Something Bruin Here Must Be Stopped

What happened on this long, frosty Saturday afternoon is precisely what has been happening with UCLA football for three long, frosty years.

A receiver leaps for a touchdown catch and dances through the end zone.

A linebacker misses a touchdown-saving tackle and collapses in the end zone.

A quarterback tosses a bomb and pumps his fist into the air.

A cornerback blows a coverage and pounds his fist on the ground.

The offense scores 28 points in the swaying, screeching old home of the team that could be headed for the Rose Bowl.

The defense gives up seven more.

Has UCLA made a tackle since 1998 in Miami?

You wouldn’t know it by Washington, whose 35-28 victory over the Bruins on Saturday came with the usual bite marks.

“We were gnashing them bad,” Husky tight end Jerramy Stevens said.

And with the usual shreds of clothing.

“We wore and tore at them,” Husky quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo said.

And with the usual confusion.

“We made some really, really dumb mistakes,” Bruin linebacker Ryan Nece said.

Cory Paus is taking blame for the loss after a silly second-quarter interception in the Washington end zone.

The offensive line is hanging its sizable heads after giving up four sacks, including one on the final play of the game that ended UCLA’s final comeback bid.

Even Coach Bob Toledo, that wily old quarterback, said, “Our offense . . . kept our defense on the field a long time.”

Don’t believe what you hear. Believe what you see.

Believe what you’ve been seeing since UCLA gave up 87 points in the final two games of what could have been a 1998 national championship season.

Believe what has been happening as the Bruins have gone through three defensive coordinators in four years.

Believe what happens when all of their great recruits are consistently on offense.

This loss belonged mostly to the defense.

The biggest obstacle to these immensely talented and schedule-fortunate Bruins contending for a national title next season could also be the defense.

“We’ve been dealing with this since I’ve been here,” Nece, a junior, said with a sigh. “And we thought we had it fixed.”

Think again.

At halftime Saturday, the Bruins led, 21-14, after another stirring comeback that has made this team so much fun.

Yet the defense gave it all back, and more, during a third quarter that represented everything that makes this team so frustrating.

The Bruins gave up three touchdowns, 231 yards, two drive-stretching penalties, one huge blown assignment.

In 15 minutes.

“You can sense them saying, ‘Oh man, they’re coming down again,’ ” Tuiasosopo said.

And down they came, scoring less than two minutes into the quarter after a 62-yard run up the middle by Willie Hurst.

“It’s really something when all you’re doing is running up the middle,” Stevens said. “The offensive line was all over the place.”

The Huskies scored in the middle of the quarter after a 95-yard drive that included a 47-yard slant pass to Stevens on a blown play.

“The linebacker let me run past him like he thought the safety would be there, and when I caught the ball I was expecting to get hit,” Stevens said. “But then, there was like nobody there. And I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s take it to the house.’ ”

Said defensive coordinator Bob Field: “It was a busted assignment, yes.”

To make matters worse, the drive was extended when the Bruins were offsides on a 27-yard Husky field goal. Two plays later, the Huskies scored a touchdown to take the lead for good.

To that penalty, add Nece’s personal foul that led to the Huskies’ second touchdown. Add the facemask penalty that helped the Huskies score their fifth touchdown. Throw in the personal foul in the fourth quarter that helped the Huskies hold the ball and stall the Bruins comeback.

Put it all together and what do you get?

Toledo, visibly frustrated by something so uncommon during his tenure, wasn’t saying.

“I know we had a bunch of penalties,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know how to answer that.”

The Bruins talk about how their defense was strong at the beginning of the season--holding their first three opponents to 24 points or less--before injuries decimated them.

They will note that there have been nine starters on the defensive line. That, at times Saturday, that line was dominated by redshirt freshmen and a walk-on.

And, certainly, Washington’s option is capable of gaining 349 rushing yards against many teams.

That is all true.

But it is also true that Toledo has a chance to do something special right here, right now.

Most of this team is returning next season. All of their difficult games are in Los Angeles. The program is on the verge of taking that next, and final, step.

But Toledo can’t do it unless he does something with this defense.

There are no cries to replace Field, as there were to replace Nick Allioti after the 1998 season. If anything, the Bruins need more continuity at that position.

What Toledo needs to do, perhaps, is replace priorities. Recruit more defense. Emphasize more defense. Build the sort of depth there that exists in those big and fast schools that always seem to be playing on Jan. 4.

“They have tremendous talent over there, but it’s not about just talent,” Stevens said. “It’s about execution.”

Washington is a team that, if you believe Oregon State will beat Oregon at home next week, will go to the Rose Bowl.

It is a team that could finish the season among the top two in the country. It is the only team to beat Miami.

Yet, even though it was only for the final seconds, the Bruins had the ball Saturday with a chance to tie that team.

Mix in a few more tackles, and the possibilities are endless.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail address: bill.plaschke@latimes.com.