Stanford doesn’t get shot at running out the clock

This was familiar . . . disturbingly familiar for UCLA .

Stanford had the ball and the lead with the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter. The Cardinal seemed content to hammer away at the Bruins’ defense.

The situation played out painfully a month ago, when Fresno State held the ball for the last nine minutes in a 36-31 victory. But this time, the UCLA defense altered the ending.

The Bruins stopped Toby Gerhart a yard short of a first down, holding the Cardinal to a field goal. UCLA had a little more than two minutes left, which quarterback Kevin Craft used to take the Bruins on a touchdown drive for a 23-20 victory.

Asked if he thought about the Fresno game, defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said, “You always have that in the back of your mind. I had to fight those demons so you don’t think that way. It shows we’re growing up.”

Stanford, leading 17-16, took possession at its own 20 with 7:29 left. The Cardinal used Gerhart almost exclusively in moving to the UCLA 17, where it faced third-and-seven. Gerhart gained six, stopped by a gang led by linebacker Reggie Carter.

“I kept thinking, ‘We’ve got to get them off the field,’ ” Carter said. “We couldn’t let them keep the ball the rest of the game like Fresno.”

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Locked in

The Bruins, gave up 323 yards rushing to Oregon and fared only slightly better against Stanford, which gained 250 yards on the ground.

But unlike the Oregon game, the Bruins had fewer missed tackles, particularly from strong safety Bret Lockett.

Lockett nearly lost his job after the Oregon game. Walker was planning to use Glenn Love some, but the switch never came.

“I felt like Lockett, he was getting it done,” Walker said. “If he would have played bad today, I would have yanked him. As long as he was playing pretty efficient, I thought it was good for his confidence.”

Lockett finished with three tackles and forced a fumble.

“I had a mind-set this week that I was going to execute and not mess up like I did last week,” Lockett said. “I took that real personally.”

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Missing the point

At least Stanford scored.

The Cardinal had been shut out in its last two Rose Bowl games, but Stanford arrived this time optimistic that with a 3-1 Pacific 10 Conference record and the momentum of last week’s last-second, 24-23 win over Arizona, not only would there be points but also a victory.

So it was no consolation to Gerhart that he gained 138 yards or that he had his fifth 100-yard-plus game of the season, becoming the first Stanford player since Tommy Vardell in 1991 to have that many in a single season.

“We lost, so it doesn’t matter,” said Gerhart, the junior from Norco. “This one is frustrating to lose.”

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Rookie catchers

UCLA wide receiver Nelson Rosario, a freshman from Oceanside who has been slowed by a sore knee, had a career-high four catches for 71 yards. One catch came over the middle where he was unfazed by the hard tackle that came immediately, and another came during UCLA’s game-winning touchdown drive.

“It feels so great,” Rosario said. “I think I’ll get more chances as I’m healthy, and when I make catches the quarterback will have more faith in me.”

Another freshman, Taylor Embree, was on the receiving end of a 43-yard pass from Craft in the third quarter -- UCLA’s longest gain on a pass play this season.

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Injury report

Tackle Micah Kia left the game in the third quarter after being kneed in the back. Free safety Rahim Moore left in the fourth quarter with a bruised right heel. Defensive end Reginald Stokes suffered an injury to his left knee and will have an MRI today. Wide receiver Antwon Moutra suffered a strained right knee. Defensive end Datone Jones suffered a bruised back. Linebacker Steve Sloan suffered a bruised right knee. . . . Running back Raymond Carter (pulled groin), defensive tackle Chase Moline (back spasm) and defensive end Tom Blake (abdominal strain) did not suit up.

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chris.foster@latimes.com

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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UP NEXT

UCLA

(3-4, 2-2)

vs. California

(4-2, 2-1)

Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, Channel 7

While UCLA will come into this game on a high after its last-minute rally against Stanford, California will be trying to rebound from a 42-27 loss to Arizona that knocked it from atop the Pacific 10 Conference standings and also out of the national rankings. The Bruins have lost the last four times they have played the Bears in Berkeley. They have also lost five consecutive road games and 12 of their last 15 away from home.

-- Chris Foster