Will This Be Brawn Over Bruins? : College football: Everything points to a Nebraska victory. Donahue digs deep to find hope.

LINCOLN, Neb. —  Let’s see. UCLA is playing No. 2 Nebraska--No. 1 by some counts--and it’s here, where the Cornhuskers have won 18 games in a row and the Bruins last won when Coach Terry Donahue was 4 years old.

It’s the 196th consecutive sellout, which means 76,000 red shirts worn by people who assume that the Bruins will be served quiche at their pregame meal.

They will be stirred up by the new Diamond Vision, er, Husker Vision screen, and excited about today’s home opener for a 2-0 team that has quarterback Tommie Frazier, one of the 767 or so players being touted for the Heisman Trophy. It’s also a team that rushed for 527 yards against Texas Tech last week.

Oh, and No. 13 UCLA’s best player, All-American wide receiver J.J. Stokes, will be on the sidelines, nursing a thigh bruise.

All those problems, but Donahue claims to have a solution.

“We have a saying, ‘When one Bruin goes down, another Bruin takes his place and plays better than he’s ever played,’ ” Donahue said.

Of course, it might not be the right solution.

“We had that saying last week, too, and it didn’t generate any big plays,” Donahue said.

Nebraska can answer rhetoric with one of college football’s most exciting players, Frazier, whose arm is erratic, but who runs the option offense as though his first act as a child was recognizing a crashing defensive end and pitching out to the I-back.

The Cornhuskers also will feature I-back Lawrence Phillips, from Baldwin Park High, who was an unknown quantity until he ran 26 times for 137 yards against the Bruins last year. He is known now, having rushed for 175 yards last week against Texas Tech, working behind a line that is approximately the size of five silos.

And Nebraska features a defense that has given up an average of eight points in its two games.

More rhetoric.

“Everybody tries to put them above everybody else,” said Stokes. “They’re no different than anybody else. Everybody says they can’t be beat. Obviously, they can be beat.”

They have been beaten once in two years, 18-16, in the 1994 Orange Bowl by national champion Florida State.

Beyond words, though, UCLA has weapons, even if the main one is missing from the four-receiver shotgun offense pirated, perhaps fittingly enough, from Florida State.

“Their two wide receivers, Stokes and (Kevin Jordan) are impressive players and the quarterback, (Wayne) Cook, has good size, throws the ball well and has experience,” said Nebraska Coach Tom Obsorne before Stokes declared himself unable to play. “So, they’ll give us a test, as far as our pass coverage is concerned.”

Actually, Cook’s experience is in marked contrast to a year ago, when UCLA lost at the Rose Bowl, 14-13.

“I think that’s one of the things that will help us,” Cook said. “Last year I was playing while looking over my shoulder.”

He had just gotten the starting quarterback job and believed his hold on it was tenuous.

“I didn’t throw as well as I do now,” Cook said. “We stayed with the running game. It was like I wasn’t a factor.”

He is a factor now, having completed 67.2% of his 67 passes for 499 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Bruins to two victories. Both of the scoring passes went to Jordan, who has 13 receptions for 235 yards.

As important, perhaps, has been the running of Sharmon Shah, who has 291 yards in the best start for a UCLA running back since Freeman NcNeil ran for 295 in the first two games of 1979.

“Sometimes they’re more dangerous running the ball out of the shotgun than anywhere else,” said Osborne. “They’ve got a lot of clever schemes, and (Shah) really explodes out of there. They’ve got a lot of ways to hurt you.”

And Nebraska has what some call its best team in 25 years.

But how good is it?

Good enough to beat West Virginia, 31-0. Good enough to beat Texas Tech, 42-16. So what?

“This is probably a talent-on-talent situation that will give us a better read on whether we’re good or not,” Osborne said. “I suspect we’re good. I’m sure UCLA is good, so we’ll know a little bit more about everything when this is over.”

The Bruins may not. They beat a good Tennessee team, 25-23, but struggled against sub-par Southern Methodist before winning, 17-10.

And until Stokes can play--perhaps next week in the Pacific 10 Conference opener against Washington State--it’s difficult to gauge the Bruins.

Donahue’s fondest wish is to wake up this morning and find that some healing force has Stokes ready to run pass patterns against Nebraska, though he has not practiced in two weeks and said Thursday, “I’ll be a spectator.”

“To me there’s a hope that on game day an athlete wakes up and all of a sudden things change overnight,” Donahue said. “There’s always a sliver of hope.”

He also has occasionally bought lottery tickets.

“I’ve never gotten more than two numbers, though,” Donahue said.

He might well need all six to win at Lincoln today.

UCLA BRUINS

TODAY’S GAME

* Opponent: Nebraska Cornhuskers.

* Site: Lincoln, Neb.

* Time: 12:30 p.m. PDT.

* Records: UCLA 2-0, Nebraska 2-0.

* Radio: XTRA (690).

* TV: Channel 7.