Bruins running out of options

UCLA has had a football season filled with big-game defeats.

First road game in Pacific 10 Conference play: The Bruins give up a 16-point lead and lose at Washington.

First game against a ranked opponent: UCLA starts slowly and is defeated at Oregon.

First game at Notre Dame in more than 40 years: The Bruins lead late in the fourth quarter but the Irish win in dramatic fashion.

Key Pac-10 matchups against Washington State and California: Loss. Loss.

“They’ve all been must-win games, but now we have no choice,” UCLA receiver Junior Taylor said. “We know what we need to do in order to get that extra game.”

After a 4-1 start, UCLA has lost four in a row entering this afternoon’s game against Oregon State at the Rose Bowl. Next up after that are games at Arizona State and at home against USC.

Win at least two of three and the Bruins put themselves in position for a berth in the Hawaii Bowl as the Pac-10’s No. 6 team.

“We’re going to win this game,” fullback Michael Pitre said. “That’s the attitude of the team. We have to win. There’s no other option, really, at this point. We’ve wasted too many games away.”

UCLA hasn’t lost five in a row since 2003, Karl Dorrell’s first season as coach, when the Bruins opened 6-2 and then didn’t win again, including a loss to Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Bowl.

One month ago, Oregon State seemed to be the perfect opponent for UCLA to start a successful stretch run.

But after going 0-2 to begin Pac-10 play, the Beavers have won four in a row -- including an upset victory over three-time Pac-10 defending champion USC -- and are one of the hottest teams in the conference.

“They are playing well and they’re playing with confidence,” Dorrell said. “They beat a team that hadn’t lost a conference game in three years. That does a lot for your program.”

Oregon State (6-3, 4-2) needs one more victory to become bowl eligible because of its 13-game schedule this year.

“They feel real good about themselves, and they should,” Oregon State Coach Mike Riley said of his players. “As long as that doesn’t cross the line of complacency or cockiness. Those are the dangerous ‘C’ words.

“We want confidence, enthusiasm and hard work, but we don’t want anybody feeling they’ve arrived because they haven’t. If we don’t get better this week, we’ll get beat. That’s the bottom line.”

During the Beavers’ winning streak, their offense has averaged 30.3 points and 393.5 yards, and their defense has given up 17 points and 288.5 yards.

UCLA transfer Matt Moore has been the leader of Oregon State’s turnaround. The senior quarterback has completed 68 of 104 passes with four touchdowns in the last four games and has thrown 64 passes without an interception.

The Beavers also have a strong ground game with junior running back Yvenson Bernard, the second-leading rusher in the Pac-10 at 101.5 yards a game.

Bernard, 5 feet 9, 204 pounds, is a powerful runner who breaks tackles, the type of back who has given UCLA problems recently.

“I think our defense wants to get back to basics and start to play the style of defense that we were playing the first five or six games of the year,” Dorrell said.

Defensive ends Justin Hickman and Bruce Davis will be counted on to provide pressure against Moore.

Tackles Brigham Harwell and Kevin Brown along with linebacker Christian Taylor have the job of maintaining the middle against Bernard.

An area of concern is the Bruins’ secondary. Cornerback Trey Brown and strong safety Chris Horton have been solid but coordinator DeWayne Walker was expected to have cornerback Rodney Van and free safety Dennis Keyes split time with Alterraun Verner and Bret Lockett today.

“Competition is good and we need to shake things up a little,” said Walker, whose unit still ranks among the best in the nation in defense against the run and quarterback sacks.

UCLA’s quarterback situation is also something to watch. The Bruins’ losing streak coincides with Patrick Cowan’s starting at quarterback in place of Ben Olson, who has been out because of a knee injury. But today, for the first time since he was injured in the first quarter of a game against Arizona on Oct. 7, Olson will be in uniform and available to play.

Although UCLA has not won a game with Cowan as the starter, the Bruins’ offense did some good things in last week’s loss at California.

Junior running back Chris Markey rushed for 136 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, and Cowan passed for a career-high 329 yards.

“I haven’t seen any quit in their team,” Riley said of UCLA. “Even though they have lost a few games, they have been playing some really good teams. Notre Dame and Cal are both top-10 teams and we know Washington State is a very good football team.”

Not giving up is admirable, but the Bruins need more than that. They need a win.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com