Getting Bad News Up Front

There are football flukes and there are football fundamental facts. So while a few bad bounces could account for the four turnovers that eliminated UCLA’s chances for victory Saturday, there wasn’t an explanation in the world that could wipe away the ominous long-term implications of the Bruins’ complete inability to stop the run.

That’s why even Geoff Strand, that peppy alumni cheerleader, had to lean into his microphone during the third quarter and tell every man, woman and child in the Rose Bowl stands, “It’s gonna be a tough year.�

There’s no other possible analysis after the opening-game opponent, Oklahoma State, rushed for 426 yards in a 31-20 victory over UCLA.

You can’t stop the run, you can’t win. That’s football fundamental fact No. 1.

The Bruins started an all-new defensive line, without injured junior C.J. Niusulu, and as maiden voyages go this was about as successful as the Titanic’s.

The Cowboys lined up, looked at the size and experience advantage of their offensive line against the Bruins’ front four and proceeded to take it to ‘em. They ran the ball on all six plays in their first drive, resulting in a 22-yard touchdown run by Vernand Morency.

“Our coaches were warning us,� UCLA defensive tackle Kevin Brown said. “We were expecting run-heavy -- not that much, though.�

This drive set the tone for the day and also served as the start of Morency’s Heisman Trophy campaign. He finished with 261 yards and two touchdowns in 29 attempts, an average of nine yards a carry.

The Cowboys bothered to pass only eight times, at one point going 22 plays between passes.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team try to run the ball that much,� UCLA linebacker Spencer Havner said. “Colorado two years ago tried to do that on us in the second half. It’s ridiculous. We’ve just got to get in front of them.�

Apparently Oklahoma State Coach Les Miles felt so confident in his team’s ability to run that -- in what had to be a coaching first -- he didn’t mind sharing his strategy with a sideline reporter during his halftime TV interview.

“We’re going to do the same things in the second half,� Miles said.

Why not? It’s not as if the Bruins could do anything to stop them.

Especially when it came to what the Cowboys call the “Flip Play.� Quarterback Donovan Woods would start to the right, then flip the ball back to Morency on the left side. They ran it to particular devastation in the third quarter, when Morency broke off 32 yards on third-and-two, keeping a drive alive and squashing UCLA’s momentum after a 52-yard field goal by Justin Medlock had brought the Bruins back to within eight. Oklahoma State went on to kick a field goal and pad the lead back to 11.

Morency’s big afternoon brings up our NCAA hypocrisy note for the day. The guy running rampant through the UCLA defense was a professional athlete. Morency played baseball in the Colorado Rockies’ minor league system and got paid to do so. But unlike USC’s Mike Williams and Colorado’s Jeremy Bloom, he didn’t hire an agent or take endorsement money. So Morency gets to keep his “amateur� status. Whatever.

We will give props to the NCAA for reinstating UCLA receiver Tab Perry this week. Perry worked hard in the classroom after being academically ineligible in the 2003 season, so the NC-double-A granted him a progress-toward-degree waiver.

The NCAA should always lean in favor of athletes who do the right thing and go to class. When last we checked, that’s what Mike Williams was doing. This football player just had the audacity to try to capitalize on his football ability. Can’t have that now, can we?

Back to the theme of the game, how Oklahoma State could do-run-run-run whenever it wanted.

For most of the afternoon UCLA’s d-line seemed nonexistent, the blue jerseys lost between the green grass and the visitors’ white uniforms.

As Coach Karl Dorrell said, “There’s some things we definitely can improve on.�

Such as tackling, shedding blocks, penetrating and containing.

Havner, the linebacker, missed most of the second quarter with a shoulder injury and he still finished with more tackles than the starting defensive line (16-15). That’s a bad sign.

Believe it or not, there were some signs of hope for the Bruins.

Running back Manuel White gained 145 yards, and Maurice Drew rushed for 44. New offensive coordinator Tom Cable’s scheme produced open men all day, although quarterback Drew Olson sometimes struggled to connect with them.

The Bruins didn’t quit, and they didn’t point fingers afterward.

Instead there was lots of love in the air Saturday, from UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero and the basketball coach he fired last year, Steve Lavin, exchanging warm smiles and a big hug in the suites lobby about a half hour before the game, to afterward, when Havner praised his teammates.

“We came out and battled in the second half,� Havner said. “That’s a tribute to the heart of this team, and the young guys that everyone’s down on right now. I’m going to war with those guys.�

Dorrell shifted his theme from excitement to optimism, saying, “They’ll get better, they’ll learn from this and we’ll keep moving forward.�

Don Johnson, the defensive line coach, said of his group’s play: “We’ll clean that up.�

Help should be on the way. The good news is, after the Environmental Protection Agency gets a look at these statistics, the defensive line will qualify as a Superfund site.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Adande, go to latimes.com/Adande.