He Gives Silent Treatment

When the ball was snapped, the noise within Autzen Stadium was deafening.

But when UCLA quarterback Drew Olson hit Junior Taylor in stride on a slant pattern, and the receiver took off with three defenders giving desperate chase, there was nothing but silence.

As total as silence can get on a football field surrounded by thousands of Oregon fans who had been under the impression that their team had been gaining the upper hand.

“After that it was like being in church in front of 58,000 people,” Olson said Saturday after the Bruins had parlayed the momentum shift Taylor’s 83-yard touchdown catch provided into a 34-26 victory in front of 58,344.

“He stuck a dagger in them, to say the least.”

Things were going the Ducks’ way as the third quarter was drawing to a close. They had scored a field goal and a touchdown to cut a 14-point deficit to four points, and had the Bruins backed up with third and nine from their 17.

Olson could hear nothing but the roaring crowd as he stood behind center. But then he dropped back, looked off his primary receivers and threw a perfect pass to Taylor.

All anyone but the defenders could do was stand and watch Taylor run. And run, and run some more.

“It felt like forever,” he said at his locker, not accustomed to so much attention from reporters.

“I was a little beat up in the third quarter and my legs were gone, but I wasn’t going to let anyone catch me. I just have too much heart and too much pride, and I knew that this team needed this touchdown.”

The Bruins needed a big play in what had become their biggest game of the season, if they hoped to avoid another late-game collapse and keep from losing their fourth game in five weeks.

With the victory, they improved to 6-4, 4-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

With their sixth victory, they qualified for a bowl berth and avoided having to try to do so in their season finale against top-ranked USC.

That the game’s biggest play was provided by Taylor is surprising only in that the junior had not caught a touchdown pass this season, and had only two in his career.

“It has been a long drought, and it felt great to get back in there,” he said of the end zone. “Hopefully, I can keep doing it.”

Chances are good that he will. While Taylor has played mostly a secondary role to wideout receiver Craig Bragg and tight end Marcedes Lewis, he began Saturday’s game second only to Lewis with 24 catches for 248 yards. Bragg sat out three games because of injury.

He wasn’t the first or even the second option for Olson on the third-and-nine play with 2 minutes 57 seconds to play in the third quarter, offensive coordinator Tom Cable said.

But Taylor was there when Olson needed an open receiver, and when he broke free of safety J.D. Nelson he took off, with Nelson, and cornerbacks Ryan Gilliam and Jackie Bates closing fast.

As Taylor approached the end zone, it looked as though he would be caught, but the former high school sprinter finished with a late kick and only then did he realize how quiet things had gotten.

“You could have heard a pin drop,” he said with a smile.