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Big Senior Moments for Bruins

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Times Staff Writer

For three weeks, UCLA talked about getting off to a good start against No. 1 USC, but the Bruins found themselves down by 10 points midway through the first quarter Saturday.

However, instead of rolling over, the Bruins turned to their seniors -- who were seeking their first victory in the cross-town rivalry -- to make sure they would not lose their final game in the Rose Bowl without a fight.

“The seniors kept talking to everyone on the sideline because we wanted them to know that this was going to be a battle right to the end,” senior Tab Perry said. “The coaches always tell us that there are going to be speed bumps along the way, and good teams know how to handle it.”

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Starting with senior wide receiver Craig Bragg’s 96-yard punt return for a touchdown, UCLA gave the Trojans everything they could handle over the final three quarters only to fall short, 29-24.

“They jumped on us early and we just had to regroup,” said Bragg, who had 163 all-purpose yards to move into second place on UCLA’s all-time list with 4,038. “We had to focus in on executing our game plan and once we did that, we got back into it.”

In their final collegiate home game playing together, Bragg and Perry combined for nine catches and 145 yards. It was their big plays that helped keep UCLA close.

After USC took a 17-7 second quarter lead, Perry and Bragg both made catches for 30 yards on a drive that ended with a 43-yard field goal by Justin Medlock. In the third quarter, Perry turned a short completion into a 39-pass play that helped set up a nine-yard touchdown run by senior Manuel White to cut USC’s lead to 23-17 heading into the fourth.

“Our seniors stepped up and did what they could for our team,” Coach Karl Dorrell said. “I could see it in their eyes that they wanted to play well. It was special to have their last game at the Rose Bowl.”

UCLA seniors also played well on defense, with cornerback Matt Clark and safety Ben Emanuel II doing their part.

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Clark, a first-team Pacific 10 Conference selection, finished with eight tackles, including six solo and one sack. Emanuel finished with three tackles and did a good job helping UCLA disguise its secondary coverages in the second half against USC quarterback Matt Leinart, who did not throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 25 starts.

“In our game against Washington State [a 31-29 loss], the same thing happened where they made a couple of big plays for touchdowns early,” Clark said. “After [Reggie] Bush’s first touchdown, we talked to the D-line and told them to forget about that because we had a lot of football left to play.”

UCLA’s defense, the worst statistically in the Pac-10, kept the Bruins in the hunt in the fourth quarter with a crucial fourth-down stop. With USC on the UCLA 17 and leading 26-17, the Bruins dropped LenDale White for a two-yard loss.

“We were able to mix things up a little bit and started to get pressure with just a four-man rush,” Clark said. “Once that happened, we were taking it to them. It’s too bad that we didn’t play like this the whole season.”

Although UCLA scored on a four-yard touchdown pass from Drew Olson to Marcedes Lewis to cut USC’s lead to 29-24 in the game’s final minutes, the Bruins suffered their sixth loss in a row to the Trojans.

“We played hard and gave everything we had,” Bragg said. “But losing like this leaves you with a sick feeling, especially for the seniors because we came so close.”

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