going to cause us a lot of different problems in different areas.”

Who hasn’t?

In each of their last three games, the Bruins have allowed the opposition to overtake them in the fourth quarter. More than once, they’ve self-destructed.

To a lesser degree, Oregon (5-4) has endured similar misfortune, most glaringly on Sept. 23, when it squandered a 17-0 lead against Stanford, giving up 18 points in the last 7 minutes 19 seconds of an improbable 18-17 loss.

The defeat affected the Ducks for several weeks, Musgrave said, and defeats by Washington State and Washington in two of its next three games took Oregon out of the Rose Bowl race.

Last week, the Ducks blew a 33-14 second-half lead against BYU, allowing the Cougars to drive 95 yards to the winning touchdown, and may have fallen out of the bowl picture altogether.

“We’re undersized,” Brooks said. “That was one of the problems against BYU. They wore us down in the fourth quarter. And that’s a major concern I have with UCLA’s huge offensive line. They may wear us down.”

Obviously, Brooks hasn’t followed the Bruins closely enough.

UCLA hasn’t worn anyone down this season. In fact, in five of their six losses, the Bruins have faltered in the second half. Only Arizona blew them out early, racing to a 28-0 halftime lead.

UCLA has improved to second in the Pac-10 in total defense, but with the USC game only a week away, the Bruins aren’t expected to be especially motivated for a game against Oregon.

The Ducks, on the other hand, may still attract a bowl bid.

“We have a chance,” Brooks said. “I don’t think it’s a red-hot chance, but if we can win our next two games, we would finish no lower than tied for third in the conference and be 7-4.

“We should be an attractive team. We certainly have put a lot of numbers on the board and have some exciting players.”

UCLA has some exciting players, too. At this point, though, few of them seem excited.

Bruin Notes

Freshman Bret Johnson and sophomore Jim Bonds will share the quarterback role for UCLA, Coach Terry Donahue said. . . . In the two games they were given equal playing time--losses to Oregon State and Stanford--Johnson completed 10 of 30 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, and Bonds completed 14 of 22 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown.

Freshman tailback Kevin Williams, who sprained the arch in his right foot two weeks ago against Washington, is listed as doubtful. If he is unable to play, sophomore Shawn Wills will start. . . . UCLA’s 19 seniors will be introduced before the game. As a group, they are 31-13-1, including victories in three bowl games, but also the first Bruin class since 1981 not to play in the Rose Bowl game.

Victories today and again next week against Oregon State would give Oregon its best season since 1964, when the Ducks were 7-2-1. . . . Oregon quarterback Bill Musgrave leads the Pacific 10 with 17 touchdown passes. . . . Musgrave’s brother, Doug, is a redshirt freshman quarterback at Michigan. . . . Oregon is a 1 1/2-point favorite.