Bruin Run Defense Faces a Challenge

After surprising California last week, Oregon State heads into Saturday’s game against No. 8-ranked UCLA at the Rose Bowl with the goal of knocking off another ranked team on the road.

“Expect the unexpected. We’re coming for UCLA!” Beaver receiver Sammy Stroughter told the Oregonian newspaper after the Beavers’ 23-20 win at Cal.

Because of the league’s rotating schedule, Oregon State, 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference, has not played UCLA since 2002 -- and the Beavers may look a little different on offense.

Known for their wide-open offense under Coach Mike Riley, the Beavers pounded Cal on the ground behind running back Yvenson Bernard’s career-high 194 yards. That’s not a good sign for the Bruins, who rank 115th among 119 Division I schools against the run, giving up an average of 229.7 yards a game.

“Even though our production didn’t look very good, as far as numbers, we felt like we had been making improvement,” Riley said of Oregon State’s ground game. “Things just clicked [against Cal], our guys just did a nice job up front.”

Facing talented running backs is nothing new for the Bruins, who have played against Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson, California’s Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett, and Washington State’s Jason Harrison.

Bernard, a 5-9, 203-pound sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla., is a strong runner who averages 105.2 yards rushing a game.

The key will be whether the Bruins gang-tackle as they did against Peterson or struggle as they did against Lynch, Forsett and Harrison, each of whom ripped through UCLA’s run defense.

“We haven’t seen Oregon State in two years, but it was impressive with what they did against Cal running the football,” defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said. “Their offensive line physically won the line of scrimmage.”

*

Sophomore safety Chris Horton will play Saturday after sitting out the first six games because of a dislocated wrist he suffered during fall camp.

“It’s so great to be back on the field,” said Horton, who made a couple of big hits in practice on Tuesday. “I don’t know what my role is going to be, but I’m ready to play and have fun.”

Kerr said that Horton would share time with starter Dennis Keyes at free safety and that Eric McNeal, who played well against Washington State last week, would back up strong safety Jarrad Page.

*

UCLA’s athletic department balanced its budget for 2004-05, according to a report all schools were required to file as part of the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act of 1994. UCLA reported total expenses of $44,514,157 with $44,516,613 in revenue, earning the department $2,456. The football program generated nearly $18.5 million in revenue with expenses of $12,741,535.... The Oct. 29 game at Stanford has been scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.