Walker Not Half Bad in UCLA’s Win : Bruins: Quarterback sharp in first 30 minutes, then defense takes over to protect 17-10 victory over BYU.

New UCLA quarterback Rob Walker even surprised himself.

Walker, a redshirt freshman thrust into the starting lineup, passed for 198 yards, including 160 in the first half, as 15th-ranked UCLA held off Brigham Young, 17-10, Saturday before a sellout crowd of 65,761 at Cougar Stadium.

“I really surprised myself during the first half,” said Walker, who took over after Wayne Cook sustained a season-ending knee injury in the Bruins’ season-opening victory over Cal State Fullerton last week. “It was like having an eight-foot putt and the hole is three feet wide.”

The Bruin defense took over after Walker faded in the second half, intercepting three passes and sacking Cougar quarterbacks John Walsh and Steve Clements five times as UCLA held BYU (1-2) to its lowest point total since a 31-10 loss to the Bruins in the 1986 Freedom Bowl.

“We had to establish dominance on defense and show the nation that UCLA is not just an offensive football team,” said Bruin defensive end Jamir Miller, who had three sacks.

The Bruin defense dominated the fourth quarter as UCLA got off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 1988.

Walsh was knocked out of the game with a potential season-ending shoulder injury when he was drilled by Bruin linebacker Nkosi Littleton and defensive end Mike Chalenski on a broken play with 9:05 left in the fourth quarter.

Taking over for Walsh, Clements drove the Cougars to the Bruin 10-yard line on BYU’s next series, but safety Marvin Goodwin intercepted Clements’ pass in the end zone with 1:13 remaining.

“This was very frustrating and very disappointing,” BYU Coach LaVell Edwards said. “We had a chance at the end to win and I thought we were going to do so. Credit their defense for making a big play at the end.”

And credit Walker for making the big plays at the beginning.

Walker completed 14 of 16 passes for 160 yards in the first half as UCLA jumped out to a 10-0 lead.

“I came in at halftime and I thought I was back at Lake Travis High (in Austin, Tex.) playing against a rival school,” Walker said. “I came in at halftime on cloud nine. I didn’t want a halftime, I wanted to go right back out there and play right then.”

Walker directed the Bruins on a 76-yard, 16-play drive that ended with a 22-yard field goal by Louis Perez on the first possession in the game. He completed five consecutive passes for 73 yards as UCLA drove 77 yards in 12 plays to take a 10-0 lead on tailback Daron Washington’s three-yard touchdown run.

UCLA offensive coordinator Homer Smith was worried about Walker before the game.

“I wasn’t as confident as I acted,” Smith said. “I’d never been through anything like this in my whole life with this inexperienced a quarterback and this tough an away game. But I never did tell Rob that. I didn’t tell anyone that. You don’t even tell your wife anything or somehow it gets back to the players.”

But Walker faltered in the second half after Washington scored his second touchdown only 1:40 into the third quarter to give UCLA a 17-0 lead. The score came after safety Othello Henderson recovered a fumble by BYU’s Steve Christensen on the second-half kickoff at the BYU 23.

Walker completed only four of 10 passes for 38 yards and an interception in the second half.

“I’m sure there are some people who doubt both myself and the offense, especially there in the second half when we couldn’t put together a good drive,” Walker said. “But that’s all right. You’re not going to be 100% in the first game as a starter. I’m going to learn week by week and day by day.”

UCLA’s defense dodged more bullets than Clint Eastwood in the second half.

With BYU trailing, 17-3, after kicker David Lauder made a 42-yard field goal with 8:10 left in the third quarter, Walsh drove the Cougars from the UCLA 48 to the Bruin five.

But Bruin safety Tommy Bennett, who was blitzing, nailed Walsh as he threw and safety Michael Williams intercepted Walsh’s pass in the end zone to end the threat.

BYU’s offense finally got a break when Cougar safety Derwin Gray intercepted Walker’s pass at the Bruin 48 and returned it to the UCLA 35. Walsh, who completed 12 of 28 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, hit wide receiver Eric Drage with a 19-yard touchdown pass four plays later to pull BYU to within seven points with 59 seconds left in the third quarter.

UCLA’s defense intercepted two passes in the final quarter to end two of the Cougars’ last three drives.

“We were finally able to do something to help the team win a game and have it be noticed,” cornerback Carlton Gray said. “It’s just a steppingstone for us. We have to come out each game and play this way.”

Gray intercepted a pass by Walsh, who was then knocked out of the game by Chalenski and Littleton.

Then came UCLA’s last stand. Taking over at his 22 with 6:06 left, Clements drove the Cougars to the Bruin 11.

But on first down, Clements, under pressure from linebacker Andrew McClave, rolled to his left and tried to loft a pass over Goodwin to Drage. Goodwin picked it off to seal the game with 1:13 left.

“I was running a naked left that last play and Drage got bumped so it took longer to execute,” Clements said. “I tried to do too much and forced it.”

Bruin Notes

After gaining 46 yards in 11 carries in the first quarter, UCLA’s Kevin Williams carried only seven more times for 20 yards because he had trouble breathing after bruising a muscle on the left side of his chest. He is expected to be able to play against San Diego State next Saturday.

* UCLA held BYU scoreless in the first half, and the Bruins’ defense made the plays down the stretch. Chris Dufresne’s story, C6