BRIDGET O’BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Bruin running
back DeShaun Foster came alive in the game against
Stanford on Saturday, rushing for 159 yards and two touchdowns as
UCLA defeated the Cardinal, 37-35.
By Greg Lewis
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It’s becoming a habit. No need to put the game away early
when there is a full 60 minutes to play, no matter what the score
is.
For the ninth time in nine games, the Bruins have allowed the
opponent to score first in the game. And for the seventh time in
nine games this season, the final margin has been a touchdown or
less. This time, UCLA had a chance to put Stanford (3-6 overall,
2-4 Pac-10) away early, but did not. Instead, the Bruins (6-3, 3-3)
waited until there was just under two minutes left to give their
fans an indication that they were going to beat the Cardinal.
In a play where everybody expected another rush to help run down
the clock, quarterback Cory Paus rolled out to his left and lobbed
a wobbly spiral well short of downfield receiver Freddie Mitchell.
Mitchell turned back toward the ball and ripped it away from
Cardinal safety Aaron Focht for a 56-yard gain.
“To be honest, I thought he would run. When he cocked that
rock, I’ll tell you, my heart was right in my throat,”
head coach Bob Toledo said. “When you’ve got to put the
nail in the coffin, you’ve got to go with the people who make
plays. Those two (Paus and Mitchell) are those guys.”
The play was designed for Mitchell to go deep in order to decoy
the safety away from the line of scrimmage, giving Paus time to
rush for a first down. Paus, knowing Mitchell’s propensity
for making plays, gave the receiver a chance.
Said Mitchell: “I told him, “˜You make me look good,
I’ll make you look good.'”
The Bruins, who became bowl-eligible with this win, took full
advantage of their three most potent weapons ““ Mitchell,
DeShaun Foster and Paus ““ in the same game for the first time
since the game against Michigan back in September.
Mitchell ended up with 185 receiving yards, including
UCLA’s game-winning touchdown with seven minutes remaining.
He entered the game ranked second in the NCAA with 116 yards
receiving per game.
 PATIL ARMENIAN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Wide receiver
Drew Bennett is run down by a Stanford defender in
the Bruins’ win over the Cardinal. “You talk about a player
who competes ““ I told him before the game that big-time
players would decide this game. He prevailed. He got that catch. He
just wanted it more,” Toledo said.
Foster, playing with a broken hand and turf toe, had 159 rushing
yards, 37 more through the air and two touchdowns.
“It was a great effort by a great back,” Toledo
said.
Paus finished with 328 yards, the third time in four games he
passed the 300-yard mark. He made a few mistakes, but got it done
when it counted.
“He made some nice plays, and he made some inexperienced
plays,” Toledo said. “I think he grew a little bit
tonight.”
The game was a battle of offenses, and the Bruins had just a
little more than Stanford did.
“UCLA made a few more plays than we did. I’m
extremely proud of our effort, but we didn’t make enough of
the plays we needed to win the game,” said Stanford head
coach Tyrone Willingham.
Stanford actually finished with more yards, 495 to UCLA’s
463, but a few timely turnovers by the UCLA defense prevented
enough Stanford points to pull out the win.
“We knew if we could stop them on third down, we could win
the game,” said safety Audie Attar. “It’s always
your philosophy to play aggressive defense. If you can do that,
then the turnovers will come.”
The two biggest turnovers came in the first half. Free safety
Jason Zdenek picked off his first career pass and returned it 56
yards for a touchdown with a minute left in the first quarter,
putting UCLA up 13-7.
And then with half a minute left in the half, linebacker Tony
White picked off Stanford quarterback Randy Fasani’s pass at
the UCLA 27. The Bruins went into the locker room with a 20-14
lead.
UCLA figured to have the advantage in the second half as Fasani
aggravated a knee injury and was sidelined the rest of the game.
Fasani had gone 10 of 15 for 113 yards. Replacement Chris Lewis
completed two of his first 12 but hit receiver Luke Powell with a
76-yard touchdown on his 13th pass. That play pulled Stanford back
to within six, 27-21.
Paus had hit tight end Mike Seidman for a 22-yard touchdown the
previous series, putting UCLA up by 13.
“We felt that it was better to take Fasani out and put
Chris in. Chris did some nice things. He brought our team back and
gave us a shot to win at the end,” Willingham said.
UCLA and Stanford alternated scores in the second half. After
Powell’s big play, Chris Griffith kicked a 23-yard field
goal. Ryan Wells pulled in a 19-yard pass from Lewis to keep
Stanford in the game 30-28.
“It was a little frustrating,” Toledo said.
“We kept giving them life.”
Mitchell then scored the Bruins’ final points, hauling in
a 41-yarder from Paus after getting 6 yards behind the Stanford
defense.
UCLA was wary of a comeback from a team that won with two
seconds left against Southern Cal two weeks ago and almost pulled
out a squeaker last week against Washington.
Kerry Carter scored on an 8-yard run with four minutes left,
setting up Paus’ big pass to Mitchell. After Mitchell’s
reception, UCLA drove down to the 9-yard line before Foster fumbled
the ball with 31 seconds left. Then the defense shut the door,
keeping the Cardinal pinned down near the end zone to finish the
game.
GAME SUMMARY BOX DEFEATED 37-35 FREDDIE
MITCHELL: He ended up with 185 receiving yards and one touchdown
and had a part in two of the game’s biggest plays: a 41-yard TD and
a key 56-yard first down while working as the only receiver in the
formation on a second-and-17 play.
The game was over when Mitchell pulled in the first down,
forcing Stanford to use its remaining timeouts as the Bruins ran
down the clock.
381 out of 463, or 83 percent. The percentage of UCLA’s yards
accounted for by Freddie Mitchell and DeShaun Foster.
"Me and (Brian) Poli-Dixon are definately the best receiver
tandem in the country. You can’t bracket me, because he will burn
you."
In all nine games this season opponents have opened the scoring
with a touchdown. Stanford’s DeRonnie Pitts caught a 4-yarder on
the opening drive Saturday to put Stanford up.
Original by PAULINE VU/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Web Adaptation
by MONICA KWONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff