UCLA NOTEBOOK: HEALTH KEY TO STOPPING RUN.(Sports) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

SEATTLE - Battered by the running game so far, UCLA believes Washington will employ a run-first mentality in today's Pacific-10 Conference opener at Husky Stadium.

UCLA ranks last in the Pac-10, and 115th of 117 teams in Division I, against the run. The Bruins are allowing 317 yards per game, and the Huskies ran for 170 in their opener.

But Bruins coach Karl Dorrell said his defense is more equipped to stop the run now because of the improved health of linebacker Justin London and defensive tackle C.J. Niusulu.

Both are major contributors when it comes to shutting down the run, and both made their season debuts in limited roles last weekend at Illinois. The two also are closer to being back at full health.

``They understand our system a lot better than some of the younger players that are having to play, so that's a plus,'' Dorrell said. ``Even their presence on the field is going to give the defense a little more confidence in getting lined up properly and being able to be more effective within our scheme.''

London missed the opener with a high ankle sprain and estimated his health at 70 percent last week at Illinois. It was evident his mobility was quite restricted against the Illini, but he was moving much better in practice this week.

Meanwhile, Niusulu, played sparingly in the first half at Illinois, 10 days after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.

--No surprise? UCLA has yet to allow a sack, rushed for 464 yards in two games and the only penalty on the offensive line is a false start on center Mike McCloskey. To most people, it's the biggest surprise.

But to Dorrell, it was expected.

``A lot of those guys are back, and in year two you gain so much experience,'' said Dorrell.

But did Dorrell expect it to be this good?

``Sure, I did,'' he said. ``I said that at media day. We're a much better team than what people thought.''

--Ten-yard rule: Coaches talk incessantly about not fielding punts inside the 10-yard line, but Bruins senior Craig Bragg has made a habit of doing it. And don't expect Bragg to stop, even after fielding a punt on his own 7-yard line last week at Illinois. The return netted zero yards, but Bragg said special teams coach Brian Schneider didn't complain about the play.

``He thought I made a good decision,'' Bragg said. ``The ball was kicked right at me, and I didn't want it to bounce on the 10 and land on the 1. There's a lot of gray area. The biggest thing is maybe I could have fair caught it, but you know me, I've maybe done that a handful of times out of 100.

``I like to take some chances, and the coaches don't really like that, but they have confidence in me. They put me back there for a reason.''

Bragg is third in the Pac-10 with an 11.8-yard punt return average.

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Wesley Walker and UCLA did little to slow Vernand Morency and the Oklahoma State running game two weeks ago.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News