A Tough Spot for Cowan

Oregon’s Autzen Stadium is considered one of the most difficult places to play because of deafening noise from the Ducks’ fans. It only adds to the challenge for UCLA, which will have sophomore quarterback Patrick Cowan making his first career start Saturday.

“I don’t know how he will handle the noise,” Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti said about Cowan, who replaced injured starter Ben Olson in last week’s victory over Arizona. “Autzen is a different place to play in that regards.”

To prepare, UCLA practiced with simulated crowd noise Wednesday and the Bruins plan to do it again today. For Coach Karl Dorrell, 1-1 at Autzen, the 18th-ranked Ducks will be a great barometer for the Bruins.

“This will be our first big test,” said Dorrell, who has a 14-3 record since the start of last season. “Not to give any discredit to anyone else, but going on the road and against this offense -- that is leading the conference -- it’s going to be a great challenge for our team.”

Despite Oregon’s home-field advantage, UCLA has fared well against the Ducks at Autzen in recent years. The Bruins are 4-1 at Oregon since 1991, including a 34-26 victory the last time the teams met in 2004.

Junior running back Chris Markey was a key player in that game as he filled in for an injured Maurice Drew and rushed for a then career-best 131 yards.

“Being a freshman, I was really excited but I was also scared as heck.... It took me a couple of plays before I got comfortable,” Markey said.

Markey, who also had five receptions for 84 yards against Oregon, believes the Bruins can continue their success at Autzen.

“I feel like it’s going to be a homecoming for me,” said Markey, third in the Pacific 10 Conference in rushing at 98.4 yards a game. “I’m ready to go back up there and do my thing and help our team win another big game.”

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UCLA offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda on Cowan, who took over after left-handed starter Olson was injured.

“Pat is a guy who has always been meticulous with his preparation,” said Svoboda of Cowan, who completed 20 of 29 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona. “He’s a blue-collar guy who likes playing ... he likes every phase of being a player.

“We are not changing a thing. We will continue to progress in the direction that we want to go. I guess the biggest change is that we have all right-handers now.”

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In UCLA’s 27-7 victory over Arizona, the Bruins had only 22 running plays, the lowest total since Dorrell took over the team in 2003. Markey, the team’s leading rusher, averaged only 2.9 yards a carry and UCLA rushed for a season-low 65 yards.

“We want to be balanced and consistent with the pass and the run,” Markey said. “But I feel if something is working for us more, we’re going to stick with that. Against Arizona, it was clear that they wanted to stop our run and gave up the pass.”

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Starting middle linebacker Christian Taylor did not practice because of an ankle injury but is expected to play against Oregon. If he’s unable to play, sophomore Kyle Bosworth will get his first career start. Starting cornerback Rodney Van returned to practice after sitting out Tuesday’s workout because of a stomach virus.

lonnie.white@latimes.com