Bruins Lose Fien, Scoring Streak

UCLA is running out of quarterbacks.

The Bruins, who lost quarterbacks Wayne Cook and Rob Walker to injury, lost freshman quarterback Ryan Fien because of a minor hip injury during their 20-0 loss to Arizona State before 37,204 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

The Bruins saw their NCAA record consecutive scoring streak end at 245 games when running back Daron Washington fumbled at the Sun Devil one-yard line with 25 seconds to play. It was the first time Bruins have been held scoreless since the third game of 1971.

“I feel bad about the scoring streak,” UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said. “There’s been a lot of players and coaches who’ve contributed to that over the years. It was a nice record. I enjoyed it while we had it. It was neat, but all good things come to an end, and that’s one of them.”

UCLA, which had crossed midfield only twice in the first three quarters and had only 30 yards on the ground, drove from their 20 to the Sun Devil one as backup quarterback John Barnes completed six of seven passes for 79 yards. The Bruins had a first and goal after Barnes and wide receiver J.J. Stokes combined on a 25-yard pass play, but Washington lost the ball on the next play as he attempted to dive over the goal line.

“It was something on the exchange,” Washington said. “The tip of the ball was sticking out right from the exchange. But the bottom line is the ball came out, and I fumbled.”

Fien, a true freshman making his first college start, left the game at the end of the third quarter when he suffered an injured right hip when hit as he was passing.

“It was just one hit and I rolled and I fell on it,” Fien said. “It’s tough to be shut out. It seems like we’ve never been shutout since I started to come to games here (Fien was born almost three years after the Bruins’ scoring streak began).”

Fien was replaced by Barnes, a senior who transferred to UCLA last spring after UC Santa Barbara dropped football. He completed nine of 13 passes for 110 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Barnes was sacked on his first play, lost a fumble at the Bruin 19 after being sacked on the Bruins’ next possession, and threw an interception on UCLA’s ensuing series.

Fien completed four of seven passes for 18 yards as UCLA lost its fourth consecutive game. The Bruins are 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the Pacific 10.

Walker, who suffered a sprained left ankle during a 19-7 loss to Stanford two weeks ago, hopes to return for next week’s game at Cal.

The Bruins, who crossed midfield only twice in the first three quarters, did little right as they rushed for only 30 yards and committed five turnovers--four fumbles and an interception--to set up a touchdown and a field goal.

“It was a real frustrating evening for us in terms of our offense and being able to do basic things like field punts and do things a decent football team can do,” Donahue said. “It’s disappointing for everybody associated with the program to be in this kind of situation.”

Arizona State tailback Kevin Galbreath, thrust into the lineup because of injuries, rushed for a career-high 183 yards on a school-record 44 carries, including an 11-yard touchdown run.

A fifth-year senior, Galbreath had rushed for a total of 177 yards previously.

“I was able to get four or five yards down the field before anybody touched me,” Galbreath said. “I was able to get through a few tackles. I give all the credit in the world to the offensive line.”

Sun Devil quarterback Grady Benton, who came into the game ranked first in the Pac-10 in pass efficiency, completed 10 of 15 passes for 107 yards and one touchdown as Arizona State improved to 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the Pac-10.

A redshirt freshman, Benton was sacked six times for 55 yards.

Fien, starting his first college game, was ineffective as the Bruins fell behind by 14-0 in the first half, during which UCLA had only 47 yards in total offense and three first downs.

After taking the Bruins to the Sun Devil 49 on the first series of the game, Fien killed the drive with two freshman mistakes.

On first down, Fien and wide receiver Sean LaChapelle got their signals crossed. LaChapelle ran a short pass route, but Fien threw a deep pass. On the next play, Fien lost six yards when he fell down as he was backpedaling. The drive ended when tailback Deron Washington recovered his own fumble for no gain.

Fien also made a judgment error to end another drive. Faced with a third and seven at the Arizona State 42, the Bruins ran an option, but Fien pitched to Washington--who was trapped for a nine-yard loss.

Fien completed only three of four passes for eight yards as Coach Terry Donahue chose to emphasize his ground attack against Arizona State, which had the second worst rushing defense in the Pac-10. The Bruins had 59 yards rushing during the first half, as Washington gained 26 yards on nine carries.

UCLA, which had lost 11 turnovers to set up five touchdowns, one field goal and a safety in its three previous games, set up Arizona State’s first touchdown with a turnover.

Punt returner Tommy Bennett, pressed into service after LaChapelle suffered a cracked rib two weeks ago, fumbled a punt and Sun Devil tight end Bob Brasher recovered at the Bruin 22.

Benton, who completed six of 10 passes for 81 yards during the first half, combined with wide receiver Eric Guliford on a 16-yard touchdown pass play three plays later to give the Sun Devils a 7-0 lead with 8:33 left in the second quarter. Guliford caught the pass at the five-yard line, but UCLA safety Carlton Gray missed a tackle and Guliford scored his fourth touchdown of the season.

The Sun Devils went 66 yards in 15 plays to take a 14-0 lead when Galbreath scored on an 10-yard run with six seconds left in the first half.

Arizona State Coach Bruce Snyder gambled on fourth and one at the UCLA 24 and Galbreath, who had 66 yards on 15 carries, got the first down with a five-yard gain.

Trailing by 17-0 after Mike Richey made a 27-yard field goal with 43 seconds left in the third quarter to cap a 45-yard, eight-play drive, the Bruins set up another Sun Devil score when LaChapelle fumbled a punt at the UCLA 14.

Richey made a 23-yard field goal with 7:56 to play.