Ducks’ Rhythm, Bruins’ Blues

Karl Dorrell does not show his emotions often, but the UCLA coach’s disappointment was easy to see during Saturday’s game against Oregon.

With the Bruins missing tackles and blocks and committing ill-advised penalties, Dorrell wore mostly a frown as the 18th-ranked Ducks defeated UCLA, 30-20, before a boisterous crowd of 58,618 at Autzen Stadium.

“We didn’t play well early -- there were some penalties that were factors in the game -- and they had a great rhythm offensively in the first half,” said Dorrell, whose Bruins dropped to 4-2 overall, 2-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

“They scored on their first three drives and we couldn’t quite get into our normal rhythm with what we do offensively.”

UCLA committed eight penalties for 91 yards and quarterback Patrick Cowan, making his first start in place of injured Ben Olson, completed 16 of 31 passes for only 112 yards.

With the defeat, UCLA’s season now takes on a much different look. With a road game at Notre Dame next week followed by difficult Pac-10 games against Washington State and California, the Bruins might be pressed to reach six victories to be bowl eligible.

“We came in prepared because we knew that they would start strong with the crowd behind them,” UCLA senior wide receiver Junior Taylor said. “We were focused on being able to handle those first couple of blows, but we just came out and did things that killed ourselves.”

The Ducks (5-1, 3-1) outgained the Bruins, 404 yards to 216, including a 256-104 advantage in rushing. Running back Jonathan Stewart, a 5-foot-11, 230-pound sophomore, led the way with 121 yards on the ground, and quarterback Dennis Dixon ran for 69 and backup running back Jeremiah Johnson had 66 more.

“Our blocking was really good,” said Stewart, who averaged 6.1 yards in 20 carries. “There were holes that we could actually choose from.”

Oregon’s overall quickness and Stewart’s combination of power and speed were too much for the Bruins, who had not allowed an opponent to gain more than 300 yards in a game.

“That running back [Stewart] is an NFL player right now,” UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said. “He’s a big-time player.... Their passing game really wasn’t an issue today. They did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage and we missed too many tackles.”

UCLA started sophomore Kyle Bosworth at middle linebacker in place of Christian Taylor, who did not practice this week because of an ankle injury, and Oregon immediately attacked the newcomer.

On its first possession, Oregon caught UCLA in zone coverage that left Bosworth covering speedy wide receiver Brian Paysinger, who made the Bruins pay with a 39-yard reception. Three plays later, the Ducks caught UCLA off-guard again when tight end Dante Rosario was left wide open on a crossing route and he made an 11-yard touchdown catch to put Oregon ahead, 6-0. Justin Hickman blocked the extra-point attempt.

UCLA’s first possession lasted only three plays, thanks to a holding penalty and a sack of Cowan. Oregon extended its lead to 13-0 when Johnson ran seven yards for a touchdown to complete a seven-play drive.

Trailing, 13-0, the Bruins’ offense finally got going. But after moving deep into Oregon territory, UCLA had to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Justin Medlock. And by the time the first quarter ended, the Ducks had scored again when Dixon connected with Paysinger for a 26-yard touchdown to give Oregon a commanding 20-3 lead.

“They came out running stuff that they had not showed before,” said Taylor, who replaced Bosworth after the first defensive series.

Added cornerback Rodney Van: “They had us going. When we tried to go with our nickel package, they came out and ran the ball, and with six defensive backs on the field it’s hard to tackle. When we lined up in our base defense, they lined up in the spread and threw the ball.”

Trailing, 20-6, at halftime, the Bruins’ hopes of getting back into the game faded when they failed to move the ball on their next two possessions.

“That was a key point,” receiver Junior Taylor said. “We needed to go down and score and we didn’t. We had opportunities to respond but just couldn’t get it done.”

Oregon’s final touchdown came late in the third quarter while Dixon was temporarily sidelined because of a knee injury. Reserve quarterback Brady Leaf shoveled a pass to James Finley, who scored from four yards to put the Ducks ahead, 27-6, heading into the fourth.

Sophomore Kahlil Bell had two short touchdown runs in the final quarter to make the score respectable, but UCLA never closed its deficit to single digits.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com

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KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Ducks at the corners. Oregon’s redshirt freshman cornerbacks, Walter Thurmond and Jairus Byrd, did a great job shutting down UCLA’s wide receivers. The Bruins passed for only 112 yards, without a touchdown, with a long gain of 14 yards.

2. Power running. With Chris Markey gaining 97 yards and Kahlil Bell rushing for two touchdowns, UCLA’s ground game had its moments. However, Oregon had many more moments, rushing for 256 yards. Ducks sophomores Jonathan Stewart and Jeremiah Johnson combined to rush for 187 yards, and Oregon averaged 6.0 yards a carry.

3. Sack attacks. UCLA’s Justin Hickman had UCLA’s only sack of the game; the Ducks finished with two -- from J.D. Nelson and Darius Sanders.

--LONNIE WHITE