Alexander Ends UCLA’s Ragtime Span : College football: His 227 rushing yards help the Bruins score their first Pac-10 victory, 26-14 over Oregon State.

Finally.

Off to its worst conference start in 43 years after losing its first five Pacific 10 games, UCLA won its first Pac-10 game of the season, defeating Oregon State, 26-14, Saturday before 32,513 at the Rose Bowl.

“It’s a big relief,” said Bruin tailback Chris Alexander, who ran for a personal-best 227 yards in 35 carries, including a 62-yard fourth-quarter touchdown.

“I’m a runner who gets better at the end of the game, but I didn’t know I carried the ball 35 times,” Alexander said.

Operating out of a one-back formation, Alexander ran for 89 yards in 16 carries during the first half and added 138 yards during the second half, including the first touchdown of his collegiate career with 1:38 remaining.

Alexander was trying to pick up a first down on third and four at the Bruin 38 to help UCLA, which was protecting a 19-14 lead, run out the clock. After running into a pileup at the line of scrimmage, he cut to the right and outran linebacker Rico Petrini and cornerback Reggie Tongue to the end zone.

“They were used to me going inside the whole game,” Alexander said. “I saw it clogged up inside so I decided to break it outside to daytime.”

Academically ineligible for UCLA’s first two games, Alexander sat out the Bruins’ next five before rushing for 104 yards in his season debut during last week’s 48-12 loss to California.

“I had to go to summer school and get my grades situated,” Alexander said. “Then Ihad to work my way up the depth chart and prove that I could be a ballplayer.”

He proved it as the Bruins, who had averaged 51.8 yards on the ground during their five-game losing streak, rushed for 238 yards. Freshman tailback Sharmon Shah added 27 yards in 11 carries, including a one-yard touchdown run.

Quarterback John Barnes, making his third start of the season because of an ankle injury to starting quarterback Rob Walker, completed eight of 15 passes for a personal-best 149 yards.

Kicker Louis Perez provided the rest of the offense for the Bruins, who had averaged 7.8 points in their last five games. Perez made field goals of 32, 27, 27 and 32 yards, the first time Perez has made four field goals in one game.

Perez said that injured linebacker Arnold Ale motivated the Bruins with an emotional pregame talk. Ale, who suffered a broken leg during the Bruins’ 23-3 opening Pac-10 loss at Arizona, was in tears when he finished.

“He gave a great speech and that kind of turned the team on fire,” Perez said.

“He shed some tears, and that got the team going. That’s why our attitude was so good.”

Linebacker Jamir Miller, who had sat out the Bruins’ last three games because of a sprained ankle, made 11 tackles, including two for losses, as the Bruins held Oregon State, ranked No. 1 in the conference in rushing with an average of 239.6 yards per game, to 196.

Trailing 16-14 after Perez made a 27-yard field goal with 8:49 to play, Oregon State gambled by going for a first down on fourth and one at its 34. The Beavers ran a reverse, but Miller tackled split end Maurice Wilson for a three-yard loss.

“There’s no question that his return to the lineup really helped our defensive team,” UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said of Miller. “Jamir is one of the premier players on our squad, and when we lost him we lost the use of an athlete who has the potential to make big plays. His return was very vital to our defense.”

The battle between the ninth- and 10th-place teams in the Pac-10 also produced a near brawl with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. Both benches emptied and Bruin nose guard Bruce Walker and Oregon State defensive tackle Alai Kalaniuvalu were ejected. However, order was quickly restored.

“I was glad that our players stayed on the bench and that it wasn’t something that escalated into an ugly incident,” Donahue said. “It was ugly enough as it was.”

Said Oregon State Coach Jerry Pettibone: “That’s not a part of what our program is about. I told the kids, ‘I don’t care who starts it, it’s not a part of our program, and it’s not a part of football.’ ”

Trailing 7-0 after Beaver halfback Dwayne Owens scored on a 97-yard punt return with 9:12 to play in the first quarter, the Bruins scored 13 consecutive points to take a 13-7 halftime lead.

Alexander gained 28 yards in six carries as the Bruins drove 49 yards before Perez made a 32-yard field goal with 4:30 to play in the opening quarter.

Barnes and wide receiver J.J. Stokes combined on a 26-yard pass play as UCLA drove 71 yards in 10 plays to take a 10-3 lead on Shah’s one-yard touchdown run. Alexander helped set up the score with a 24-yard run to the Beaver nine.

Trailing 13-7 after Perez made a 27-yard field goal with 22 seconds to play in the half, Oregon State drove 71 yards in 10 plays on its first series of the second half to take a 14-13 lead on halfback Jason Barry’s one-yard run with 8:54 to play in the third quarter.

But UCLA, which was winless in five games during which it had trailed going into the fourth quarter, finally rallied.

Perez gave the Bruins a 16-14 lead when he made the 27-yard field goal with 8:49 to play, capping an 80-yard, 17-play drive. Alexander ran for 15 yards to give the Bruins a first down at the Beaver 15, but the drive stalled.

Taking over at their 30 after the Beavers’ fourth-down gamble failed when Miller didn’t get fooled by the reverse, UCLA drove 15 yards before Perez kicked his last field goal with 4:15 remaining. Alexander then sealed the victory.

UCLA improved to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the Pac-10. Oregon State fell to 1-7-1 and 0-5-1.