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Marcus Everett dodges a tackle at the Oklahoma game. He stepped up to lead the Bruins in receivin

Through the first two games of UCLA’s football season, running back Maurice Drew was averaging 108 yards per game and had scored a total of five touchdowns. He had runs of 42 and 66 yards as the Bruins’ offense seemed to move at will. So in the third game, when national power Oklahoma decided to place eight men in the box against Drew and held him to less than 30 yards rushing in the first half, many fans had reason to worry. But unlike in past years, UCLA was able to exploit Oklahoma’s aggressive run defense, and quarterback Drew Olson had the best game of his career, recording 28 of 38 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns. “In the past, when one part of our offense was shut down, we couldn’t respond,” offensive coordinator Tom Cable said. “This year, we finally have the balance where we can be proficient in both our passing and rushing game.” Through three games, the Bruins are fourth in the nation in scoring, with an average of 49.33 points per game. A large part of the Bruins’ success has to do with their balance between the running game and passing game. The Bruins are averaging 175 yards a game on the ground, fifth in the Pac-10, and 266 yards in the air. In the last game against Oklahoma, quarterback Drew Olson completed passes to eleven different receivers (including three running backs), an indication that the Bruins are extremely deep at every position. “When our offense is blocking the way they are, there is no reason why we can’t be successful,” Olson said. “We have great depth at the receiver and running back positions, and I have an abundance of options to choose from.” Two players who have benefited significantly from the Bruins’ increased passing efficiency are Andrew Baumgartner, and Marcus Everett, both who received limited playing time prior to the Oklahoma game. Baumgartner had two catches for 41 yards, while Everett had six catches for 66 yards. Both were filling in for senior wide receiver Junior Taylor, who suffered a torn ACL during the first quarter of the game. “I knew I had to step up, especially in my first game back,” Everett said. “Its weird that when I went down, Junior stepped up for me, and when Junior got injured, I was able to step up for him.” The Bruins’ receivers will have greater chances this weekend as UCLA’s opponent Saturday, Washington, has its pass defense banged up. Starting cornerback Matt Fountaine is likely to be out with an injury, and the Huskies will be using a converted fullback at safety. So far this season, the Huskies have given up an average of 249 yards per game passing, and 432 yards total per game. “We know they have struggled thus far this season, but we are not overlooking them,“ Everett said. “We can’t afford a slip up again this season like we did last year against Washington State and Wyoming.” The other advantage that the Bruins’ receivers will have is that Washington is expected to focus their defense on UCLA’s running game, especially after running back Maurice Drew scored a UCLA-record five touchdowns against the Huskies last season. The Huskies are next to last in the Pac-10 in rushing defense, and the Bruins have five rushing touchdowns over 40 yards this season.

BYE WEEK: The Bruins’ are coming off a bye week, and the time has allowed previously injured players to move back into the regular rotation. Linebacker Wesley Walker, who missed the Bruins’ first three games, is back at outside linebacker after undergoing knee surgery in August. The week off also allowed receiver Matt Slater to get back into the competition for the Bruins’ current open spot at the wide receiver position. Slater is competing against redshirt junior Matt Willis and redshirt freshman Ryan Graves for the position.

WALKER BACK: The Bruins’ are coming off a bye week, and the time has allowed previously injured players to move back into the regular rotation. Linebacker Wesley Walker, who missed the Bruins’ first three games, is back at outside linebacker after undergoing knee surgery in August. “He’s been ready to go for a while, but we just wanted to be precautionary with him,” Dorrell said. “If there are no setbacks, we fully expect to be part of our linebacker rotation on Saturday.” Walker will be joined by freshman linebacker John Hale, Aaron Whittington and Bruce Davis at the outside linebacker. OTHER OLSON BACK: Redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Olson is nearly “90 percent” recovered from the injury on his left hand, and has been taking a number of reps during the Bruins’ bye week. “If the situation permits, our goal is to get Ben some reps,” Dorrell said. “That would be the best case scenario.” The freshman has been out the last three weeks since injuring his left hand prior to the Bruins’ first game four weeks ago.

EXTRA POINTS: The Bruins’ game against Cal on Oct. 8 at the Rose Bowl will kick off at 4:30 p.m. and be televised nationally by TBS. The kickoff for the following week’s game against Arizona State has still not been announced.