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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But to Dorrell, it was expected.

'A lot of those guys are back, and in year two you gain so muchexperience,' 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 muchbetter team than what people thought.'

--Ten-yard rule: Coaches talk incessantly about not fieldingpunts inside the 10-yard line, but Bruins senior Craig Bragg hasmade a habit of doing it. And don't expect Bragg to stop, even afterfielding a punt on his own 7-yard line last week at Illinois. Thereturn netted zero yards, but Bragg said special teams coach BrianSchneider didn't complain about the play.

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

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

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