Bruins Rose Bowl eligible

UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis didn’t want to leave. He wandered back out to the Rose Bowl field, took his usual spot on the bench, and listened to the ghosts after playing his last regular-season game in the stadium.

“I thought about my first game here against Oklahoma State,” Davis said. “We had a couple guys hurt and I had to go in. I was 215 pounds soaking wet. I still remember my stats -- five tackles, two tackles for a loss. You always think about the beginning.”

Davis then strutted back into the locker room and began to dissect a future that looked a little brighter after a 16-0 victory over Oregon in a Pacific 10 Conference game Saturday in front of an announced 72,434.

The Bruins (6-5 overall, 5-3 in conference play) smothered the Ducks, handing them their first shutout in 267 games over 22 seasons. And by doing so, the Bruins extended their inclusion in Rose Bowl discussions for at least another week.

Kai Forbath kicked three field goals, and the offense proved capable of driving 31 yards for a touchdown. That was enough for a defense that harassed three Oregon quarterbacks and limited the Ducks to 148 yards.

It made the Rose Bowl a simple equation for the Bruins, who ended a three-game losing streak. A victory over USC and an Arizona victory over Arizona State would earn UCLA an encore visit to the Rose Bowl.

“It’s a funny year in college football, isn’t it?” said quarterback Ben Olson, who replaced Osaar Rasshan at quarterback at the start of the second half. “A lot of things still have to happen.”

One thing definitely has to happen.

“We’ve got to go out there and handle our business next weekend,” Davis said. “I’m trying to stay away from saying anything about that right now, because we’re playing ‘those guys.’ ”

Those guys?

“We don’t really like to talk about ‘those guys,’ you know,” Davis said. “I don’t want to add any fuel to their fire.”

A little gas to the Bruins’ own offense would help. Yet even that wasn’t a problem against a team that currently tops even UCLA in injury woes.

The Ducks (8-3, 5-3) were being fitted for the national title game two weeks ago, after victories over USC and Arizona State left them as the No. 2 team in the Bowl Championship Series standings. But then star quarterback Dennis Dixon suffered a knee injury against Arizona State and aggravated it to a season-ending one against Arizona.

Without Dixon, the Ducks’ offense has been reduced to a tag-team show at quarterback. Brady Leaf, Dixon’s backup, suffered a right leg injury in the first quarter against UCLA, and while he was hurting, Cody Kempt and Justin Roper proved painful for Ducks fans to watch.

In all, Oregon quarterbacks completed 11 of 39 passes for 105 yards at a time the Ducks’ running game was also hampered because Jonathan Stewart, the Pac-10’s leading rusher, was slowed by injuries.

That combination served up the Ducks’ offense on a platter. The Bruins had five sacks, intercepted three passes and recovered one fumble. Each of Forbath’s field goals followed turnovers.

“Honestly, I felt like they weren’t going to score because we were in the groove,” said cornerback Trey Brown, who intercepted a pass. “Guys were celebrating, flying around. . . . Right after the first series, I knew we were going to stop them. It didn’t take long.”

Said linebacker Christian Taylor, who made 13 tackles: “We had good field position to work with, but we weren’t going to let them drive the field anyway.”

The defense picked a good time to pitch a shutout.

The Bruins’ offense did not have a first down in the first quarter and had minus-four total yards. Yet UCLA led, 3-0, after defensive end Kenneth Lombard recovered a fumble and Forbath launched a 54-yard field goal, the third-longest in UCLA history.

Rasshan did not complete a pass in the first half. In fact, the Bruins’ first completion was wiped away because it came on an illegal play.

On the second-half kickoff, Chris Markey fired the ball across field to Matthew Slater, who took it into the end zone. Markey, though, was ruled to have thrown the ball forward, negating the score.

After that, the offense was handed over to Olson, who was making his first appearance since suffering a knee injury against Notre Dame on Oct. 6.

The Bruins finished with 220 total yards, 20 on a touchdown run by Craig Sheppard in the fourth quarter. By then, Forbath had tacked on field goals of 31 and 28 yards and the Ducks still weren’t showing signs of offensive life.

“It wasn’t really necessary for us to force the issue,” UCLA offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said. “We wanted to play to our strengths, play with our special teams and play with our defense, and not make any mistakes.”

A winning formula that left the Bruins with possibilities.

Said Brown: “We’re going to prepare and get ready for this next test against them boys across the street.”

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chris.foster@latimes.com

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KEYS TO THE GAME

Chris Foster’s keys to the game and how UCLA measured up:

1. QB understudies. UCLA’s Osaar Rasshan struggled in the first half, but his only glaring mistake was an intercepted pass that did not hurt the Bruins. Ben Olson replaced him in the second half and handled a safety-first offensive game plan. Oregon, playing without Dennis Dixon, used Brady Leaf, Cody Kempt and Justin Roper. The Bruins intercepted three passes and recovered a Kempt fumble, turnovers that led to three field goals.

2. Running games. The Ducks’ Jonathan Stewart, the Pacific 10 Conference’s leading rusher, did little to take the heat off the quarterbacks. He was held to 33 yards while playing with toe and shoulder injuries. UCLA’s Chris Markey churned out 91 yards in 30 carries. Craig Sheppard had 49 yards rushing, including a 20-yard touchdown run. The Bruins gained 156 of their 220 total yards on the ground.

3. Dominating defense. The Bruins smothered the Ducks, limiting them to 148 yards. Oregon’s defense was as strong, but Ducks turnovers provided scoring opportunities.