Next half of season presents real test

The mantra of UCLA’s football team is to “finish” this season, a reminder that is on the wristbands players wear. To do that, the Bruins will have to buck their own history under Coach Karl Dorrell.

UCLA starts this week 4-2 overall and sits atop the Pacific 10 Conference with a 3-0 record. Now comes the tricky part, getting to the finish line with a quality record.

In four previous seasons under Dorrell, the Bruins reached the halfway point of the season with a promising record. They meandered after the sixth game each time.

“There is nothing really to comment about,” Dorrell said when asked about struggles in previous seasons. “I don’t look at it that way. It’s more us playing better each week. We got to continue to do that. The latter end of last year, we won three games at the end, so that kind of defeats what you just said.”

The Bruins did win their last three regular-season games last season, but they had a 3-4 record after going 4-2 through the first six games. The 7-6 record got them to the Emerald Bowl.

In Dorrell’s four previous seasons, the Bruins won 18 of 24 games played in the first half. They were 11-15 in games played after the sixth game of the season.

“The makeup of each team is different,” Dorrell said tersely. “We’re just still trying to find ways to improve. That’s what I want our guys to focus on now, not about what has happened in years previous.

“This team has its own chemistry and own identity.”

This UCLA team has four ranked opponents left on the schedule: California, Arizona State, Oregon and USC. The Bruins also have trips to Washington State and Arizona.

“I’m not ready to comment about this year until we’re at the end of this year, for us to make a fair assessment on what this team is capable of doing,” Dorrell said.

UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan stands ready -- if he can stand.

Cowan, who was to have his injured right knee examined by doctors Monday, will rejoin practice today and is penciled in as the starter for the Bruins against California on Saturday. That could become permanent once Dorrell gets a look at him in practice.

With Ben Olson out at least another three weeks because of an injured left knee, the Bruins are short on experienced quarterbacks, which was painfully obvious in a 20-6 loss to Notre Dame on Oct. 6. McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who came in against the Irish when Olson was injured, freshman Chris Forcier and Osaar Rasshan are the other options.

“All those scenarios will work themselves out by the end of the week,” Dorrell said. “It’s hard to say right now in terms of lining up who is No. 1-2-3-4. The bottom line: We’ll see how Pat is from a health standpoint.”

The Bruins, coming off an open date, are in somewhat better health.

Dorrell said that linebacker Reggie Carter, who had cartilage removed from a knee, could play this week. He also said receivers Marcus Everett (sprained ankle) and Dominique Johnson (sprained ankle) would be ready.

The news was not as positive for tailback Chris Markey (turf toe), who Dorrell said “is still hobbling. We’ll see what he can do at the end of the week.”

Dorrell ruled out defensive tackle Brigham Harwell, who had knee surgery after the second game of the season.

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