Timing of This Matchup Has Dorrell Concerned

UCLA’s 11-game plan to recovery has been moving along pretty well, thanks to a favorable early-season schedule.

A loss at home to Oklahoma State followed by road victories over struggling Illinois and Washington has the Bruins 2-1 heading into today’s game against San Diego State at the Rose Bowl.

But things could turn quickly if the Bruins overlook Coach Tom Craft’s improved Aztecs, who also are 2-1.

“They are dangerous for us,” Coach Karl Dorrell said of San Diego State, which has lost 16 in a row to the Bruins and is 0-18-1 overall in the series.

“You have your first conference win [over Washington] and you’re feeling real good about that, then you have a nonconference game after a bye. You don’t want to lose your focus. .... As a coach, there is a concern about a letdown.”

Craft said the gap between the programs has shrunk in his three seasons at San Diego State.

UCLA crushed the Aztecs, 43-7, at the Rose Bowl in 2002, but the game was a lot closer last season. The score was tied, 3-3, at halftime before the Bruins ran away to a 20-10 victory.

Craft acknowledges that the UCLA matchup does stir up his team.

Geographically, the Bruins are “one of those teams you want to size your program against,” Craft said.

Playing in the Mountain West Conference, San Diego State’s goal is to become a mid-major powerhouse, and the Aztecs have made a step in that direction with a strong start. Their victories, over Idaho State and Nevada, came before and after an encouraging 24-21 loss at Michigan on Sept. 18.

A victory over UCLA would be a huge jump.

“One good thing that we’ve done is we’ve recruited well the last two years,” said Craft, who has a 12-11 record at San Diego State after an 0-5 start. “That’s how we’ve maintained our competitive edge.”

San Diego State’s depth will be an issue today. The Aztecs’ best offensive lineman, Mike Kracalik, suffered a knee injury against Nevada last week and will not play. He joins six other injured offensive starters, including running back Lynell Hamilton, a first-team freshman All-American last season.

“We’re not the offensive team that we thought we would be from a personnel standpoint, but we’re sitting 26th nationally in total offense,” Craft said.

The key to San Diego State’s early success has been the growth of quarterback Matt Dlugolecki, who is completing 59.6% of his passes with five touchdowns -- one more scoring pass than he had all of last season.

Dlugolecki has a solid group of receivers to work with, led by junior Jeff Webb, who has 23 catches and two consecutive 100-yard receiving games.

“As a whole, I feel that this will be the best receiving corps we will see,” UCLA senior cornerback Matt Clark said. “They definitely rate high among the teams we see in the Pac-10. In our conference, teams have one or two receivers that you worry about.”

The scope is even wider with San Diego State’s receiving corps, according to Clark, who said: “They have some big guys who can run. They are really effective running routes out of all of the crazy formations they use.”

With UCLA defensive lineman C.J. Niusulu suspended, the Aztecs are expected to run the ball as much as possible. Michael Franklin, a junior who ranks 15th nationally in all-purpose yards, leads the team in rushing.

“Like everyone else, they will test us on the ground,” Clark said. “But our defensive line keeps getting better and we know that [the Aztecs] like to throw the ball.”

On defense, San Diego State relies on linebackers Kirk Morrison and Matt McCoy, both Butkus and Nagurski award candidates. They spearhead a blitz-first unit that has given up an average of 93 yards rushing a game.

UCLA, which got a 322-yard, five-touchdown performance from running back Maurice Drew against Washington, has had two weeks to get ready.

“This will be the best defense that we faced so far,” running back Manuel White said. “They really try and confuse you.”

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Bruin Dominance

UCLA is 18-0-1 against San Diego State.

*--* Year Result Site 2003 Won, 20-10 at UCLA 2002 Won, 43-7 at UCLA 1993 Won, 52-13 at San Diego State 1992 Won, 35-7 at UCLA 1991 Won, 37-12 at San Diego State 1990 Won, 45-31 at UCLA 1989 Won, 28-25 at San Diego State 1988 Won, 59-6 at UCLA 1987 Won, 47-14 at UCLA 1986 Won, 45-14 at San Diego State 1985 Won, 34-16 at UCLA 1984 Won, 18-15 at San Diego State 1934 Won, 20-0 at UCLA 1933 Won, 13-0 at UCLA 1926 Won, 42-7 at UCLA 1925 Won, 7-0 at UCLA 1924 Tied, 13-13 at San Diego State 1923 Won, 12-0 at UCLA 1922 Won, 24-6 at San Diego State

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UCLA TODAY

vs. San Diego State

at the Rose Bowl

4 p.m., FSN West 2