He’s Lynch-pin of California’s offense

UCLA’s defense, which has given up almost 900 yards over the last two games, will not catch a break this week against California running back Marshawn Lynch, the Pacific 10 Conference’s leading rusher.

Lynch, who rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown last year in a 47-40 loss to the Bruins, took advantage of Cal’s week off last Saturday and will be close to 100% after being hampered because of an ankle sprain most of the season.

“Everything with them starts with their running game,” UCLA senior defensive end Justin Hickman said of the Bears, who are ranked No. 10 with a 7-1 record. “In Marshawn Lynch, they have one of the best running backs in the country if not the best.”

Despite his injury, Lynch rushed for 302 yards in 46 carries in his last two games. In Cal’s overtime victory over Washington on Oct. 21, Lynch ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns after halftime.

At 5 feet 11 and 217 pounds, Lynch combines speed and power similar to Oregon’s Jonathan Stewart, who ripped UCLA for 121 yards in the Ducks’ 30-20 victory over the Bruins on Oct. 14.

“When you look at him, you just see another NFL back,” UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said of Lynch, who averages 113.4 yards a game and 6.9 yards a carry. “You just look at this kid and you know one day that he’ll be making money playing on Sundays.”

Lynch also leads the Pac-10 in all-purpose yards at 163 a game. He has carried the ball more than 20 times in a game only three times this season, but he has rushed over 100 yards in six games, giving him a school-record tying 15 100-yard games in his career.

“The thing about Marshawn is that if he gets his shoulders squared and gets to that second level, look out,” Walker said.

“He presents a lot of problems for us. He is definitely a big-time player just like the Oregon back. We’re going to have our hands full but we’ve played against big-time backs before.”

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Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said he does not read much into UCLA’s poor defensive effort against Washington State. In losing, 37-15, to the Cougars, the Bruins gave up 515 total yards, including 405 passing.

“It wasn’t that UCLA’s defense was out of position,” Tedford said. “They had coverage, but the ball was put in places where the receiver just went up and took it away.”

Although UCLA has given up a ton of yards in recent weeks, the Bruins still have the Pac-10’s No. 1 defense against the run (82.1 yards a game) and No. 2 overall (296.5 yards).

“They are physical and very fast and have great team speed on defense,” Tedford said of the Bruins, who are also No. 2 in the Pac-10 in points given up at 18.6.

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Redshirt freshman running back Ryen Carew, son of baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew, has emulated Lynch in practice this week on UCLA’s scout offense.... Receiver Ryan Graves, UCLA’s punt returner the last two games, has played the role of Cal sophomore DeSean Jackson, who has scored 10 touchdowns in eight games this season.

lonnie.white@latimes.com