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  BRIDGET O'BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Showcasing his quickness, DeShaun Foster set the pace against OSU with a 147-yard, two-touchdown performance. UCLA 38 OSU 7

By Joshua Mason

Daily Bruin Staff

CORVALLIS, Ore. – It was supposed to be the biggest test for the Bruin defense this season. In the end though, Saturday’s contest against No. 19 Oregon State (1-2, 0-1 Pac-10) looked more like an mismatch than a challenge.

In perhaps their most stellar performance of the season, No. 9 UCLA (4-0, 1-0) dominated the highly-touted Beaver running game en route to a final 38-7 victory in front of a sold-out Reser Stadium crowd.

“We felt that (Oregon State) had the best balance of any team we’ve played this far, and this was the biggest test this defense has had,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. “I think they passed the test.”

The defensive squad continued to thrive in their new roles this season, stifling Heisman contender Ken Simonton for 26 total yards, and holding Beaver quarterback Jonathan Smith to 106 yards on 11-of-32 passing.

After strong safety Jason Stephens intercepted a pass on Oregon State’s first offensive series, the UCLA offense took advantage of the turnover, establishing an early 7-0 lead after DeShaun Foster drove 28 yards on three carries for his second touchdown of the season. It was the first of three touchdown runs for Foster, who finished the day with 147 yards on 31 carries.

Despite the early scoring drive, the UCLA offense once again showed signs of inconsistency in the first half of play. The Bruins were unable to reach the red zone in five offensive series until a 42-yard Chris Griffith field goal extended the lead to 10-0 with 1:22 to play in the first half.

“(Cory Paus) hasn’t been a fast starter, and that’s one of the problems we’re concerned with,” Toledo said in reference to the early play of UCLA’s junior signal-caller. “But he can make some big plays, and he can direct this offense.”

  BRIDGET O'BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Sophomore tight end Blane Kezirian celebrates with senior wide receiver Brian Poli-Dixon over a touchdown against Oregon State. After the Griffith field goal, the Bruin defense continued to do their jobs by forcing the Beavers to punt after a quick three-and-out.

With nine seconds to play, Paus made one of his big plays when he connected with Brian Poli-Dixon for a 38-yard touchdown reception that sent the Bruins into the half with a respectable 17-0 lead.

The Bruins continued to roll in the second half, scoring touchdowns on three consecutive drives of 80, 39, and 73 yards. The real story for the Bruins, however, was the defensive domination of an Oregon State offense that scored 99 points against UCLA the past two seasons.

“They never really got a beat on what we were doing,” defensive coordinator Phil Snow said. “Any time you hit the quarterback as much as we did, you get them out of sync.”

A 63-yard Steven Jackson touchdown run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter spoiled UCLA’s bid for its first shutout of a Pac-10 opponent since 1987. Toledo called the touchdown the one disappointment of the game because of the backup players’ inability to contain the Beaver reserve running back.

“In our minds we shut them out,” said linebacker Robert Thomas, who led the team in tackles for the third straight game, with nine. “We destroyed their offense. They couldn’t do anything against us.”

With their convincing defeat of the Beavers, the Bruins, who are entering their bye-week, are continuing to look stronger each week

“We weren’t looking to put up any kind of number goals,” said Poli-Dixon, who led Bruin receivers with 107 yards and two touchdowns. “With the talent of our offense and the domination of our defense, a blowout like this was inevitable. More is yet to come.”

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