Washington State (3-5, 1-4 Pac-10) at UCLA (5-3, 3-2) SATURDAY, 12:30 P.M. No TV
Last week: WSU lost at home to No. 1 USC 42-12;UCLA beat Stanford at home 21-0.
The series: WSU and UCLA have played each other 50 times dating back to 1928, with UCLA holding a distinct all-time advantage. The Cougars are 15-34-1 against the Bruins, though, as is the case with many Pac-10 foes, WSU has fared much better recently. The Cougars have won the last three meetings and four of the last five. Last year, WSU hosted UCLA and won 31-13 in a sloppy game that featured 14 turnovers – four fumbles and three interceptions by each squad. Jonathan Smith helped put the game away early by scoring three of the Cougars’ four first-half touchdowns, and despite completing only eight passes against the Bruinsdefense, the lead was never threatened in the second half. WSU is 3-6 against UCLA in the Rose Bowl.
The Bruins:
On the sidelines, Karl Dorrell is in his second year as head coach and has compiled an 11-10 record. Dorrell also played for the Bruins in the mid-1980s.
On the field, the Bruins are led by running back Maurice Drew, who leads the Pac-10 in all-purpose yardage and is second in the nation with 179.8 per game. Drew is also second in the Pac-10 with 11.5 rushing yards per carry. Wide receiver Craig Bragg has 175 career receptions and needs just five more to break the school record, held by Kevin Jordan. On defense, linebacker Spencer Havner is a Butkus Award semifinalist and leads the Bruins with 98 tackles (Ben Emanuel II is second with 58). Senior cornerback Matt Clark has two interceptions to go along with 10 passes broken up. Kicker Justin Medlock made his first nine field-goal attempts this season before going 0-for-2 last week against Stanford.
The stats:
UCLA’s shutout last week was the first pitched by the Bruins since a 44-0 win over Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe) in 1996. The Bruins’ last Pac-10 shutout was also against Stanford, 49-0 in 1987.
The Burins have run for an impressive 217.8 yards a game this season. But they’ve also allowed a Pac-10-worst 218 per game on the ground.
The Cougars have been outscored in the first halves of the last three games (Stanford, at Oregon State, USC) by a total score of 72-6.
– Glenn Kasses, staff writer