Bruins remember last trip to Oregon State

UCLA quarterback Richard Brehaut and wide receiver Nelson Rosario carry vivid memories from their last visit to Oregon State’s Reser Stadium.

One would like to forget, the other would like to repeat.

Brehaut’s took place in one series.

“It was my freshman year and it was, ‘Let’s put Richard in there; let’s get him some snaps,’” Brehaut recalled, laughing. “I was a deer in the headlights.”

That Bruins lost, 26-19, that Halloween Day in 2009, but Rosario was scary-good the whole game, with six receptions for 152 yards.

“I couldn’t be stopped,” Rosario said.

Brehaut is ready for a do-over, while Rosario just wants to do it again when UCLA (1-2) plays Oregon State (0-2) Saturday afternoon in a Pacific 12 Conference opener at Corvallis.

Brehaut is a better player than he was two years ago, but Coach Rick Neuheisel would still like him to be more consistent.

Consistency is also an issue with Rosario, whose performance against the Beavers two years ago led to J.J. Stokes comparisons. Rosario had one great game. Stokes had a formidable career at UCLA.

Brehaut and Rosario had entirely different experiences again last year against Oregon State, when the Beavers were the only victory for the Bruins in their last seven games. Rosario, hobbled by a high ankle sprain, played little while Brehaut’s fingerprints were all over the 17-14 win.

On one play, he scrambled before flipping a pass to Cory Harkey for a 12-yard gain to set up a touchdown. Later, he drove the Bruins for a last-second field goal.

“That flip to Harkey is probably the favorite play of my career,” Brehaut said.

The flip side was his performance two years ago.

Brehaut entered the game during the second quarter, recalling that he was certain “I was ready for anything they could throw at me.”

Not quite.

“He forgot to put a guy in motion on one play. He forgot a protection call on one play. He fumbled on one play. Other than that, he was outstanding,” Neuheisel remembered, laughing.

The highlight? UCLA recovered the fumble.

“It’s amazing to remember how I thought I knew it all,” Brehaut said. “I’ve come a long way since that day.”

That performance was one for the scrap heap. Oregon State was last season was one for the scrapbook.

Brehaut ran for 61 yards, including a 21-yard scramble on the Bruins’ first touchdown drive. He also passed for 37 yards on the last drive to get kicker Kai Forbath in range.

“We were watching that game tape this week and Richard looked like a pro quarterback,” wide receiver Randall Carroll said. “We got to the play where he flipped the ball to Harkey and someone said, ‘That’s Brett Favre.’”

Neuheisel would like something close to a repeat performance on Saturday.

“We’re at the point of the season where we have to do things right,” Neuheisel said. “I still have high hopes with respect to what he can accomplish.”

The same is said about Rosario.

Two years ago against Oregon State, Rosario had 126 receiving yards in the fourth quarter, including a leaping one-handed grab over a defender for a 58-yard touchdown pass.

“Everything happened the way I wanted it to happen that day,” Rosario said.

Said Neuheisel: “It was what I had been waiting for.”

Since then, he has been waiting more.

Rosario, a senior, has made circus receptions, such as the one-handed catch he made while bearhugging a Houston defender in the season opener. But his vanishing act is just as well known.

The potential he showed in 2009 teases coaches.

“That’s the guy we need. We need that guy back running down the field snatching the balls with one hand,” offensive coordinator Mike Johnson said.

That guy spent last season hobbling around on an ankle so sore Rosario said he needed painkiller injections to play. Toting around the J.J. Stokes comparison didn’t make things easier.

“I understand that I need to give more effort,” Rosario said. “I have dropped a couple of balls because of lack of focus. I need to focus more.”

Starting today?

“Hopefully, we’ll get a return engagement,” Neuheisel said.

chris.foster@latimes.com

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