Quarterback Kevin Prince

These were not your 2008 UCLA Bruins. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince didn't find a red-faced Coach Rick Neuheisel in his face on Saturday, arms flailing as if he were attempting liftoff. The offensive line provided holes to run through, rather than digging them. Bruins fans left the Rose Bowl murmuring sounds of content. There was such a different feel to UCLA's 33-14 victory over San Diego State that defensive players even complained a little about their offense keeping them off the field.

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince has reached an anniversary, though it will pass without ice cream and cake. Monday makes it exactly two years since he last played in a football game. Prince expects to be reminded of that fact throughout the week as he prepares for Saturday's game against San Diego State. Such Post-it notes are hardly necessary. Prince is well aware that on Aug. 31, 2007, during the sixth play of Encino Crespi High's season, he suffered a season-ending knee injury while trying to avoid Lake Balboa Birmingham's Marquis Jackson.

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel got to good news quickly enough following the Bruins' spring scrimmage. "On the bright side, I think the first-team defense is growing fast," Neuheisel said. "They run like a Pac-10 team. They fly around like a Pac-10 team." The trick now is to give the defense a Pac-10 offense to practice against. That remains the chore, as a herky-jerky performance at the Rose Bowl demonstrated.

There are many ways to describe how completely UCLA dominated in a 43-7 victory over Washington State on Saturday. Nick Crissman, the Bruins' fourth-string quarterback, got in the game for the first time ever. Walk-on punter Danny Rees was allowed to kick, another first. And guard Jeff Baca was already thinking about his stomach before he entered the locker room, spying the postgame feed and squealing, "ooooh, smoothies." But nothing showed how much fun the Bruins were having at Martin Stadium than senior linebacker Reggie Carter's rebellion when he refused to leave the field with the game in hand early in the fourth quarter, forcing the Bruins to call a timeout.