They Don’t Cook, They Order Takeaway

They don’t throw jabs, they wait for the knockout punch.

They don’t bunt, they swing for the fences.

UCLA’s defense specializes in the big play, the superhero-swooping-down-from-the-sky kind of play.

It makes for light work for opposing punters, little use for the Chick Hearn Memorial Refrigerator ... and victories in both games this season.

UCLA’s 38-24 victory at Oklahoma State Saturday came down to turnovers, which is this defense’s specialty. The Bruins intercepted four passes and recovered a fumble against the Cowboys, a week after two key turnovers propelled them to a season-opening win over Colorado State.

So far it’s working. But will it work when they face teams that protect the ball more carefully and force UCLA to stop them the hard way?

The good news for the Bruins is that hasn’t been a concern yet. Even better news is their next opponent is Colorado, which looked sloppy in every aspect of the game while getting pounded by USC on Saturday.

“It’s nice to get turnovers, and turnovers win and lose football games,” UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said. “We’ve been in the plus side of that category two games in a row, and that’s something we have talked about.”

When a team has more talent and better game plans than its opponents, as was the case for UCLA Saturday, it shouldn’t have to come down to the flukiest element of football.

But at the moment, it’s what they’re executing more consistently than any other aspect of the game.

Quarterback Cory Paus got off to a slow start, including an interception on his first pass, but he did more things right than wrong and was instrumental to the victory.

Backup Drew Olson didn’t do anything to merit more playing time in his lone second-quarter series, and the Bruins couldn’t give him a chance to get some mop-up time.

They should have had this game locked up by the fourth quarter, but they didn’t because the defense allowed 444 yards to Oklahoma State, including 350 yards passing. With less than four minutes to play, the Cowboys were down by 14 and driving in UCLA territory.

What did UCLA do about it? Pick off a pass, of course. Ben Emanuel snagged his second interception of the day and it was happy trails for the Cowboys.

“I think we can make a play when we’re called upon, no matter what situation we’re in,” Emanuel said.

They sure came through when they needed to in the second quarter.

When the game hung in the balance, with UCLA holding a 17-10 lead and a growing feeling that the next touchdown could determine the outcome of the game, the Bruin defense simply wanted it more. More than Oklahoma State. More, even, than the UCLA offense, which couldn’t decide if it was ready to take over the game.

Dave Ball broke up a third-and-seven pass near midfield to stop Oklahoma State’s first drive of the quarter.

Emanuel intercepted a pass at the UCLA 25 and returned it 23 yards.

Spencer Havner jarred the ball loose from Oklahoma State running back Vernand Morency and Ball recovered.

That was enough to hold the lead while UCLA’s offense produced only 25 yards, and the special teams “contributed” a 33-yard punt and a missed field goal.

After the fumble recovery, the offense got with the program. Paus engineered an 82-yard touchdown drive that put the Bruins ahead by 14. And Matt Ware ensured they’d take that lead into halftime when he intercepted a pass at the back of the end zone.

“We’re just trying to make big plays,” backup safety Jarrad Page said. “Everything is on us. That’s when we perform best, when we’ve got to do something.”

The best thing the Bruins had going for them in this game was Toledo’s play-calling. The Bruins used an even split of 17 runs and 17 passes in the first half. He pulled the right card all day long, whether it was Manuel White slipping out of the backfield to take a pass for 31 yards in the first half, or flooding the right side before coming back to Craig Bragg on a screen pass that went for 26 yards in the second half.

He clearly had the edge over Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Mike Gundy. This wasn’t a chess match, it was the big brother taking all the territory from the little brother in Stratego.

It was as if Gundy purposely ignored all of the pregame hype about the marquee matchup between Cowboy receiver Rashaun Woods and UCLA cornerback Ricky Manning. They threw toward Woods only once on their first four possessions and he didn’t have a reception in the first quarter.

If the Cowboys would have pressed the issue sooner, they would have come to this conclusion: Manning couldn’t cover Woods. He had nothing for him.

Woods worked Manning and the Bruins for seven receptions, 143 yards and a touchdown, in addition to drawing four pass interference penalties on Manning.

“The yards we gave up, they just threw it up to [Woods],” UCLA defensive coordinator Phil Snow said. “We played their scheme pretty good, we just couldn’t handle [Woods].”

The Bruins limited the running game, allowing only 94 yards in 34 carries, and they did create all those turnovers. But Oklahoma State punted on only five of its 14 possessions.

“We’ve gotta get more three-and-outs than we’re getting right now,” Snow said.

Apparently, his players don’t feel like they’ve gotta get a new m.o.

“You can never be too reliant on turnovers,” Manning said. “Turnovers win games. That’s the bottom line.”

It sure has been that way for the Bruins.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com.