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Tailback Maurice Drew gets into the open field for one of his five touchdowns against Washington.

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A couple of years ago, when this football game was scheduled, it probably looked pretty good for UCLA.

On the outside, it’s a nice little nonconference lull, coming after a bye week, sandwiched in between two important Pac-10 games.

But now that it’s here, this Saturday’s game against San Diego State at the Rose Bowl could be scary for the Bruins, and they’re certainly not looking past it.

“They’re a legit team,” junior quarterback Drew Olson said. “They’re good. San Diego State maybe hasn’t been so good in the past, but they’re a different program now.”

The Aztecs (2-1) gave No. 18 Michigan all it could handle before falling 24-21 in Ann Arbor and have won their other two games rather handily. San Diego State boasts an aggressive blitzing defense, and UCLA (2-1, 1-0 Pac-10) seems to realize this game isn’t one it can just cross off and put a W next to.

Complicating matters further, the Bruins played their first conference game two weeks ago, a thrilling 37-31 win at Washington, and they now have to play this game before getting back to the Pac-10.

“It is a concern,” coach Karl Dorrell said. “You had your first conference win, you feel good about that, and now you go to a nonconference game like San Diego State and you don’t want to lose your focus.

“As a coach, you’re always concerned about whether there will be a letdown. But I don’t think so.”

But a nonconference letdown isn’t the only thing Dorrell has to worry about. After the bye week, when the team had a chance to get healthy, injuries and a suspension surfaced instead.

Leading Bruin receiver Craig Bragg will not play because of a separated shoulder; starting inside linebacker Justin London should see only limited time at best, and it’s doubtful that back-up defensive tackle Kenneth Lombard will play at all. Add to those injuries the fact that starting defensive tackle C.J. Niusulu is suspended for the game for violating athletic department policy, and the Bruins have some legitimate problems.

This game isn’t being taken lightly.

“(San Diego State) is a dangerous football team,” Dorrell said. “They’re dangerous for us, and given our situation where we’re not at full strength, we’re going to have to play with what we have.”

But fortunately for Dorrell, what he has now has been quite impressive thus far. The last time sophomore tailback Maurice Drew stepped on a football field on a Saturday, all he did was rush for 322 yards and five touchdowns, both UCLA records. The Bruin offensive line has been nothing short of spectacular, giving Olson tons of time in the pocket and creating the holes to allow the running game to average 296 yards per game.

This game, however, should be a stiff test for the Bruins’ dominant rushing attack. San Diego State has allowed only 93 rushing yards per game so far this season, and the longest run the Aztecs have surrendered was only 20 yards.

“Their defense is one of their strong parts, and we’re looking forward to the challenge,” tight end Marcedes Lewis said.

On defense, San Diego State sends some kind of blitz on almost every play, something UCLA has had to pay special attention to this week in practice.

“We’ve been watching a lot of film because they bring a lot of blitzes,” said Lewis, who is taking more pride this season in his blocking. “Mentally, it’s been a little stressful on us, but we’re going to take care of everything and sharpen up. We’ll be ready by Saturday.”

The Aztecs are led in tackles by the linebacking corps of Kirk Morrison and Matt McCoy, who have 27 tackles apiece in three games. As a team, San Diego State has eight interceptions.

“For us offensively, this is the best defense we’ve played by far,” Olson said. “Them and ’SC will probably be the best defenses we’ll face all year.”

On offense, the Aztecs don’t appear to be quite as dangerous, especially with the state of their offensive line. After starting left tackle Mike Kracalik and starting left guard Brandyn Dombrowski went down last week against Nevada, San Diego State will start this game with five offensive linemen who didn’t play a single game last year.

Lynell Hamilton, the Aztecs’ leading rusher from a season ago, is also out for the season rehabilitating a broken ankle.

Because there isn’t much of a running game left, the Bruins expect the Aztecs to take to the air, where they are led by quarterback Matt Dlugolecki (257.3 ypg) and receiver Jeff Webb, who has 23 receptions for 276 yards. That may take some focus off the UCLA defensive line, which is allowing 284 rushing yards per game.

But regardless of what the Aztecs have or don’t have, the Bruins are sure about one thing.

“They don’t care who you are,” said defensive tackle Eyoseph Efseaff, who will make his first career start on defense Saturday. “They just come to play, and I like playing against guys like that.”