Bruins Lose Game, Not Opportunity : College football: They fall to Arizona State but can still reach Rose Bowl by beating USC.

So, exactly how did UCLA play in its 9-3 loss to Arizona State?

“Like garbage,” defensive tackle Matt Werner said.

Of course, there’s still time for redemption, next Saturday at the Coliseum, where UCLA plays USC, with the winner going to the Rose Bowl.

That’s just wonderful, said Werner.

“If we play like we did today, we don’t have a chance,” Werner said. “Maybe we’ll get inspired and decide to play well.”

For the Bruins’ sake, that would be nice because the only thing worse than the attendance Saturday at the Rose Bowl was UCLA’s offense.

Maybe the good news is that not too many saw it in person. Before their smallest crowd of the season--40,346--the Bruins turned the ball over four times. The lowlights: a fumble at the Sun Devil 10-yard line by Daron Washington and a 31-yard run for a fourth-quarter touchdown after Dan Lucas intercepted a pass by Rob Walker.

If it’s any consolation, and it probably isn’t, UCLA lost without its top offensive player, Wayne Cook, and top defensive player, Jamir Miller.

Even without linebacker Miller, who had a pinched nerve in his neck, the defense still gave up only three points.

With Wayne Cook on the sidelines and unable to play because of a bruised kidney, Walker played the entire game. Before the kickoff, Walker played the game in his mind. After kickoff, the game played tricks on his mind.

Walker completed 14 of 25 passes for 120 yards, had three passes intercepted and pretty much blamed himself afterward.

“I just cost the team,” he said. “It’s tough to swallow.”

At the same time, the opportunity is there Saturday in the Coliseum for some footballs to get stuck in a few throats. And if history has taught us anything in the USC-UCLA series, it is that things have been going USC’s way lately.

USC has won the last nine times the Rose Bowl has been on the line for both teams.

Pretty daunting statistic, huh?

“I never really knew about that,” said defensive tackle Sale Isaia. “I guess next week is pretty important.”

Sort of, but only if the Rose Bowl is your thing. Anyway, UCLA Coach Terry Donahue is glad it’s all laid out so simply. The Bruins are playing for the Rose Bowl.

“It beats the alternative,” he said.

“You know, it’s nice. The whole town will be fired up because the championship will be decided in L.A. It’s an event, it’s a happening, it’s a wild deal, it’s a great experience. It can be the ultimate joy and it can be the worst of emotions.”

Actually, this is fairly close to the ride Walker took Saturday afternoon. So close to guiding the Bruins to their eighth consecutive victory, Walker instead stumbled when he suddenly found himself baffled by zone coverages.

“I am to blame for that,” Walker said.

Maybe not, said Cook, who said Walker was merely stuck in an unfortunate circumstance.

“It looked like he was (pressing),” Cook said. “But he was thrown into a very tough situation. If we won the game, it would have been the team. If we lost, it was his fault. That’s not very fair.”

Football is not fair. Ask Arizona. Two weeks ago, the Wildcats were soaring. Now they can’t be found with radar.

And since football also is a funny game, it’s interesting to note that UCLA got bailed out because Arizona took itself out of the race Saturday by losing to California. And it was California that put UCLA in this predicament by beating the Bruins in the first game of the season.

Cook, who will be tested Tuesday and expects to be cleared to practice that afternoon, said it’s comforting to know that there’s another chance for the Bruins to make it to the Rose Bowl.

“It hurts that we got a loss, but to know that we have another opportunity, winner-take-all, it’s great,” he said.

Rose Bowl Race

PACIFIC 10

Team Conf. Overall W L T W L T USC 6 1 0 7 4 0 Arizona 5 2 0 8 2 0 UCLA 5 2 0 7 3 0 *Washington 4 3 0 6 4 0 Arizona St. 3 3 0 5 4 0 California 3 4 0 6 4 0 Washington St. 3 4 0 5 5 0 Oregon 2 5 0 5 5 0 Stanford 2 5 0 4 6 0 Oregon State 1 6 0 3 7 0

*--ineligible for Rose Bowl

Saturday’s Results

Arizona St. 9, UCLA 3

USC 22, Washington 17

California 24, Arizona 20

Stanford 38, Oregon 34

Next Week

UCLA at USC

California at Stanford

Oregon St. at Oregon

Wash. St. at Wash.

BIG TEN

Team Conf. Overall W L T W L T Ohio State 6 0 1 9 0 1 Wisconsin 4 1 1 7 1 1 Illinois 5 2 0 5 5 0 Penn St. 4 2 0 7 2 0 Michigan St. 4 2 0 6 3 0 Indiana 4 3 0 7 3 0 Michigan 4 3 0 6 4 0 Minnesota 3 4 0 4 6 0 Iowa 2 5 0 5 5 0 Northwestern 0 7 0 2 8 0 Purdue 0 7 0 1 9 0

Saturday’s Results

Michigan 58, Minnesota 7

Iowa 23, Northwestern 19

Ohio St. 23, Indiana 17

Michigan St. 27, Purdue 24

Penn St. 28, Illinois 14

Next Week

Ohio St. at Michigan

Purdue at Indiana

Minnesota at Iowa

Wisconsin at Illinois

Penn St. at Northwestern