Rice Offense May Have Different Mix in Mind

A bend-but-don’t-break defense was good enough in a 44-21 victory over San Diego State last week, but UCLA’s challenge may be a little tougher against Rice on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

This will be the opener for the Owls, who, after losing their final six games in 2004, junked the option attack that had enabled them to lead the nation in rushing last year.

What the Owls’ offense will be is something of a mystery. Coach Ken Hatfield hasn’t abandoned his wishbone basics, but he has added a shotgun formation to force defenses to respect the pass.

For a UCLA defense that started six underclassmen last Saturday, preparing for Rice will be difficult.

“They run two different quarterbacks, and I’m sure they are going to do some of the schemes that they’ve done in the past, which was an option- and quarterback-run game,” Bruin Coach Karl Dorrell said. “But they’re also opening up their offense. ... This is their first time out of the gate, so we don’t know exactly what we’re going to see.”

Rice has four returning starters on offense and will start Joel Armstrong at quarterback, but he’ll split time with redshirt freshman Chase Clement. Armstrong led the Owls with 608 yards rushing last season. Clement is the better passer.

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UCLA’s special teams are ranked among the nation’s best after the opener. The Bruins lead the nation in punt returns with a 40.3-yard average, rank seventh in net punting (42.0) and eighth in kickoff returns (32.3). UCLA also limited the Aztecs to 13.8 yards per kickoff return.

“We had some special-teams players who were getting their first collegiate snap, who made some great plays,” Dorrell said. “Kyle Bosworth had a tackle on a kickoff coverage. Then seeing a guy like Rodney Van be the widest guy away from the play, fly down the field and make a shoestring tackle on the 13-yard line -- that tells you about the effort these guys have made in the special-teams area.”

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UCLA played eight first-year freshmen against San Diego State: defensive tackle Chase Moline, tight end Ryan Moya, running back Kahlil Bell, wide receiver Gavin Ketchum, safeties Robert Kibble and Bret Lockett and linebackers John Hale and Bosworth. Dorrell praised Moline, Kibble and Hale, who may get more playing time this week. ... Update on former Bruins: Quarterback Matt Moore passed for 367 yards and four touchdowns in Oregon State’s 41-14 victory over Portland State. ... Nnamdi Ohaeri started at running back for Colorado State in the Rams’ opening loss to Colorado. He suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter. Running back Tyler Ebell ran for 63 yards and caught three passes for 46 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown play, for Texas El Paso in a victory over New Mexico State. ... Defensive lineman Kevin Harbour Jr., designated as a starter at Grambling State, did not play because of Hurricane Katrina, which forced Grambling’s game against Alcorn State to be postponed.