UCLA Is at End of Its Rope

In true UCLA fashion this season, the Bruins played to the level of their competition Thursday night, and their inability to deliver a knockout punch cost them a victory in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Wyoming rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat UCLA, 24-21, on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Corey Bramlet to John Wadkowski with 57 seconds remaining.

On the Cowboys’ winning drive, they moved 72 yards in 10 plays, took advantage of a disputed pass interference penalty and converted on a couple of key fourth- and third-down plays before a crowd of 27,784 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

“We had them locked down on that drive but a bad pass interference call on Matt Clark gave them new life,” UCLA linebacker Justin London said.

“From there, they made the plays. In this game, it does not take much for a team to turn things around once they get the boost that they need. And that’s what happened to us.”

Wyoming’s late heroics overshadowed an unexpected performance from UCLA backup quarterback David Koral, who did not attempt a pass during the regular season.

With starter Drew Olson knocked out of the game in the first half because of a left knee sprain, Koral came off the bench to complete touchdown passes of 17 and 25 yards to Craig Bragg.

But his efforts were not enough to carry the Bruins, who lost their final two games and three of their last four to finish with a 6-6 record in Coach Karl Dorrell’s second season. UCLA was 6-7 last year.

“I was just trying my hardest to make plays and I really wished we could have won,” said Koral, a junior who completed seven of 12 passes for 89 yards.

“I felt like I was able to do that and hopefully in the future, I’ll get a chance to make more.”

Wyoming (7-5), which had not played in a bowl game in 11 years, could not have asked for a better start against the heavily favored Bruins.

The Cowboys, who were expected to get pushed around by UCLA’s big offensive line, more than held their own early. The Bruins’ first five possessions read like football tic-tac-toe: punt, punt, fumble, punt, punt.

UCLA was fortunate that Wyoming did not have a more commanding lead than 10-0 after one quarter.

The Cowboys jumped on top, 3-0, on a 39-yard field goal by Deric Yaussi with 5:57 remaining in the first quarter. Bramlet, who passed for 307 yards, set up the score with a 56-yard completion to Jovon Bouknight, who beat UCLA cornerback Trey Brown with a perfect stop-and-go pattern off a play-action fake.

Following a fumble by freshman running back Chris Markey on UCLA’s ensuing possession, Wyoming needed only three plays to take a 10-0 lead on Bramlet’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Holden.

“It just seemed we wanted it more than they did,” Wyoming linebacker John Prater said. “They took us lightly at the start.”

The Bruins finally showed some life on offense the sixth time they had the ball. Behind two big completions by Olson, UCLA drove 56 yards in five plays, capped by a 29-yard touchdown pass to Junior Taylor, who made a great catch to cut Wyoming’s lead to 10-7.

From there, the Bruins’ defense took over, shutting down Wyoming’s spread offense the rest of the first half. But with 4:47 remaining in the second quarter, UCLA lost Olson to injury when he fell awkwardly on a tackle by Wyoming’s John Flora and Dusty Hoffschneider.

Enter Koral, a junior college transfer who barely played during the regular season. On his opening play, Koral gave a hint of what was to come when he threw his first pass of the season, a deep incompletion to Taylor.

The next time UCLA had the ball, after a 23-yard punt by Wyoming’s Adam Brooks, Koral used his legs and arm to lead the Bruins to their second score. Koral scrambled for seven yards and rolled out to complete a 17-yard touchdown pass to Bragg to give UCLA a 14-10 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Koral and Bragg picked up where they left off when they hooked up again on UCLA’s first possession of the third quarter. With Maurice Drew gaining chunks of yardage on the ground, the Bruins drove 80 yards in 12 plays and extended their lead to 21-10 on a highlight-reel 25-yard touchdown pass from Koral to Bragg.

Koral made the play happen when he stepped up in the pocket to avoid the rush and then threw a bullet pass to Bragg, who did a nice job to keep his feet inbounds in the end zone.

Bragg, however, also was involved in a play that changed the game. His fumble on a punt return gave Wyoming new life at the end of the third quarter.

After Bragg’s fumble, the Cowboys cut into UCLA’s lead with a 33-yard double-reverse pass from Bouknight to backup quarterback J.J. Raterink early in the fourth. On the touchdown, UCLA’s Brown misplayed the ball, allowing Raterink to make an easy catch in the end zone.

UCLA had a chance to score again the next time it had the ball but Justin Medlock missed a 45-yard field goal, which set up Wyoming’s final scoring drive.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

KEYS TO THE GAME

Lonnie White’s keys to the game, and how the Bruins measured up:

1. Eliminate turnovers. The Bruins turned the ball over only twice but Craig Bragg’s fumbled punt return was costly.

2. Stop Bramlet. Wyoming quarterback Corey Bramlet passed for two touchdowns and 307 yards.

3. Big plays. UCLA had only two plays longer than 20 yards and that was not enough to beat the Cowboys.