Maddox Is Top Gun in Quarterback Duel : * Bruins: UCLA sophomore is loose and in control. San Diego State’s Morris struggles.

SAN DIEGO —  The banner in the San Diego State rooting section proclaimed: “There’s a nu Marshall in town.”

That may be so, but when UCLA met San Diego State on Thursday, it was Bruin quarterback Tommy Maddox who laid down the law.

The matchup of sophomore quarterbacks Maddox and Cree Morris showed that San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium wasn’t big enough for the both of ‘em, and if Maddox didn’t exactly run Morris out of town, he sent him to the sidelines before the end of the third quarter as he led UCLA to a 37-12 victory.

Not even Aztec freshman sensation Marshall Faulk could offset Maddox and the UCLA offense, which ran up 644 yards. Faulk, who set an NCAA record with 386 yards rushing against Pacific, led all rushers Thursday with 79 yards in 15 carries.

And Morris may have lost his starting job after another frustrating performance, while Maddox only enhanced his standing as one of the nation’s top passers.

Maddox and Morris have several physical similarities--both are big and strong-armed, both redshirt sophomores in programs that feature pro-style passing attacks.

But the similarities pretty much ended there Thursday. While Maddox, in his second season as a starter, completed 17 of 26 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns and scored another himself, Morris--who had to win the job in preseason--had an eight-for-23 performance for 98 yards and two interceptions. He was harassed much of the time and, when he had time to throw, was often off the mark. Morris was replaced in the third quarter by David Lowery.

Maddox was coming off what he considered a poor performance in UCLA’s last game, a 30-16 loss at Tennessee--a game in which Maddox hit 17 of 34 passes and was sacked four times while being held to 196 yards passing.

Thursday, Maddox began passing in the second quarter after the Bruins established a running game. In the third quarter he led a 96-yard drive as UCLA pulled to a 17-0 lead, and moments later he set up another touchdown with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Adams that put the game away.

“At halftime we said we need to go out there and take control, and that’s what we did,” Maddox said. “We played two very good opponents (Brigham Young and Tennessee) right off the bat. When you do that, you’re gonna have your misfires. Maybe it took the whole team two or three weeks to get comfortable and have fun.”

Maddox said the two third-quarter touchdowns gave the Bruins confidence. “The 96-yard drive was probably the biggest thing of the whole ballgame,” he said. “(The Aztecs) finally had the momentum, they were moving the ball and it was only 10-0. It was big for us to get it out of there and drive for a score.”

Of the long pass play to Adams, Maddox said: “The defensive back fell down. I saw Bryan going right by him. It was good for us to take advantage of the situation--you see so much where a (defender) falls down or a man’s open and you don’t take advantage.

“We were crisp . . . everything we did was working.”

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said Maddox “played loose tonight, the way we expect him to play. I’m very happy with his performance.”

Morris, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, is trying to fill the void left by predecessor Dan McGwire, a first-round NFL draft choice last spring. Morris could not find many soft spots in the Bruin defense. For that matter, he hasn’t really found a comfort zone this year.

“I’m just trying to get the job done,” Morris said. “Right now we’re not clicking.”