Cowan Effectively Answers Distress Call

UCLA sophomore Patrick Cowan was mainly regarded as the other quarterback when he opened training camp in competition with Ben Olson for the starting job. Once Olson was selected as the starter, Cowan faded into the background.

But Cowan’s status changed Saturday when Olson suffered a potential season-ending knee injury against Arizona.

All Cowan did was pass for 201 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bruins to a 27-7 victory over the Wildcats in front of 65,644 at the Rose Bowl.

“The first thing that went through my mind was that I hope that he’s all right,” Cowan said about Olson, who suffered a sprained left knee in the first quarter. “But I had to be ready to step in. I prepare myself to play and [Saturday] I got my chance.”

UCLA, which improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in Pacific 10 Conference play, needed a solid effort from Cowan to defeat the pesky Wildcats (2-4, 0-3).

Cowan, who had attempted only three passes before Saturday, completed 20 of 29 attempts and did not have a pass intercepted. He’s expected to get his first start next week -- pending Olson’s MRI test results -- when the Bruins play at Oregon.

“We practice with both of our quarterbacks every day and we have total confidence in Pat,” said junior receiver Marcus Everett, who caught Cowan’s first touchdown pass. “We knew that if one goes down, the other one is ready to come in and make plays. And that’s what Pat did. He came in and made big plays.”

UCLA, which avenged last year’s 52-14 upset loss to the Wildcats, was in control most of the game but out-gained Arizona only 292 yards to 222. The big difference for the Bruins was their pass rush, which registered three sacks for minus-30 yards.

“Right now, we’re just not good enough to win a game, and that’s where we’re at,” Coach Mike Stoops said about the Wildcats. “We did good things at times, but we’re not consistent enough, and you need to be to win.”

With Arizona determined to shut down UCLA’s ground attack, the Bruins called more play-action passes on first down Saturday than they had in any game this year. Before Olson was injured, he attempted passes on two of three first downs. Cowan had pass plays called on 12 of 18 first downs.

Definitely a more aggressive approach compared to UCLA’s play calling against Washington two weeks before. In the Bruins’ 29-19 loss to the Huskies, they ran the ball 19 of their first 24 first-down plays.

“Our game plan did not change when he got in there,” offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda said. “That’s what we had planned on doing coming into the game. Pat’s a good player. We had solid competition in the fall and ... once the injury happened, we told him that we did not plan on changing anything.”

Cowan took the first meaningful snap of his college career with 4 minutes 43 seconds remaining in the first quarter of a scoreless game. He needed only six plays before completing his first touchdown pass when he hooked up with Everett for a seven-yard score.

“He wasn’t nervous at all,” Everett said about Cowan, who completed four consecutive passes for 58 yards on UCLA’s first scoring drive. “He told us, ‘I run these plays all of the time.’ So, he was really comfortable back there. I know that I wasn’t worried at all about him.”

Early in the second quarter, UCLA knocked quarterback Willie Tuitama out of the game when end Bruce Davis smashed Tuitama in the helmet after he completed a short pass to tight end Travis Bell.

The Wildcats responded well to backup quarterback Adam Austin, who led Arizona on a scoring drive when he entered the game. Austin completed a key 22-yard pass to Anthony Johnson and then finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mike Thomas to tie the score, 7-7.

“They had a new guy come in at quarterback and we knew that we couldn’t let him beat us,” UCLA linebacker Aaron Whittington said. “We just had to shut them down after that.”

After failing to complete a pass on his second drive, Cowan was sharp during his third drive. On the Bruins’ only scoring possession of the second quarter, Cowan completed two passes on a three-play drive, capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to Matt Willis to give UCLA a 14-7 lead at halftime.

In the second half, UCLA’s offense did not score any touchdowns but Cowan did lead the Bruins to two field goals by Justin Medlock, who continues his torrid pace this season.

Medlock, who began the game as the nation’s leader in field goals per game, made kicks from 33 and 39 yards in the third quarter. Medlock has made 12 field goals in a row after missing his first try this season.

The Bruins’ final score came with 4:19 remaining when freshman cornerback Alterraun Verner intercepted a pass from Austin and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown. It was Verner’s second interception return for a score this season.

For UCLA, which has won 10 games in a row at the Rose Bowl, the victory was satisfying despite Olson’s injury.

lonnie.white@latimes.com