Bruins Need Sharp Image

One week after playing its worst game of the season, No. 20 UCLA today will play its most important game to date, against No. 10 California at the Rose Bowl.

The Bruins, 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference, say they are better prepared for the Golden Bears (5-0, 2-0) because of their 21-17 victory over Washington a week ago.

“We’re trying to do some big things this year, but you really can’t tell what type of team you have until you are put in a tough situation,” senior safety Jarrad Page said. “We missed tackles and messed up some assignments against Washington but it wasn’t a question of effort.

“Now we know that we’re mentally tough, and that’s something you couldn’t always say about us. There were so many times in the past when we would lose a game like that, 24-14.”

UCLA, which had a week off before playing the Huskies, did not practice well leading up to the Washington game. The players were not focused and their workouts lacked sharpness.

Coach Karl Dorrell tried to warn his players about complacency before the game, to no avail. For three quarters, the Bruins played exactly how they practiced, falling behind, 17-7.

If not for a couple of key defensive stops and two late drives engineered by senior quarterback Drew Olson, UCLA would have lost.

“We learned a lot about ourselves,” offensive coordinator Tom Cable said. “We found a way to win as bad as we played. We also learned some other things.”

Such as the importance of paying attention to detail in practice.

“The players understand now,” Cable said, noting the Bruins practiced well this week. “ ... I don’t think the coaches had to do very much.”

Respect has been the theme of the week for the Bruins. After winning their first four games, including an impressive victory over Oklahoma, they believe that they’re better than the 20th-ranked team in the country.

A victory today over Cal would give them a load of respect. The Bears have won 12 consecutive regular-season games and are off to their best start in nine years.

Both teams take special pride in their running attacks -- Cal with Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett; UCLA with Maurice Drew and Chris Markey.

The Bears are second only to USC in the Pac-10, averaging 259.4 yards rushing a game, and have had at least one 100-yard rusher in 17 consecutive games.

“We’re going to try to stay balanced,” Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said this week. “We’ve had a lot of success running the ball and until somebody stops us we’re going to keep running.”

Lately, the Bruins have not had the same type of success.

Drew, the team’s leading rusher, ran for 209 yards and two touchdowns while averaging more than nine yards a carry in victories over San Diego State and Rice to start the season.

But since then, Drew has averaged 3.5 a carry in rushing for 102 yards and two touchdowns against Oklahoma and Washington.

“It’s been a collection of things that have been going wrong,” said Eric Bieniemy, UCLA’s running backs coach. “It’s about being fundamentally sound and execution.

“The offensive line has been doing one heck of a job. We just have to improve as a backfield. That’s our challenge to make this thing go.”

In Cal, UCLA will face the conference leader in total defense and scoring defense, a unit that has not given up an offensive touchdown in 10 quarters. Shutting down offenses on third downs has been a specialty for the Bears, who have limited opponents to a 31.8% conversion rate.

Cal also doesn’t give up many yards on the ground. The Bears are second in the Pac-10 and 21st in the nation, giving up an average of 92 yards a game.

Although linebacker Desmond Bishop has led the Bears in tackles in four of their first five games, it’s their line that creates havoc.

Tackle Brandon Mebane and end Nu’u Tafisi have led a front that has recorded at least one sack in four of Cal’s first five games.

“Mebane is a beast,” Bieniemy said. “He comes off the ball and makes it happen. He along with [Tafisi] are the heart and soul of their defense. The way they penetrate, they can change the outcome of the game.”

Last year, UCLA jumped out to a 20-12 second-quarter lead before the Bears rallied to win, 45-28, at Berkeley. But Cal lost, 23-20, at the Rose Bowl two years ago.

A victory today for the Bruins would give them two in three years against one of the Pac-10’s most respected programs and their close call against Washington would be a distant memory.

“Last week was a wake-up call, that’s the best way to describe it,” Olson said. “All we can do is learn from it and take out the positives from the experience.

“All you can do is go forward, and it starts with Cal.”