UCLA continued a meandering journey, trying to find its place in the college football world.
After Saturday, the Bruins and their fans can sleep soundly knowing that last place in the Pacific 10 Conference is an unlikely final destination this season. A 28-3 victory over Washington State at the Rose Bowl seemed to make that abundantly clear.
The Bruins (2-3 overall, 1-1 in conference play) were far from dominating. They were, after all, the first conference team to be held under 60 points by the Cougars (1-5, 0-3) this season.
But quarterback Kevin Craft was efficient enough and tailback Kahlil Bell repeatedly burrowed into the Cougars' defensive front. The Bruins defense, which spent the last three games back-peddling, pretty much smothered an anemic Washington State offense.
The Bruins' performance had fans reduced to entertaining themselves with a lengthy version of "the wave" early in the third quarter while UCLA had the ball. But it was strong medicine for a team that had been outscored, 136-41, in losing three straight games after opening with a victory over Tennessee.
"It gives us, I don't want to say validation because we're trying to win a lot of games, but it gives us sense we're on the right path," guard Scott Glicksberg said. "It gives us a sense that all this hard work, all these off-season workouts, meant something and everyone is pulling on the ropes collectively."
Beyond that, the Bruins remain a mystery.
So far, all the Tennessee victory has proven is that the Bruins could probably handle Alabama and Illinois -- Alabama Birmingham and Northern Illinois that is. Those are the two teams the Volunteers have beaten this season. And the Washington State victory leaves no doubt that the Bruins could handle Portland State, which lost to the Cougars, 48-9.
The Bruins status will undoubtedly be more clear a week from now, after going on the road to face an Oregon team that was routed by USC on Saturday.
"This team is maturing every week," defensive tackle Brigham Harwell said. "The maturity we had today will help us at Oregon. Our goal is still to win the Pac-10 title. We're tied with USC, right?"
They are. The Bruins, though, have plenty of work to do before meeting the Trojans in their regular-season finale. For starters, UCLA managed only 100 yards rushing against a Washington State team that had been giving up 269 yards rushing per game.
