UCLA Ducks Disaster as Brown Breaks One to Beat Oregon, 16-6

A 68-yard touchdown run by reserve tailback Brian Brown Saturday helped save UCLA’s aspirations.

That would be the Bruins’ aspirations for at least a share of the Pacific 10 Conference championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl, which are still attainable due to an unimpressive yet not unimportant 16-6 victory over Oregon before a crowd of 42,509 at Autzen Stadium.

The victory improved UCLA’s record to 8-1, including a 5-1 conference mark that leaves the Bruins a game behind USC in the Rose Bowl race.

Yet, on a day when quarterback Troy Aikman endured the least-productive game of his UCLA career, the Bruin lead was only 10-6 early in the fourth quarter after Oregon’s Kirk Dennis kicked a 43-yard field goal.

The sellout crowd, having spent most of the day under threatening skies, unexpectedly found itself basking in sunlight.

It soon turned dark again for the Duck faithful, however, when Brown, filling in for injured starter Eric Ball, took a handoff from Aikman.

“It was a basic blast,” said Brown, who took over for Ball after the senior tailback strained his right Achilles’ tendon in the second quarter.

To the Ducks, it was more like a shotgun blast.

“I shot up the middle, and there was nobody there,” Brown said.

The speedy Brown, limited to 34 yards in 15 other carries by an inspired Oregon defense, wasn’t about to squander a rare chance to run free. He burst through the middle of the line, hurdled teammate David Keating, who was making a block, and shifted into high gear, leaving several defenders in his wake.

Also getting a look at Brown’s heels was his coach, Terry Donahue.

“I ran right behind him about 25 yards down the sideline,” Donahue said. “I want it known publicly that I did not close the gap. Thank goodness, too. If I had, we would have real problems.”

As it was, the Bruins had troubles enough on a day when their offense produced only 298 yards, almost 180 fewer than their average and easily their lowest total of the season.

Aikman completed 12 of 23 passes for only 114 yards, about 140 yards below his average, and 1 touchdown.

“I didn’t have a very good day,” Aikman said. “Throwing into the wind was tough, but even when it was at my back, I wasn’t throwing well.”

Still, he threw a first-quarter touchdown pass that was nullified by a penalty and he drove the Bruins 47 yards to a third-quarter score that put them ahead to stay, completing an 11-yard pass to Keating for the touchdown.

UCLA, having learned last week that a win is a win and a loss is not, didn’t flinch when it was suggested that this victory was far from artistic.

“It was not a picture-perfect victory,” Donahue said, “but we’ll take the bad with the good.”

UCLA had endured the bad for the better part of a week, having had to ponder last week’s 34-30 loss to Washington State, which knocked the Bruins from their No. 1 ranking to sixth in this week’s polls.

“Our team felt a lot of pressure,” Donahue said. “We knew that we couldn’t lose again if we wanted to play for the (Pac-10) championship. And we’re still wounded from last week. We’re still trying to get over that.”

The Bruins still haven’t put that one behind them?

“We kind of put it aside and got ready to play,” Aikman said, “but anytime you lose in the position we were in, it hurts. Hopefully, we’ll be able to look back and say that cost us the national championship.”

For that to happen, UCLA will have to win its next 2 games--against Stanford next Saturday and against USC Nov. 19--and then finish the season with a victory over the Big Ten champion in the Rose Bowl.

In other words, every game presents a must-win proposition for UCLA.

They responded to that challenge against Oregon with a strong defensive effort, limiting the Ducks to 247 yards, keeping them out of the end zone and twice intercepting quarterback Pete Nelson’s passes.

The Bruins started well on offense, moving 65 yards in their second possession to the Oregon 15 before they self-destructed.

They lost 5 yards on an illegal-procedure penalty before Aikman passed 20 yards to Mike Farr in the end zone for what appeared to be a touchdown.

But fullback Mark Estwick, who was about 15 yards from Farr, was called for offensive pass interference, nullifying the touchdown. Donahue guessed that Estwick probably pushed off when he became tangled with a defender.

“Most of the time, those guys are right,” Donahue said of the officials. “I hate to say that, but they are.”

The penalty left UCLA with a third-and-30 situation at the 35, and Aikman, pressured by Joe Taylor and David Cusano, threw an incomplete pass.

The drive was salvaged, at least partially, when Alfredo Velasco kicked a 53-yard field goal, the longest of his career, to give UCLA a 3-0 lead.

The Bruins managed only 3 first downs the rest of the half.

They maintained their lead, however, because Oregon wasn’t able to advance, either, until its final possession of the first half.

Nelson, who replaced regular starter Bill Musgrave when the sophomore quarterback broke his collarbone last week and was lost for the season, moved the Ducks 52 yards to a first down at the UCLA 4 before the drive stalled.

Derek Loville lost 2 yards on first down, Nelson’s second-down pass was broken up by linebacker Chance Johnson and Nelson threw incomplete in the face of a heavy rush on third down, so the Ducks had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Dennis with 9 seconds left.

“Not allowing that touchdown was very crucial,” Donahue said. “It allowed Oregon to go into the locker room 3-3, but not up 7-3, which would have been a hard thing to turn around, momentum-wise.”

The score was still tied midway through the third quarter when Darryl Henley returned a punt 12 yards to give UCLA a first down at the Oregon 47.

Two Aikman passes fell incomplete, and a 9-yard pass from Aikman to Charles Arbuckle on third down seemed to end the drive.

Aikman, though, diveed for 2 yards on fourth down.

It was only 1 of 17 carries for Aikman, who scrambled effectively against an Oregon defense that, according to Donahue, is more effective in man-to-man pass coverage than any other conference team.

Does the former Oklahoma quarterback enjoy running that much?

“No,” Aikman said, smiling. “That’s why I transferred.”

Aikman, though, kept the ball for 5 yards on an option play to give the Bruins a first down on third and 2 at the Oregon 28.

He reverted to passing once the Bruins reached the 11, throwing to Keating in the near left corner of the end zone.

“The guy never really picked me up,” Keating said of the defender assigned to cover him. “It wasn’t that difficult.”

The touchdown pass was Aikman’s 21st of the season, equaling a UCLA record established by Tom Ramsey in 1982, and gave UCLA a 10-3 lead.

But it didn’t silence the Ducks, who drove back down the field and were throwing into the end zone before settling for Dennis’ 43-yard field goal.

It was left to Brown to knock the quack out of Oregon, which he did 53 seconds later, making the Bruins’ longest run from scrimmage of the season.

Who sprung him?

“It happened so fast,” Brown said, “it was hard to tell who blocked whom.”

Oregon knew the feeling.

Bruin Notes

UCLA is 8-0 at Autzen Stadium since the facility opened in 1967 and has not lost to the Ducks in Oregon since it was beaten in Portland in 1957. . . . Troy Aikman, who ran for a career-high 43 yards last week, carried 17 times for 34 yards, including 4 sacks for minus-20 yards. He has rushed for 117 yards this season. Last season, he ran for a net of minus 87 yards. . . . Free safety Eric Turner had 2 interceptions for UCLA. His second stopped an Oregon drive that had reached the UCLA 27 with 5:08 remaining. . . . Oregon’s Derek Loville, who ranked second in the Pac-10 in rushing with an average of 112.4 yards a game, carried 16 times for 44 yards. . . . Eric Ball did not return after he was injured while making a 14-yard run in the second quarter.