Guerrero turns up pressure - UCLA athletic director says he'll be 'very interested' in team's finish under Dorrell.

But there was no ringing endorsement for Coach Karl Dorrell. Instead, Guerrero said, "I will be very interested to see how we finish the season. And you can use that."

His message seemed clear.

The Bruins have four games remaining -- three against ranked teams -- and their performance from here on out may determine whether Dorrell will remain as coach.

UCLA, which is 5-3 overall, is 4-1 in Pac-10 play and only a game behind conference leader Arizona State. The Bruins play at Arizona on Saturday, then have No. 6 Arizona State and, after an off week, No. 4 Oregon at home before finishing up with No. 13 USC at the Coliseum.

Dorrell, now in his fifth season, has a 32-24 career record and his teams have qualified for lower-level bowl games each season. But the inconsistency the Bruins have shown on the field has increased the number of critics.

The Bruins latest flop came Saturday in a 27-7 loss at Washington State, which came a week after they beat then-10th-ranked California.

Washington State entered the game in the Pac-10 cellar, having lost four straight. UCLA's other losses were to previously winless Utah and Notre Dame.

With each loss, dissatisfaction among alumni and fans has grown. Guerrero has been careful not to comment on Dorrell's future when asked. He also hasn't squelched the subject with a statement of support.

Asked Monday if such a statement from Guerrero would help at this point, Dorrell said, "You are going to have to ask him that."

Guerrero has always commended Dorrell for running a program clean of significant off-the-field problems. But when asked whether the program was at the level it should be on the field, Guerrero said, "We were all disappointed with the performance in Pullman this past weekend. But we have four games left to go. We play four difficult conference games. Our destiny is still in our hands.

"I think if we play to our capability, if we played to the level of performance against Cal, we still have a chance to do something special."

Dorrell's contract, which pays him $850,000 plus incentives, runs through the 2011 season. UCLA would have to pay Dorrell $2.05 million over a two-year period if he is let go after this season.