Bruins Come Up Short : College football: UCLA misses chance to tie on conversion, then a chance to win is stopped by interception. Cal survives, 27-25.

Call it a case of two-little, two late. UCLA showed a two-down offense and a two-quarter defense Saturday night, then failed on two two-point conversion tries in a 27-25 loss to California in the season opener for both teams at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA had not gained a first down on a third-down play all night long, until freshman Skip Hicks, on his second carry as a collegian, took a pitchout from Wayne Cook, broke a tackle and went 40 yards, falling into the end zone to give the Bruins a chance for the tie, with 3:01 to play.

A pass from Cook sailed over J.J. Stokes on the two-point try.

The Bruins forced the Bears to punt, getting the ball at their 17 with 1:36 remaining and no timeouts. UCLA got to the Cal 28 before a pass by Cook was intercepted at the Bears 20 by Eric Zomalt with 15 seconds left.

Cook completed 19 of 36 passes for 230 yards with the one costly interception in the final seconds.

The Bruins had to throw at the end to beat the clock, after they finally realized they could run on Cal.

The discovery came late in the third quarter when Daron Washington ran 23 yards on first down from the Cal 47. His carry doubled UCLA’s rushing yardage, accomplished in 21 previous carries and started the Bruins on a 53-yard scoring drive. The touchdown, Cook finding Stokesover Cal’s Ike Booth in the end zone, came after UCLA benefited from the newest college football rule mandating decorum.

The Bruins had the ball on the Cal 17, third and 10, when Cook went back and fired in the general direction of Troy Aldrich, but well out of his reach.

Cal defenders celebrated their good fortune, excessively as it turned out, and were penalized nine yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

On fourth and one from the nine, Washington ran four yards for a first down, followed by Cook’s pass to Stokes to make it 24-19.

Bruin Coach Terry Donahue elected to go for a two-point conversion, but Stokes dropped Cook’s pass in the end zone after a diving attempt.

After struggling to find a defense for a half, the Bruins tightened up in the third quarter.

Cal ran off to a 24-13 halftime lead, then had just enough left in the fourth quarter to add a 23-yard field goal by Doug Brien for the points necessary to hold on.

After an early mixup in communication that resulted in a UCLA interception, Cal took advantage of the Bruins’ youth and breakdowns on the punt coverage and defensive units, Dave Barr connecting on touchdown passes to Mike Caldwell covering 40 and 36 yards for a 14-3 lead.

Darren Schager’s 49-yard punt was returned 33 yards by Matt Clizbe to the UCLA 38, with Schager making a touchdown-saving tackle.

Make that touchdown-delaying.

After Lindsay Chapman was dumped for a two-yard loss, Barr found Caldwell downfield, behind Teddy Lawrence and open by five yards for a 7-0 lead with 9:11 to play in the opening quarter.

Lawrence, who was in only three plays on defense a season ago, was starting at cornerback, replacing Carlton Gray, an All-American and first-round NFL draft choice. Lawrence slowed Caldwell slightly about five yards off the line, then seemed to look for help behind him, which never came.

UCLA got three of the points back on Bjorn Merten’s 36-yard field goal with 6:18 to play in the quarter after Clizbe had fumbled Schager’s punt on the Cal 24, with Travis Collier recovering.

Four plays gained only five yards before Merten’s field goal, the Bruin offense still sputtering.

Cal’s attack was having no such problems. The Bears used six plays to cover 63 yards after receiving UCLA’s kickoff. Barr mixed a couple of passes with runs by Chapman and Reynard Rutherford to get the ball to the Bruin 36. Barr then looked downfield, finding Caldwell had beaten Ted Knoke and Tommy Bennett. Caldwell made a diving catch of the pass, falling over the goal line with 3:41 to play for a 14-3 lead.

UCLA’s offense began to find itself late in the quarter, the Bruins moving 65 yards in 11 plays to a 30-yard field goal by Merten. Cook completed passes of 19 yards to Mike Nguyen and 12 yards to Kevin Jordan, both gains being helped by Cal penalties, and then Cook found Stokes for seven yards to set up the field goal.

Cal countered with Doug Brien’s 27-yard field goal.

The Bruins finally got going offensively late in the first half, Cook hitting Stokes for 11 yards and Jordan for 22 in a drive to a touchdown. The score was especially hard-earned, UCLA getting first-and-goal from the Cal one. It was fourth down and still a yard to go before Daron Washington could dive over left guard with 2:26 to play to cut Cal’s lead to 17-13.

It didn’t stay there, the Bears using 2 minutes 14 seconds to travel 76 yards for a touchdown, Barr hitting tight end Brian Remington for the final six yards with 10 seconds to play in the half.

UCLA Notes

Saturday’s game was the 199th for Terry Donahue as coach at UCLA. . . . UCLA leads the series, which began in 1933, at 41-22-1 and is 4-2 at the Rose Bowl against the Golden Bears. . . . The Bruins are 11-7 in season openers under Donahue and 5-3 at the Rose Bowl. . . . Overall, UCLA is 48-22-5 in season openers. . . . Eight of UCLA’s opponents played in a bowl game last season. . . . At least four Pac-10 teams are guaranteed bowl berths, presuming they qualify under NCAA guidelines requiring an overall winning record. The four bowls: Rose, one under the bowl coalition, Freedom (Pac-10 No. 3) and the new Alamo Bowl in San Antonio (Pac-10 No. 4 against Southwest Conference No. 3). . . . The Cal quarterback of the future, freshman Pat Barnes, is the brother of former UCLA quarterback and hero of the 1992 victory over USC, John Barnes. Pat Barnes of Mission Viejo is slated to be redshirted this season. . . . The Bruins are off next week and their next game will be against Nebraska at the Rose Bowl on Sept. 18. Cal plays host to San Diego State next Saturday.