Scoring Doesn’t Reflect Bruin Defense : UCLA: Washington State’s offense was helped by turnovers.

UCLA middle linebacker Nkosi Littleton merely frowned when asked about the 27 points Washington State scored against the Bruins on Saturday.

“Most of their points came off of turnovers,” Littleton said of UCLA’s 40-27 victory over the Cougars. “Our defense played well. It’s a little misleading to judge us by the points they scored.”

On a day when UCLA’s offense had to overcome the loss of its starting quarterback and several ineffective drives, the Bruin defense came through when it counted.

UCLA’s defense scored one touchdown, got a safety and set up another touchdown that put the game out of reach at the end of the third quarter.

“We have a defense that always seems to make the big play when we need it,” said Littleton, a senior from Lynwood. “And today, we knew that we needed to get turnovers.”

In the opening minutes of the game, it did not appear that UCLA would need its defense to step up after opening a 14-0 lead on its first two possessions.

After that, Washington State’s defense stiffened with UCLA backup quarterback Rob Walker in for Wayne Cook, who was injured in the first quarter.

With its offense struggling, the Bruin defense took over by forcing Washington State to punt from its end zone, giving UCLA good field position that led to a 38-yard field goal by Bjorn Merten.

Three plays later, UCLA safety Tommy Bennett took matters into his own hands when he returned a Washington State fumble 18 yards to give the Bruins a 24-0 lead.

“We go into every down and every snap anticipating a turnover,” said Bennett, a sophomore from San Diego. “We just look for it and then we make it happen.”

After giving up a field goal to end the second quarter, UCLA began the second half with a 24-3 lead. That was before the Bruins’ offense began to sputter.

In two consecutive offensive series, UCLA turned the ball over on Walker’s fumbles deep in Bruin territory, and soon Washington State trailed, 24-13.

“We were put to the test when our offense kept giving up the ball like that,” UCLA safety Marvin Goodwin said. “We don’t like to give up points, so we knew we had to step it up.”

UCLA continued to struggle on its next two possessions. But then Bennett intercepted at the Cougar 49-yard line and three plays later, UCLA extended its lead to 31-13 on a 43-yard touchdown pass play to J.J. Stokes.

“On the interception, I just tried to bluff the quarterback into thinking that I was going to stay in the middle,” Bennett said. “Once I did that, I just stretched in front of the pass.”

UCLA’s defense put the offense in position to score again early in the fourth quarter when linebacker Rod Smalley recovered a fumble at the Cougar six-yard line. On the next play, however, Walker threw an interception to DeWayne Patterson, who returned it 89 yards for a touchdown to cut the Bruins’ lead to 31-21.

After UCLA failed to move the ball again, the defense pressured Cougar quarterback Derek Chapman into slipping in the Washington State end zone for a safety.

“Their defense did a good job disguising their coverages and making you do things you didn’t want to do,” Chapman said. “They blitzed a lot and they faked a lot. That’s what makes them so effective.”

In nine games this season, UCLA has forced 36 turnovers.

“We definitely have a big play defense that bends a little but doesn’t break,” Goodwin said. “As long as the offense scores some points, we know that we’ll do the rest.”

The 27 points Washington State scored might not look good for UCLA’s defense, but its seven sacks and four turnovers helped the Bruins in their drive toward the Rose Bowl.