Monday, October 12, 1998
Big second-half gives Bruins win
RECAP: Second-ranked UCLA burns Arizona 52-28 in late scoring
run
By Jeff Kmiotek
Daily Bruin Staff
What do you get when you lose your starting tailback, your
quarterback completes just 10 of 24 passes and you’re playing the
10th-best team in the nation on their home turf?
If you’re the UCLA Bruins, a convincing 52-28 victory. The
second-ranked Bruins (4-0, 2-0 in Pac-10) blew up in the fourth
quarter, parting the red sea of Arizona fans with three touchdowns
on three consecutive offensive plays to turn a close game into a
demolition.
Even with Jermaine Lewis out, it was the tailbacks who led the
way.
Freshman DeShaun Foster stepped up and kept the Bruins close in
the first half, while Keith Brown put the game away with two
straight TD runs in the fourth quarter.
‘Keith and I didn’t want to be the letdown of the team,’ said
Foster. ‘I knew I could run hard, and I just wanted to show what I
could do.’
Foster’s first run was his most impressive, a 37-yard effort in
which he bounced off defenders like a mad pinball before reaching
paydirt for UCLA’s opening score. Foster scored later on a one-yard
stroll and ended with 122 yards on 20 carries.
‘I was really impressed,’ said quarterback Cade McNown. ‘He ran
the ball tremendously. He kept his feet moving, kept breaking
tackles. It was huge.’
McNown, on the other hand, struggled in the first half before
settling in after intermission. He completed just two of his first
10 passes, visibly nervous playing in front of the fourth-largest
crowd in Arizona history. He threw for just 171 yards, snapping a
streak of 18 straight games with over 200 passing yards.
But he made the big plays and helped extend a more important
string  UCLA’s 14-game winning streak, the longest current
roll in the nation.
‘In the first half we got in some bad situations, but that’s
alright,’ said McNown. ‘You just bite the bullet and know that
eventually the best team will surface and show itself.’
McNown also had a hand in the play that proved to be the
knockout punch.
Up 31-28 early in the fourth quarter, offensive coordinator Al
Borges dug deep into the playbook and pulled out a gem. Cade McNown
faked an option, stepped back and fired over the middle to a
wide-open Danny Farmer, who grabbed it in stride for a 64-yard TD
and a commanding 38-28 lead.
‘The whole secondary came up for the pass and I was wide open,’
said Farmer. ‘It was a perfect pass.’
‘We ran some options early and saw their safeties were attacking
real fast. It was a special play for the game, and it was called at
the right time. It really put the nail in the coffin,’ said head
coach Bob Toledo.
The touchdown was McNown’s 50th at UCLA, tying him with Tom
Ramsey for the school record. It silenced the raging red crowd and
put an end to any noise the Wildcats would be making.
The Bruins scored on their next two offensive plays, both long
touchdown runs by Brown. Brown, who finished with 91 yards on nine
carries, sprinted in for a 54-yarder and followed it up with a
20-yard surge. As a unit, the tailback committee scampered for 297
yards on 44 carries, a staggering 6.8 yards per carry.
‘We were knocking them off the line of scrimmage and running
hard,’ said Toledo.
The offense made few mistakes but had a difficult time advancing
the ball early in the game. Their first three drives resulted in
3-and-outs, and they fell behind 7-0 after an Arizona trick play
worked to perfection.
On fourth down at the Wildcat 47-yard line, Arizona punter Ryan
Springston dropped back and lofted a pass to a streaking A.J.
Brown, who caught it at the one-yard line, setting up an easy
Kelvin Eafon touchdown run.
It was a seesaw battle in the first half, knotted at 21 as the
teams headed into the locker room. Considering McNown was just
five-of-16 for 74 yards at that point, it was a score the Bruins
were satisfied with.
‘When we came into halftime, we knew we could win this game and
win it big,’ said McNown. ‘We knew as an offensive unit we were a
lot better than their defensive unit.’
‘We had them right where we wanted them. We were tied up, and we
were wearing them down,’ said Toledo.
The win marked the first time since 1988 that UCLA entered the
Red Siege and won.
It was also the first time since 1991 that two Top 10 Pac-10
teams clashed.
And while Arizona was hyping it as possibly the biggest game in
school history, the Bruins played it like any other.
‘It hurts bad. I don’t like the way it feels at all. I can’t
stand it,’ said Arizona defensive tackle Daniel Greer.
As the sea of red flooded into the parking lot, just a blue and
gold strip of elated fans remained to share the euphoria of
victory.
And as Toledo hugged Chancellor Albert Carnesale after the game,
there was a feeling swirling through the desert air that this may
not be the last time UCLA invades Arizona this season. AARON
TOUT/Daily Bruin
DeShaun Foster carries the ball as Brad Melsby clears the way.
Foster scored two touchdowns
and ran for 118 yards to lead the Bruins in rushing against the
University of Arizona.
AARON TOUT/Daily Bruin
Quarterback Cade McNown hands off to tailback Keith Brown.
McNown completed 10 of 24 attempts and had two touchdowns, and
Brown had two touchdowns and 91 rushing yards against the
Wildcats.
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