As time stands still, 12th man delivers for Bruins

Zenyatta loses and UCLA wins.

What next?

Frank and Jamie McCourt announce they are back together and to celebrate they buy another house.

And then sign Cliff Lee.

OK, so it takes some help from the referee and then later the replay official to keep the game going long enough so UCLA might have a chance to win.

If only they had been so generous to Zenyatta and moved the finish line 25 yards further.

There were three seconds remaining on the clock in a tie game, the Bruins too far away to attempt a field goal, but then the referee announced he was giving UCLA four seconds to play.

So the Bruins called a quick pass to the sideline, the ball caught by Randall Carroll, who stopped for a soda after catching the pass and took time to wave to his family before stepping out of bounds.

There’s no time left on the clock.

The referee announces there will be overtime.

But then UCLA asks for a replay, the unseen replay official upstairs left to determine if the Bruins should get another second to attempt a game-winning field goal.

A good guess he doesn’t want to sit here for overtime either.

The Holiday Bowl has two scouts here. The Holiday Bowl is known for attracting exciting teams, which explains why they both leave early in the fourth quarter with no interest in who wins.

Those who stay have to wait on the unseen replay official to determine if there will be overtime. UCLA sports information director Marc Dellins says he has no idea or information who the replay official might be.

Might it be someone with UCLA ties?

“You can infer what you like,” Dellins says, which certainly leaves open the possibility.

Unlike the NFL, the upstairs replay official rules on the replay. The guy on the field never gets a look at a play in question, so the guy upstairs, as always, packs a lot of power.

The unknown replay official tells the referee on the field to put one second back on the clock, and for all we know passes on his best wishes to Kai Forbath.

Forbath hits the field goal from 51 yards, UCLA wins and the Bruins rush the field. They are thrilled, I guess, this snoozer is over.

UCLA brings the kicker to the media room as if anyone wants to talk to him. The kid misses two of his three field goal attempts, and he’s the hero?

But hey, UCLA wins, UCLA wins and Coach Rick Neuheisel reports to the postgame news conference with a bunch of towels — still wet from the locker-room celebration.

They are, after all, now 4-5.

Hard to imagine how these guys might act if they really beat someone good, but two more wins and they are bowl-eligible. The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is now within their reach.

Oregon State, meanwhile, is a ho-hum 4-4 under Mike Riley, the guy UCLA probably should have hired eight years ago, the Bruins passing on him to bring in Karl Dorrell.

UCLA is 44-47 under Dorrell and Neuheisel, Oregon State 60-37 with Riley, but as good as Riley is, his team looks in need of a coach all night long who should be more discipline-minded.

The Beavers self-destruct, a personal foul leading to one of the Bruins’ touchdowns, another personal foul stopping Oregon State from taking advantage of a UCLA turnover.

“It’s a good win for us,” says Neuheisel, as if any win wouldn’t be just great, super and terrific for this program right now.

As good a win as it is, it’s a dreadful game. The Bruins essentially sit on the ball as offensive whiz Norm Chow apparently gets the night off or shows his lack of faith in quarterback Richard Brehaut.

UCLA runs the ball 55 times, the longest run coming from Brehaut, who is allowed to throw 19 times.

It will probably take another couple of months to know if there are really problems between Chow and Neuheisel and a change is made, but Chow has been slow to warm to Brehaut.

Brehaut made a couple of errors that might very well have cost the Bruins the game, including a late sack taking UCLA out of field-goal range. But his ability to scramble and improvise also puts UCLA in position to win the game.

“Thank you for your patience,” Neuheisel tells the crowd by microphone following the game. He never mentions the replay official.

Dellins checks back to say he has no other information other than the replay official’s name is Gallagher. Wait until Oregon State learns a comedian had the last laugh in this one.

THE NICE thing about games in the Rose Bowl now, fans can occupy every other seat to stretch out.

And while the Bruins might not attract much of an audience, those who did choose to be here didn’t sound very bright.

One of the Bruins’ defenders went helmet-to-helmet with an Oregon State receiver, the hit so vicious it knocked the Beaver’s helmet off.

The hit drew a penalty, and when the play was shown on the scoreboard, the fans booed, apparently unhappy the kid’s head didn’t come off as well as the helmet.

I HAVE never met Zen-yatta’s trainer John Shirreffs. But after watching him handle the hoopla and pressure surrounding the horse and then dealing with defeat, as they say in this sport — class shows.

PEOPLE FELL in love with Zenyatta. In Dwyre’s case, I worried we might hear one day of him running off with the nag.

But I suspect one reason so many people liked Zen-yatta was because as athletes go, this one never opened its mouth to talk.

t.j.simers@latimes.com