Monday, October 19, 1998
Bruins sail over Ducks with 41-38 win
GAMEWRAP: Kicker’s faulty field goal in 4th redeemed in
overtime
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
When Chris Sailer’s 21 yard field goal attempt went wide left
with no time left in regulation, the UCLA bench did not panic.
The No. 2 team in the nation knew overtime still loomed. With
the score 38-38, UCLA had to forget about Sailer’s miss and regroup
for the first overtime.
When the Bruins won the coin toss, UCLA head coach Bob Toledo
decided to put his tired defense back on the field. In college
football, each team gets one drive from the 25-yard line each
overtime. Toledo wanted to know whether his offense needed a
touchdown or field goal once it was their turn on offense.
His strategy worked to perfection.
Oregon quarterback Akili Smith, who tied the game at 38-38 with
a touchdown pass to wide receiver Damon Griffin with only 22
seconds left, seemed poised to upset UCLA. But on the first play of
overtime Bruin linebacker Brendan Ayanbadeyo blind-sided Smith and
sacked him for a nine yard loss.
Then on the next play Ayanbadeyo did it again with a three-yard
sack of Smith. After an incomplete pass, Smith was forced to throw
a deep pass over the middle which was tipped and eventually
intercepted by UCLA cornerback Ryan Roques.
This defensive stand set up the overtime drive in which UCLA ran
the ball five times before Sailer got another chance. This time
Sailer split the uprights with a 24-yard field goal. UCLA 41,
Oregon 38.
‘That should be worth two wins, OK?’ Toledo said.
‘It was just amazing, we just stepped it up,’ Ayanbadeyo said.
‘You couldn’t even plan on having such a great defensive stand
right there. It was amazing.’
UCLA (5-0 overall, 2-0 in the Pac-10) stays undefeated while
surviving a scare against what should be their highest ranked
opponent left on the schedule. Oregon (5-1, 2-1) proved they belong
amongst the elite in the nation. But when Sailer’s kick went
through the uprights, the disappointment was obvious as many Ducks
fell to ground.
‘We didn’t show the world nothing with four turnovers,’ Smith
said. ‘We pushed the No. 2 team in the country to the limit, but we
feel horrible because it’s not about pushing teams to the limit.
It’s about wins.’
The win was especially redeeming for Sailer, whose 42-yard field
goal attempt was blocked with 6:49 left in the fourth quarter. He
then became the goat after his missed chip shot with no time left
in regulation. He made up for his misses in overtime, booting the
game winning field goal.
Sailer has been nursing a slight strain of his groin and hip
flexor and hasn’t kicked at all in practice for the past two weeks.
But Sailer didn’t put any blame on his misses on the injury. He was
just glad he had a chance to right his wrong.
‘It’s a terrible feeling to know on all the team had done so
much to get to that point, and it wasn’t like it was a long field
goal or anything; it was a little chip shot,’ Sailer said. ‘It was
a terrible feeling … I’m just glad the team did it’s job and gave
me another chance to win.’
Sailer shouldn’t even have had his attempt at the end of
regulation. UCLA returned the kick off to the Bruin 42-yard line,
but Toledo wasn’t about to sit on the ball and so he called a Hail
Mary. UCLA quarterback Cade McNown dropped back and threw the ball
deep down the left sideline.
Backup quarterback Drew Bennett, who was in the play because of
his jumping ability, came down with a 53-yard catch.
With three time-outs left, Toledo chose not to call one and sent
his kicking unit in. They practice this drill frequently, and
Sailer said he didn’t feel rushed.
‘Plus I was getting tired,’ Toledo joked. ‘I wanted the game to
end.’
That offensive sequence perfectly exemplified the game. Each
team had a chance to win or put the opponent away, only to have
something horrible occur.
Oregon tailback Reuben Droughns ended the day with 172 yards
rushing, but he fumbled three times, losing the ball twice.
His first lost fumble came on the very first drive of the game.
The Ducks moved the ball deep into Bruin territory before UCLA free
safety Larry Atkins just ripped the ball away from Droughns. The
second lost fumble came with 2:39 left in the game and on the very
next play McNown hooked up for a 60-yard touchdown with flanker
Danny Farmer  who finished the day with seven receptions for
161 yards and two touchdowns.
‘For a second there I was thinking that it was their fate to win
the game because of the things they were pulling out of their
pockets,’ Ayanbadeyo said. ‘But we didn’t let that hold us back. We
stayed with our heads up and just kept fighting.’
McNown bounced back from a couple of subpar performances to rack
up 395 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Heisman hopeful
fought through sickness all game long, including one time when he
actually vomited on the field  just as he did two years ago
against USC.
Toledo was actually worried about McNown in the locker room as
his quarterback was throwing up before the game and appeared to be
rather weak.
‘It was upset before the game and upset most of the game,’
McNown said.
‘I was just waiting to get a long run or something so it could
come up and I could feel better. That’s why I ran.’
McNown had a chance to put the Ducks away late in the first
half. The Bruins had the ball at the eight yard line and McNown
dropped back to throw a wide receiver screen. But Oregon defensive
end Saul Patu read the play and intercepted the pass. Smith led the
Ducks to a touchdown which made the score 24-14 at the end of the
half, instead of a giving the Bruins a possible 31-7 lead at the
half.
To atone for his mistake, McNown ran a bootleg to the left and
dropped back to pass early in the third quarter. He found a
wide-open Brian Poli-Dixon and heaved the ball 43 yards in the air.
To everyone’s shock, the ball went right through Poli-Dixon’s
hands.
‘We tried to throw interceptions to the game and they tried to
fumble to lose the game,’ Toledo said. ‘We missed a field goal and
had a field goal blocked. It was just an unbelievable roller
coaster ride for us today. I just couldn’t be happier.’
After beating No. 10 Arizona and No. 11 Oregon in back-to-back
weeks, there is no doubt to Oregon players that the Bruins proved
they deserve the No. 2 ranking in the country.
‘Now it’s up to UCLA to sweep the Pac-10, then show the Buckeyes
what the Pac-10 is all about,’ Smith said.
CHARLES KUO
DeShaun Foster dodges the Oregon defense before injuring his
left knee in the second quarter.
CHARLES KUO
Brian Poli-Dixon slips on what might have been a touchdown in
the third quarter.
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