PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - UCLA knows a trap game when it sees one. After all, the Bruins represented a trap last week for Texas, and the Longhorns fell right into it.
The Bruins spent the past week comparing Saturday's visit from Washington State to last week's landmark 34-12 win in Austin. UCLA (2-2, 0-1 Pac-10) surprised the Longhorns, but hopes to prevent the Cougars (1-3, 0-1) from pulling the exact same trick at the Rose Bowl.
"They're basically in the position we were in two weeks ago," Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince said. "They're going to come out to fight and play in the Rose Bowl, which is special for any team. They've got a lot to (gain). I'm sure they're looking forward to playing the team that just beat Texas."
UCLA is after its first Pac-10 victory, which would move the Bruins' record over .500 - a place almost nobody thought they would reach after a 35-point home shutout loss to Stanford just three weeks ago. With back-to-back wins over ranked nonconference opponents, the Bruins are back in the Pac-10 race if they can beat the league's last-place finisher from 2009.
Coach Rick Neuheisel has stuck with the us-against-the-world mentality that drove the Bruins through the past two games. Before they even began practice this week, Neuheisel said he read a few choice e-mails to his players, reminding them "about how people had jumped off the bandwagon."
"I just want them to know how quickly things can change, and not necessarily the reality, but the perception," Neuheisel said with a dry smile. "All I have to do is remind them where we were. If you want another taste of Houston and Texas, we've got to keep getting better."
The Cougars are simply looking for any victory at all to avoid diving into a tailspin for the third straight season under coach Paul Wulff. Washington State opens its road conference schedule after a 34-point home thrashing from USC last weekend, and Wulff hopes his team gathers around its leaders in Pasadena - particularly on the Cougars' porous defense.
"We don't have strong enough leadership," Wulff said. "I think we've got some guys that have that capability, that can be really strong leaders, but they're in their first or second year, and they don't necessarily have the stripes to do that just yet. We need our few veterans that we have on defense to be real leaders."
UCLA is ranked 118th in the nation in passing offense, managing just 81.8 yards per game while concentrating on the running game in the Bruins' new Pistol offense. Washington State has the 116th-ranked pass defense, giving up 286.2 yards and 13 TD passes already this season.
Prince missed practice this week while resting his injured right knee, getting fluid drained from the joint a day after leading UCLA past Texas despite tweaking his knee in the first half. Neuheisel plans to make a game-time decision between Prince and backup Richard Brehaut.
But if the Bruins keep running the ball with the same brute effectiveness they've shown in the past two games, their quarterback choice might not matter much. Washington State also has the nation's 108th-ranked run defense, giving up 209.8 yards per game.
"You could see them growing into running the football, particularly the last two games," Wulff said. "They're trying to establish the run, control the game that way, and that's how they've won. I would suspect they'll try to throw the ball a little bit more, because they probably think they have to, to some degree. But if we're having trouble stopping the run, why would they?"
Washington State might attempt to force a shootout, with quarterback Jeff Tuel and former California tailback James Montgomery leading a skillful offense. UCLA's defense was sturdy in Texas, but the Bruins claim they realize their performance won't help them this Saturday.
"I like the way Washington State's offense is working," UCLA safety Rahim Moore said. "They're scoring more points than I ever saw them score before. They can throw the ball all over the field. It's going to be a bigger challenge for us than some schools, because that quarterback and those receivers are talented."