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  JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The Bruins receive a penalty for a face mask grab by senior safety Marques Anderson during the UCLA-Oregon game last Saturday.

By Adam Karon

Daily Bruin Contributor

The football gods giveth, and the football gods taketh away. Cory Paus will return to take center stage Saturday against Arizona State, but safety Marques Anderson will not suit up for the contest.

Paus, who has not seen action since the first series in the Alabama game, says he is fully recovered from a shoulder injury suffered on the first play of the season.

“I feel good,” he said after practice on Tuesday. “The last few days I’ve been throwing the ball a lot harder.”

The redshirt sophomore looks to take over a team that has been struggling with the passing game. Against Oregon, the Bruins were unable to throw against a Duck defense that set eight men on the line of scrimmage, virtually neutralizing DeShaun Foster.

“This is not a panic thing,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. “We are not worried or panicked. Cory was the starter before he was hurt, and now that he’s healthy he is the starter again.”

Paus will have a tough task at hand to beat the Sun Devils. Arizona State enters the contest undefeated, with victories over San Diego State, Colorado State and Utah State. Colorado was ranked No. 25 when the Sun Devils burned them, but it is clear that ASU’s preseason schedule was slightly easier than UCLA’s.

In addition, UCLA will be without a key defensive starter. Safety Marques Anderson will miss the game due to a medical procedure. Athletic department officials declined to specify what was wrong with Anderson, saying only that he should be back in time for the game against Cal in two weeks. Anderson was not available for comment.

The Bruins will have to contend with a Sun Devil team that has rushed for over 400 yards and passed for over 700 yards.

  JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Junior flanker Freddie Mitchell catches a pass which was declared out of bounds. UCLA was defeated 29-10 by Oregon State. The Bruins face Arizona State this weekend at the Rose Bowl.

Anderson has been one of the anchors of the Bruin defense thus far. The 6-foot, 200-pound junior has risen above off-field problems to become one of the better safeties in the Pac-10. Without him, UCLA will need to adapt to a smash-mouth Arizona team.

The Bruins are already without star defensive end Kenyon Coleman, who is out at least four more weeks with a knee injury.

“Someone’s going to have to step up and fill the spot,” junior linebacker Robert Thomas said. “They’re going to come out and try and run the ball down our throats. We have to try and force them to pass.”

The Sun Devils, who are off to their first 3-0 start since 1996, have shown so far that they can pass the ball efficiently. There were early season question marks surrounding the availability of senior quarterback Ryan Kealy, but redshirt freshman Jeff Krohn stepped in to fill the void.

Krohn threw four touchdown passes last week against Utah State, but Kealy may see time as well on Saturday.

But the nation’s attention will be on Paus and how he performs in his second stint this season.

The redshirt sophomore will be looking to make an impact on a Bruin defense that has seemed stagnant since the Alabama game. If the Bruins are to make a run at the Pac-10 title, Paus will have to lead the way.

“Cory looked good,” Toledo said of Paus’ practice performance. “He seemed to be throwing the ball pretty well.”

Paus will have to the throw the ball very well against Arizona State if UCLA is to have success. The Sun Devils intercepted three balls last week against Utah State. Senior Nijrell Eason leads the team with two, and ASU has had at least one in each game this year.

The game is particularly important for UCLA because of last week’s poor showing in Eugene. The Bruins want to have a strong showing and get back on track in the Pac-10.

“The Oregon game was a humbling experience,” flanker Freddie Mitchell said. “It’s going to be a lot better this week. I love our home field. The students are back this week. It should be a lot better.”

Every game is a big one after losing the Pac-10 opener. Saturday’s game could be one of the key games of the season. If the Bruins are able to right the ship after the Eugene tempest, it should be clear sailing until Nov. 11, when UCLA travels to Seattle to face Washington.

Who knows what the football gods will provide Saturday. The Bruins hope it will be a victory and much-needed momentum heading into the bye week.