Mutiple Sets Hurt Improved Defense

After three games, it’s clear that UCLA’s defense is much improved from a year ago. The Bruins rank 16th nationally and third behind USC and Oregon State in the Pacific 10 Conference in average yards allowed, 240 a game.

A year ago, UCLA gave up an average of nearly that, 232.8 yards, just in rushing each game.

Coordinator DeWayne Walker’s unit limited Washington to 49 yards on the ground in Saturday’s 29-19 loss after the Huskies had averaged more than 200 yards rushing in their first three games. But when offenses have gone to sets with multiple wide receivers, UCLA’s defense has struggled, and Washington’s mobile quarterback, Isaiah Stanback, seemed to make matters worse for the Bruins.

“They just opened up their offense and kind of spread us out a little bit,” Walker said of the Huskies, who scored three touchdowns on offense after going exclusively to such sets.

“Stanback was able to get the ball and make some runs. It was kind of similar to what Rice tried to do against us in the second half. It’s tough to defend.”

When Walker used zone defenses against Stanback, he completed passes to receivers between defenders. When Walker turned to man coverage, Stanback found enough running lanes to keep drives alive. With junior cornerback Michael Norris sitting out the first three games because of a knee injury, Walker’s options in the UCLA secondary have been limited. This week, Walker said freshman Alterraun Verner will compete with junior Rodney Van to start at cornerback opposite junior Trey Brown.

“I’m going to make him compete if that’s going to make him better,” Walker said of Van, who missed a couple of tackles. “We need him, so whatever I’ve got to do to light a fire.”

Safety Chris Horton said UCLA’s defensive backs learned a lesson: not to let up once they seemingly have a passing attack under control.

“Watching film as a defense, we played pretty well. But five or six plays really cost us the game,” Horton said. “We can’t let those things happen again.”

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During training camp, UCLA spent a lot of time working out of the shotgun formation. But the Bruins have yet to operate that way during a game. When he played at Thousand Oaks High, quarterback Ben Olson excelled out of the shotgun, and he looked comfortable during preseason practice.

Coach Karl Dorrell said a new look might be what UCLA needs to unclog a stalled offense that has kicker Justin Medlock averaging a national-best three field goals a game.

“We have it,” Dorrell said of the shotgun, a formation he has not used at UCLA. “There’s a number of things we can do. We will see what happens over the next few days. But that is not going to be the savior on whether we will be able to throw the ball. I think we just have to keep attention to what we’re doing.”

Olson’s numbers have dropped with each game. He started off by passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions against Utah. The next week, Olson completed 13 of 19 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns with one interception against Rice.

Against Washington, Olson completed 18 of 31 passes for 135 yards with two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.

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UCLA has won four straight against Stanford at the Rose Bowl.... The Bruins’ game against Arizona on Oct. 7 at the Rose Bowl will start at 4 p.m. and be shown on FSN Prime Ticket.

lonnie.white@latimes.com