If You Can’t Guess Key Play of This Game, Then Punt

UCLA freshman tailback DeShaun Foster runs 65 yards for one touchdown, scores three others and fumbles at the USC one just to remind everyone among the crowd of 88,080 at the Rose Bowl that he’s a freshman.

Wide receiver/volleyball player Danny Farmer catches three passes for 91 yards, including a 42-yarder on which he sets the ball perfectly for himself and then outjumps Daylon McCutcheon to grab it.

Linebacker Ryan Nece and cornerback Ryan Roques jam Petros Papadakis after a one-yard gain on fourth and two late in the second quarter to assure UCLA of a 17-point halftime lead.

The Bruin defense creates seven turnovers, including two fumble recoveries and an interception by safety Jason Stephens, and sacks Carson Palmer six times.

And the key play in UCLA’s 34-17 victory Saturday over USC?

Well, that was made by a player who was on the field for less than a minute during the game and really didn’t have to shower after it, the Bruins’ punter, Chris Sailer.

It came with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Bruins were leading by only 10 points, 27-17, and their offense had gone three and out on all three second-half possessions, gaining nine yards.

The Trojan defense was in control.

If the Trojan offense had good field position and could manage to run a couple of series in a row without turning the ball over, the game would have been on.

Stranger things have happened in this rivalry, including two years ago when the Bruins came from 17 points behind in the fourth quarter to win.

Instead, on fourth and four from the USC 48, Sailer pooched a punt that landed at the five, bounced once and died in UCLA cornerback Marques Anderson’s hands at the four.

Unable to advance before they had to punt from their own end zone, the Trojans gave the ball back to UCLA at the USC 31.

Four plays later, Foster scored from the one to give the Bruins a touchdown and, as it turned out, their final margin of victory, 34-17.

“That was a big play,” UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said of Sailer’s punt. “He pinned them down there. His stats haven’t been great, but he’s played a real team kind of role, very unselfish.”

That made it a perfect day for Sailer, who also kicked two field goals.

But, like most wary kickers, he wasn’t about to insult the gods by pretending he had anything to do with his crucial punt.

“As far as that bounce goes, that was really lucky,” he said. “With a bounce, you win some and you lose some. I just happened to win that one.”

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UCLA’s defense, for once, was more impressive than its offense. . . .

At least Toledo proved he can dish out praise as well as criticism, emphasizing the good work of his defensive coordinator, Nick Aliotti. . . .

USC Coach Paul Hackett implied that UCLA was lucky in its earlier victory over Oregon because the Ducks turned the ball over five times. . . .

Now he knows what the Ducks were up against. . . .

“We had a lot of turnovers, but Oregon came in here and had the same thing,” he said. “It’s a tribute to their defense.” . . .

Cade McNown’s statistics won’t enhance his Heisman candidacy, but, knowing him, he wouldn’t trade his 4-0 record against USC for any trophy. . . .

If it’s any consolation to Palmer, he played better in this game than McNown did as a freshman. . . .

Knowing him, that’s no consolation. Unlike McNown, Palmer didn’t win. . . .

Hackett called the crowd hostile, which is the environment UCLA has been trying to create for opponents at the Rose Bowl. . . .

I imagine Hackett considered the UCLA fans particularly hostile when they were chanting, “Eight more years.”. . . .

The UCLA winning streak against USC has now extended beyond biblical proportions. . . .

It was, however, the first time for the Bruins to win the inaugural Jim Murray Trophy. . . .

Even Murray might have had to stretch to wax poetic about this game. It was hardly an epic. . . .

But he would have had fun with the dairy farmers from Wisconsin riding into town on their tractors for another Rose Bowl. . . .

If UCLA is in the game, at least Badger fans will know where they can buy tickets.

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While waiting for the BCS computers to tell us whether UCLA really won or lost, I was thinking: The game would have been more fun if R. Jay Soward had been sound, it’s hard to feel too sorry for the Trojans if this loss knocked them into the Aloha Bowl, Giles Pellerin RIP.

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Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: randy.harvey@latimes.com