Bowl Hopes at Risk in Battle of Streaks : UCLA: The Bruins, Stanford each have won four in a row. Cardinal defense has improved.

The Pacific 10 Conference’s race to the Rose Bowl has been virtually decided, with Washington the probable champion.

However, UCLA and Stanford still have bowl hopes of their own.

The Bruins, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Pac-10, could conceivably finish with a 9-2 record, which probably would reward them with a New Year’s Day bowl. Stanford (5-3, 3-2) has a more modest goal--a bowl bid, period. The Cardinal would have to win two of its three remaining games to qualify for one.

NCAA rules state that a team must have at least six victories over Division IA schools to be eligible for a bowl bid. One of Stanford’s victories is over Cornell, a Division I-AA school.

So today’s game between the Bruins and the Cardinal at Stanford Stadium is sort of a bowl audition.

Each team is on a four-game winning streak.

Stanford’s coincides with the emergence of sophomore Steve Stenstrom as the starting quarterback, passing to effective receivers such as Chris Walsh and Jon Pinckney.

The Cardinal offense also has versatile tailback Glyn Milburn and fullback Tommy Vardell.

Milburn, who was injured earlier in the season, is sound now. The former Santa Monica High standout has gained 669 all-purpose yards in the last three games.

Vardell, 6 feet 3 and 235 pounds, is a short-yardage specialist who holds the school record for most career rushing touchdowns (31) and has 14 this year, two short of the school single-season record set by Darrin Nelson in 1981.

However, it is Stanford’s defense that has revived the team after its 1-3 start, including a 42-26 loss to Notre Dame.

The Cardinal has limited its last four opponents to an average of 205 yards, only 71 by rushing.

Outside linebacker Ron George leads the team in tackles with 51, prompting praise from Coach Dennis Green: “He is playing some amazing football. I don’t know of any outside linebacker in the country doing the things he’s doing.”

The enthusiasm generated by the four-game streak, Stanford’s longest since 1986, is tempered by the fact that it was accomplished against teams with losing records--Cornell, USC, Oregon State and Oregon.

The same almost holds for UCLA’s streak. Three of those games were against teams with losing records--Arizona, Oregon State and Washington State. The other was over Arizona State.

Of concern to Green is the knowledge that his team hasn’t played an opponent with a prolific passing attack.

Moreover, the Cardinal ranks eighth in the Pac-10 in pass defense, yielding an average of 130.7 yards, with only two interceptions.

UCLA quarterback Tommy Maddox and his favorite receiver, split end Sean LaChapelle, will try to exploit any deficiency in the Stanford secondary.

It was in the Stanford game last season at the Rose Bowl that Maddox, then a redshirt freshman, came of age. He replaced Jim Bonds in the second half and led the Bruins to a 32-31 victory.

Bruin Notes

UCLA is a 3 1/2-point favorite. . . . The Bruins have won three of the last four games played at Stanford Stadium. . . . UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis, on the bowl picture: “There’s nothing specific at this point. A lot will be determined after Saturday. There are a couple of Jan. 1 bowls that we might sneak into,” referring to the Citrus and the Fiesta. “But it all depends on what happens with Florida State, Miami and Notre Dame, because those bowls want one of those schools.”

For the record: Marc Wilder is one of the senior starters in the UCLA offensive line along with Scott Spalding, not Aron Gideon, as reported. . . . Stanford freshman linebacker Coy Gibbs is the son of Washington Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs. . . . UCLA’s Shawn Wills, who has sat out the last two games because of a bruised knee, is expected to start today at tailback. However, Kevin Williams probably will make another early appearance. Williams is the Pac-10’s third-leading rusher, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.