Monday, January 11, 1999
UCLA defense can’t collar Wisconsin’s Great Dayne
FOOTBALL: Blindsided by Badger running back, Bruins lose Rose
Bowl
By Jeff Kmiotek
Daily Bruin Staff
The Bruins were washed away by Wisconsin and its red sea of fans
in the 85th Rose Bowl, learning the harsh lesson that when it
Daynes, it pours.
A season filled with promise, potential and national title talk
came to an abrupt end at the New Year, as the Badgers and their Ron
Dayne train rolled over the Bruins, 38-31. The tailback locomotive
went loco, rushing for four touchdowns and 246 yards, just one yard
shy of the Rose Bowl record.
"Ron Dayne’s a truck. You can’t stop him," said offensive guard
Kris Farris. "He’s going to be a Heisman frontrunner next year, and
he deserves it."
It was like a rerun of the Miami debacle, but this time, the
offense couldn’t place all the blame on the defense. UCLA had its
fair share of offensive opportunities, but two turnovers late in
the game proved to be the difference.
"We fumbled the ball and we threw an interception that was run
back for a touchdown, and that was the nail that got the coffin
going," said head coach Bob Toledo. "In a game like this, when you
fumble, throw an interception and miss some tackles, you’re
probably not going to win."
Take those three aspects and over 60,000 red-clad cheese fans,
and a UCLA Rose Bowl defeat is what you get. A defeat that, to
many, defeated the purpose of the season. But not to Toledo.
"Let’s not lose sight of the fact that those are two excellent
football teams out there playing extremely hard. That was a heck of
a game against a Big Ten opponent who was ranked in the top 10,"
Toledo said.
And the cheddar was undeniably better on what could be called
New Year’s Dayne. Wisconsin’s 253-pound rushing star was an
unstoppable force that the smaller UCLA defensive backs could not
reckon with – until it was too late.
Dayne was great in the first half, running through, around and
over the Bruins for 173 yards and three touchdowns on just 15
carries. He was somewhat contained after intermission, rushing for
73 yards and Wisconsin’s lone offensive score.
But it was the Badgers’ defensive touchdown that decided the
game.
Trailing 31-28, the Bruins finally had momentum on their side as
they started a drive on their 25-yard line. But on the third play,
Cade McNown, under extreme pressure from Wisconsin, underthrew a
pass to DeShaun Foster that was picked off by cornerback Jamar
Fletcher, who sprinted 41 yards the other way to give the Badgers a
38-28 advantage.
"I think it was a bad decision in retrospect," said McNown, who
thought Foster would cut back to the ball.
"It was a very bad read on his part, but he’s human. He’s
entitled to make mistakes," added Toledo.
"That was the game, that play. You can’t turn the ball over.
I’ll say it over and over. You cannot turn the ball over," said
offensive coordinator Al Borges.
Foster was also involved in the Bruins’ other costly turnover.
UCLA had driven 74 yards on its opening possession of the third
quarter, and that’s when the big red crowd’s presence was felt
most. Seated behind the end zone, the raucous Badger fans drowned
out McNown’s audible call on the 6-yard line.
McNown changed the first-down play from a handoff to a pitch,
but Foster didn’t hear it or see the hand signals. He ran to take
the handoff, but instead looked up to find a football flying his
way.
"I was surprised," said Foster. "I was just trying to catch
it."
But he didn’t. The ball ricocheted off his body and rolled into
the arms of a thrilled Badger on the 2-yard line.
"We were all saying, ‘Let’s get a turnover on this play,’" said
Wisconsin All-American linebacker Tom Burke. "I just wanted to hold
them to a field goal, but everybody was saying, ‘This is the play
to get a turnover.’ And we did. This is as good as it gets."
And it was about as bad as it could get for the Bruins.
While UCLA did set a Rose Bowl record with 538 total yards,
those turnovers and plenty of penalties killed a number of drives.
The Bruins lost 94 yards on nine penalties, including numerous
offensive holding calls that slammed the brakes on two first-half
drives.
"The penalties didn’t just take us out of rhythm, they took us
out of drives," said offensive lineman Andy Meyers. "When it’s
third and 35, it’s tough."
The UCLA offensive line, which had been superb throughout the
year, picked the wrong day to have a sub-par performance. After
giving up just 10 sacks in 11 games, they allowed three sacks –
including the game-ending play. McNown was pressured throughout the
contest, although he did manage to end his illustrious college
career with 340 yards and two touchdowns. The UCLA running game
also sputtered, gaining 120 yards on 38 carries, a meager 3.2 yards
per rush.
Now compare that to Wisconsin’s rushing attack, which ran
through UCLA’s swiss-cheese defense for 343 yards on 48 carries –
an average of 7.1 yards per carry. On first down, Dayne averaged a
whopping 11.8 yards per rush.
"He was awesome and consistent like he always is. He hits the
holes when we put them there," said Badger lineman Aaron Gibson.
"This was one of (Dayne’s) best games ever."
And the Bruins wouldn’t argue with that.
"You’re not going to tackle Dayne on the first hit," said
Freddie Mitchell, who provided a lift by throwing a 61-yard
touchdown in his comeback from a broken femur. "Dayne ran with a
lot of strength and courage."
"He runs hard and always keeps going forward. We had plenty of
chances to wrap him up but we didn’t," said linebacker Brendon
Ayanbedejo.
And with that, the Bruins wrapped up their season on a very sour
note, losing their final two games after winning 20 straight. The
youth and inexperience of their defense finally caught up to
them.
"They took advantage of one of our weaknesses," said Toledo.
"They didn’t do anything that we didn’t anticipate or expect.
They’re a very sound football team, and they played hard."
Like the Miami game, the defense had to withstand the loss of a
key defensive player. Senior safety Larry Atkins sat out the second
half with a sprained knee, joining injured defenders Jason
Stephens, Micah Webb and Pete Holland on the sideline.
"The coaches were calling the right plays, but X’s and O’s don’t
mean anything unless the players execute them," said linebacker
Tony White. "At times we executed pretty good, and other times we
kind of broke down."
Once the UCLA defense figured out how to stop Wisconsin, the
usually reliable Bruin offense failed to produce. In the final
quarter, they had a drive end on downs when Chris Sailer’s
fake-punt attempt came up a few yards short. Soon afterward, UCLA
recovered a fumble on Wisconsin’s 32-yard line, but had to settle
for a field goal, closing to within a touchdown of Wisconsin.
The Bruins got the ball back on their 46-yard line with 1:42
remaining and a chance to send the game into overtime.
"You can’t tell me you didn’t think we were going to score,"
defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said to reporters after the
game. "You know you thought we would score."
But the Bruins fooled everyone. McNown’s first pass to Brad
Melsby was incomplete. He followed that with a 7-yard completion to
Melsby. On third down, he threw a short pass incomplete to an open
Danny Farmer, setting up fourth down and three yards to go.
McNown rolled out, searching desperately for a receiver with the
game on the line. But he was blindsided and taken down by freshman
Wendell Bryant for a sack, ending a great game, a sensational
season for UCLA and an extraordinary collegiate career for
McNown.
"I just wish we could’ve played a little better in this game,"
said McNown. "It’s just frustrating."
"The last two seasons were very special," said Farmer, who had
142 yards receiving to break UCLA’s single-season record with
1,274. "We just have to come back prepared for next year, and it
all starts with preparation next week."DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin
Senior Staff
UCLA kicker Chris Sailer is called on facemasking a Wisconsin
player who had the ball at the Rose Bowl game.
Jason Doering (left) and Zach Leonard of the Wisconsin Badgers
celebrate with the Rose Bowl trophy after their victory over the
Bruins.
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