Pitre Praises Running Efforts Against Rice

Ever since Michael Pitre became UCLA’s starting fullback three seasons ago, the Bruins have enjoyed some big games running the football.

Against Washington in 2004, Pitre was a redshirt freshman who led the way for Maurice Drew when he rushed for a school-record 322 yards and five touchdowns. In last year’s Sun Bowl, Pitre played a major role when the Bruins ran for 310 yards against Northwestern, with Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell each gaining over 100.

But Pitre said the Bruins’ ground attack was never better than in last week’s 10-point victory over Rice, when Markey rushed for a career-high 208 yards and Bell had 102.

“It was fun to show this team that the backs can do their part,” said Pitre, one of the nation’s best blocking fullbacks who has carried the ball only 18 times in three seasons.

“People thought we wouldn’t be able to run this year, but we can and will. Rice played a defense that allowed us to run the ball.... We’re going to take whatever a team gives us.”

Markey, who had seven runs of 10 yards or more, finished with the 14th-best single-game mark in UCLA history, while Bell rushed for more than 100 yards for the second time. It was the second time in the last three games that Markey and Bell each surpassed 100 yards.

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After two games, sophomore quarterback Ben Olson has completed 38 of 52 passes (73.1%) for 442 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. But it’s Olson’s fumbling that concerns UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell. Olson lost two against Rice.

“It’s not just him.... We have to put an effort in to improve all the skill guys, to put them through more ball security drills,” Dorrell said. “It’s disappointing it happened, and now we have to pay special attention to it.”

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UCLA’s defense has started strong this season, especially on third downs. After forcing Utah to go 0 for 11 on third-down conversions to start the season, the Bruins held Rice to only two of 13.

“I’m impressed with how hard they’re playing,” Dorrell said about UCLA’s defense, which had nine tackles for a loss against the Owls. “We didn’t get as many third-and-outs as we did against Utah, but we still had a good ratio. There were a lot of positives, and it was a total defensive effort.”

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Junior cornerback Michael Norris, out since the start of the season because of a knee injury, participated in individual drills Tuesday. Dorrell said senior wide receiver Joe Cowan, out since the start of training camp because of a knee injury, has begun pool workouts, but his return is still uncertain.

lonnie.white@latimes.com