Bruins have a Bear of a day

If UCLA still had any doubts about how it matched up against the elite teams of the Pacific 10 Conference, it got its answer Saturday against No. 10 California.

It’s not even close.

After toying with UCLA for a little more than a half, Cal spanked the Bruins over the final two quarters and walked away with a comfortable 38-24 victory before 72,516 at Memorial Stadium.

“I thought UCLA came out and played well, but I guess it was one of those things where we started clicking and they couldn’t keep up,” said California sophomore DeSean Jackson, who broke the game open in the third quarter with 72-yard punt return for a touchdown.

“We were playing after a week off, while UCLA was coming off a loss. They had a lot of fight, but we seemed to have all the right plays called at the right time.”

UCLA, which has lost four games in a row, dropped below .500 for the first time this season to 4-5, including a 2-4 Pac-10 record. Cal, which has won eight consecutive games, improved to 8-1 and 6-0 in conference.

For the Bruins, it was the same old story lines that have plagued them throughout the season. Too many blown tackles. Too many dropped passes. Too many missed blocks and Saturday, too many missed field goals.

“This is a team that is growing and getting better, but we keep losing and that is unfortunate,” UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell said.

Cal was outgained by UCLA in total offense, 516-433, but received major games from its big playmakers. Tailback Marshawn Lynch, who leads the Pac-10 in rushing, scored two touchdowns; quarterback Nate Longshore passed for three scores and Jackson accounted for 151 all-purpose yards.

“The coaches put us in position to make plays like they do each game and it just comes down to us to do it on the field,” UCLA junior cornerback Trey Brown said. “They have playmakers across the board and they made more big plays than us. When that happens, you’re usually going to win.”

UCLA sophomore quarterback Patrick Cowan, who started his fourth game in place of injured Ben Olson, had his most productive day since taking over. He completed 22 of 40 for a career-high 329 yards.

But although Cowan made several impressive throws in the game, he did not complete a touchdown pass and had two interceptions.

“I think we showed some growth with this offense,” Dorrell said of the Bruins, whose total offense was a season best. “It wasn’t the best execution, but it was progress.”

UCLA tailback Chris Markey, whose playing time was cut in last week’s loss to Washington State, also had a strong game with 136 yards rushing, including a 70-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

But in the end, the Bruins did not have enough players play well to pull off an upset.

“We just have to somehow finish,” UCLA safety Chris Horton said. “We started off pretty good and then we just didn’t get it done on defense in the second half.”

Cal did not waste any time attacking UCLA with its top two offensive playmakers in Lynch and Jackson, who combined to touch the ball the first five plays the Bears had from scrimmage.

After Lynch and Jackson did most of the work, Longshore finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Robert Jordan to give the Bears a 7-0 lead.

UCLA, which has not won a road game all season, then responded with its own effective drive after Cal’s early touchdown. Despite being called for three holding penalties, the Bruins drove deep into Cal territory before stalling at the Bears’ 22. But UCLA failed to score any points when Justin Medlock missed a 39-yard field goal.

That wasn’t an issue the next time the Bruins got the ball. Markey made a couple of nice runs and Cowan completed a key third-down pass to Michael Pitre before he capped a 65-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run.

The rest of the first half, UCLA matched up well against the Bears but still could not stop Lynch, who turned a short dump pass into a 24-yard touchdown. On the play -- which appeared to be going nowhere -- Lynch weaved through several tackles by the Bruins and scored to give Cal a 14-7 lead.

UCLA then threatened to tie the score again when Cowan completed an impressive pass to senior wide receiver Matt Willis for 33 yards to the Cal five-yard line. But again, the Bruins failed to reach the end zone and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Medlock.

Before halftime, the Bruins gained their first break when defensive end Bruce Davis sacked Longshore and forced a fumble that was recovered by Chase Moline at the Cal 45. This time, UCLA failed to score because of Marcus Everett’s dropped pass in the end zone and an ill-advised throw by Cowan intercepted by the Bears’ Desmond Bishop at the 10 to end the half at 14-10.

UCLA started the second half strong with another drive into Cal territory but this time, Medlock missed a field goal from 44 yards. That would be the closest the Bruins would get to the Bears for the rest of the game.

Longshore’s second touchdown pass to Jordan (44 yards) and Jackson’s punt return score put Cal ahead, 28-10, before the end of the third quarter. In the final quarter, UCLA scored on touchdown runs by Chane Moline and Markey, but it wasn’t enough to end the Bruins’ losing streak.

lonnie.white@latimes.com