PASADENA, Calif. — While Ben Olson was picking apart the Utah defense, the Bruin defenders were hammering the Utah offense.

The Utes didn't stop UCLA until the 12:38 mark of the second quarter, while the Utes managed just 55 yards on offense until their second-quarter scoring drive. The Utes scored zero in the first, 10 in the second, zero in the third and zero in the fourth — three goose eggs to go against a Bruin team that scored in every quarter.

Credit the Bruins, who found a way to shut down the spread offense and keep the Utes back on their heels most of the game in the 31-10 victory.

UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was pleased by his defense's "strong effort."

"I think we took control after the second half and did a nice job containing an offense that averaged more than 500 yards a game last year," he said.

The Utes managed just 287 yards for the game and ran only 57 plays compared to UCLA's 75 plays and 425 yards in total offense.

When Utah did manage to stop Olson & Co. just before halftime, Alterraun Verner stepped in front of Marquis Wilson and grabbed Tommy Grady's second pass attempt and returned it 34 yards to put the Bruins up 14-7.

"We knew that Alterraun was going to have a lot of plays today," Dorrell said. "He played well and had a great interception return for touchdown. We call him Little Old Man because he's just 17 years old but knowledgable beyond his years, and he's got a bright, bright future ahead of him."

Verner's interception return was the first by a UCLA freshman since Carlton Gray in 1989.

About the only negative for the Bruins was their lack of a running game. Dorrell said he'd address that deficiency at practice this week. And five fumbles by the offense — but none lost — was also a concern for the coach, but overall, he said he thought his team played "fantastic."

"Turnovers are the name of the game," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "You can't hope to win a game when you turn the ball over three or four times without any take-aways."

But on this day, the Bruin defense was enough and their running game unnecessary with Olson spreading the ball around almost at will.

"It feels good to be sore right now," Olson said. "I think we've raised expectations. We are the 2006 Bruins and we want to create our own success."

---

E-mail: jringwood@desnews.com