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California tries to respond to loss at rested UCLA

Oct 20, 2007 - 10:36 AM No. 10 California (5-1) at UCLA (4-2) 3:30 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- UCLA coach Karl Dorrell has had two weeks to stew over an embarrassing loss. Now he and his Bruins will have to face an angry team in California.

Dorrell's Bruins host the 10th-ranked Golden Bears on Saturday in a matchup of Pac-10 Conference teams who are trying to bounced back from unexpected defeats.

UCLA (4-2, 3-0 Pac-10) defeated conference foes Stanford, Washington and Oregon State in September. But the Bruins, who had gotten crushed by host Utah on September 15, were stunned at home by previously winless Notre Dame two weeks ago, 20-6.

Starting quarterback Ben Olson suffered a first-quarter knee injury, and with backup Patrick Cowan unable to play because of his own knee injury, third-stringer McLeod Bethel-Thompson had to play. The redshirt freshman struggled mightily, throwing four interceptions and losing a fumble.

Olson is expected to miss at least three weeks, but Cowan may be ready to face the Bears.

With Louisiana State having lost at Kentucky last Saturday, then-No. 2 Cal (5-1, 2-1) appeared in prime position to move to No. 1 in the polls, but the Bears were upset by Oregon State at home, 31-28.

Filling in for the injured Nate Longshore, redshirt freshman Kevin Riley made a crucial mistake to seal the loss. With 14 seconds left and no timeouts, Riley tried to run from the Oregon State 12 but only gained two yards, and the clock expired before the Bears could attempt a tying field goal.

The Bears beat the Bruins in Berkeley last year, 38-24, avenging a 47-40 setback here in 2005 in which UCLA rallied from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit.