Bruins at Disadvantage?

They have a star running back in Ricky Williams. They have an offensive line that’s big and experienced.

Big deal.

The Texas Longhorns, who come to the Rose Bowl on Saturday to play UCLA, have already played a game, a 66-36 victory over New Mexico State, while the Bruins are playing their season opener.

Bigger deal.

“That’s our biggest advantage,” Williams said.

“And the way they played,” UCLA linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo added. “They played well. They ran. They smashed the ball down [New Mexico State’s] throats. The quarterback played well. They got their momentum going. Hopefully, not going too far.”

“I think it’s a huge advantage,” UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said. “You probably improve the most from the first week to the second week in a season. That’s when you make huge strides. They’ll be able to iron out the wrinkles and we’ll have to go through that next week.”

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Less than 4,000 tickets remain for the game, meaning a crowd of about 80,000 is expected. . . . At least UCLA gets lowly Houston next week. Texas’ recovery process after playing the No. 6 team in the nation: Kansas State, the No. 5 team. “We will know who we are because we are playing two teams who could compete for the national championship,” Longhorn Coach Mack Brown said.