Lessons of Corvallis on Minds of Bruins : College football: After surviving scare at Oregon State two weeks ago, UCLA hopes to keep Rose Bowl berth in sight with victory today at Washington State.

The question is whether a lesson was learned two Saturdays ago in Corvallis, Ore.

The answer comes today, when UCLA tries to put significant victories over Washington and Arizona behind and plays Washington State. It’s a game that, if lost, will render those conquests window dressing for a season that could have been.

After beating Washington, and before playing Arizona, the Bruins escaped Corvallis with a 20-17 victory over lightly regarded Oregon State that was only a foot--that of Beaver kicker Brooke Knight--from being a tie. Then they beat Arizona last Saturday, 37-17.

“There’s always a corresponding low for any high that you might have,” UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said. “I think that’s human nature. Having said that, I think if you have designs on being a championship team, and if your aspirations are to go to the Rose Bowl, I think you’re going to have to play well every weekend.”

The 12th-ranked Bruins, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference, have done that for the most part in six consecutive victories that have put them in a three-way tie for the conference lead and on a path to the Rose Bowl.

But the specter of Oregon State looms today at Pullman.

“We just have to play a lot better than we played at Corvallis,” Donahue said. “I’m not sure that when we went to Corvallis we were prepared mentally for the type of game we got into. We may have gone into the game anticipating it wasn’t going to be as difficult as it was, and when it got hard, we got timid. You become anxious. You become less confident. You become nonaggressive.”

Become any of those things at Washington State and you lose. The Cougars have averaged 45.8 points in going 4-0 at Martin Stadium. They are 9-1 over the last two seasons at home, and only a miserable road record--inexplicable, Coach Mike Price said--has them on the outside, looking in at the bowl lineup.

“This is a must-win for us because we have backed ourselves into a corner,” Price said. “If we don’t win, we won’t accomplish one main goal for the season: back-to-back bowl games.”

UCLA BRUINS

TODAY’S GAME

* Opponent: Washington State Cougars.

* Site: Martin Stadium, Pullman, Wash.

* Time: 12:30 p.m.

* Records: UCLA 6-2, 4-1 in Pacific 10 Conference, Washington State 5-4, 3-3.

* Radio: KMPC (710).

* TV: Channel 7.

Last season’s Copper Bowl champion, Washington State (5-4, 3-3) has only games today and on Nov. 20 at Washington remaining. The Cougars must finish with at least six victories to qualify for a bowl game.

“We’ll come in fired up, but that only lasts a minute,” Price said. “It’s what you do the other 59 minutes that determines the outcome.”

Washington State plays best on defense. The Cougars are second in the nation against the rush, having given up only 62.8 yards per game. They have given up only 24 points in the first quarter, 14 of those against USC, which beat Washington State at the Coliseum in September, 34-3.

They also beat Oregon State at Pullman, 51-6, a victory, Price said, that should not lead anyone astray.

“Our defense is different, and I think it matches up well with Oregon State,” Price said. “And their offense (the wishbone) can make anyone look bad.”

It made UCLA look bad and Donahue said, “I expect Washington State learned a few things from the Oregon State film.”

The Bruins learned at least one thing from film on the Cougars.

“Washington State takes away the run,” Donahue said. “You have to pass on them to beat them.”

So expect the Bruins to come back with the game plan they used against Arizona: Throw on first down, run on second. And the passes have to be quick. Washington State has 39 sacks in nine games, led by end DeWayne Patterson’s 14.

“They have a good pass rush, just like Arizona did, and that means the quarterback and receivers are going to have to be on the same page in respect to getting open quickly,” wide receiver Mike Nguyen said. “It’s not just a matter of getting open. You have to do it with expediency.”

When the Bruins go on defense, they will be looking at a passing team. Washington State has passed for 65% of its yards, most by Mike Pattison, who is sidelined for the season because of a broken collarbone, and now by Chad DeGrenier, a junior who started for the first time last week in a 44-25 loss at Oregon.

DeGrenier completed 26 of 51 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown in a game in which the Cougar defense was flat a week after a 9-6 loss to Arizona.

“We were real sullen, very quiet at Monday’s practice,” Price said. “We had a team meeting, and the coaches and team leaders talked to individuals and groups. I think the players have gotten back their enthusiasm.”

That will be fed by the knowledge that Washington State beat UCLA a year ago, 30-17. The weather, erratic at Pullman, also could affect things, though a time change--kickoff is at 12:30 to accommodate television--should keep the game in whatever passes for the heat of the day in eastern Washington in November.