Paus Is Hurt, but Bennett Comes Through for UCLA

Cory Paus started at quarterback, but Drew Bennett finished--the game and the opponent.

Five days after the disappointment of losing the No. 1 job and learning he would be relegated to long-distance backup, Bennett was unexpectedly called on Saturday night when Paus suffered bruised ribs in the second quarter and threw two touchdown passes and a two-point conversion in the second half that led No. 21 UCLA to a 35-21 victory over Fresno State before 42,649 at the Rose Bowl.

There was no immediate word how long Paus would be sidelined. What was known was what Bennett did while he was in: The four-yard pass to Brad Melsby and subsequent extra-point toss to Freddie Mitchell gave the Bruins a 28-21 lead late in the third quarter, and the 15-yard throw to Brian Poli-Dixon with 11:49 to play provided the security. That came on a drive that included a 57-yard completion.

It looked as though it would be a good night for Paus, at least at the start. The first start of his college career, and only his third game overall, began with eight consecutive completions against a pressuring defense, good for 102 yards. One of those was the 24-yard touchdown over the middle to split-end Brad Melsby, worth a 10-0 lead and another encouraging sign for the Bruins.

Their plan had been to become more aggressive with the air game, wanting to capitalize on Paus’ arm and break out of the conservative approach that came with wanting to nurse along the redshirt freshman and the inexperienced starter at the time, Bennett.

In the first two games, Melsby led the team in receptions, but for an average of only seven yards per catch, and fullback Matt Stanley, tailback DeShaun Foster and tight end Bryan Fletcher had as many catches as any other receiver.

That all changed from the start Saturday. Three plays after Ryan Roques opened the game with a 38-yard kickoff return, Paus connected with a leaping Brian Poli-Dixon for 15 yards. That, along with Foster’s 23-yard blast up the middle, became key plays in a drive that culminated with Chris Griffith’s 26-yard field goal.

When the Bruins got the ball again, after Fresno State quarterback Billy Volek overthrew two open receivers for potential big gains, they stayed with the new plan. The first play of the series was a 13-yard pass to Freddie Mitchell, especially noteworthy since that already gave him two catches after getting only one the previous two games. He had as many pass completions.

The second play was also to Mitchell, a 24-yard pickup that put the ball on the Bulldog 38. The Bruins were not merely throwing, but throwing downfield, and on a night when Danny Farmer did not even suit up because of his troublesome sprained ankle and when Mitchell was bothered by a sore knee. Moments later, Paus connected with Melsby for the score to cap a 75-yard drive.

UCLA was in early control, 10-0, and Paus was looking sharp. When he hit Poli-Dixon with a quick nine-yarder, the completion streak was at eight of eight, for 102 yards. Then things started to go wrong.

Paus threw an incompletion on the next play. Then, a couple plays later, another, forcing a punt. When the Bruins regained possession, he completed a pass to Mitchell for 11 yards on the first try, but the next resulted in an overthrow of Mitchell deep down the middle. Then things went really wrong.

On second and 10 from the Fresno State 48, after the Bulldogs had scored to make it 10-7, Paus handed off to tailback Jermaine Lewis, who lateraled back to Paus for a pass. But before he could throw the ball, defensive end Frank Battle recorded the sack and 10-yard loss that knocked Paus out of the game with 11:01 left in the half.

This, along with the enviable depth at receiver, was the reason Coach Bob Toledo turned down Bennett’s request five days earlier to become a pass catcher rather than a pass thrower after losing the battle to Paus. Toledo wanted a backup quarterback, not a part-timer.

Trying to give Bennett at least a moment to prepare himself in the middle of the drive, the Bruins called timeout. The offensive unit gathered on the sideline, the medical staff huddled around Paus on a bench. It was at the same time that tackle Brian Polak, their best offensive lineman, walked to the locker room with flu-like symptoms. It was third and 20.

That series ended after Bennett scrambled for a six-yard gain, prompting a punt, but he played well for the rest of the half, especially under the difficult circumstances. On the first full possession, for example, he completed a pass to tight end Gabe Crecion for 19 yards and Poli-Dixon for 25, setting up Keith Brown’s two-yard plunge up the middle for a 17-7 lead.

Bennett completed three of five passes to end the half, and the Bruins got a major boost when cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., the true freshman from Fresno making his first start, intercepted Billy Volek’s pass and returned it 83 yards. With the ball at the Bulldog 11 with 12 seconds to play before halftime, UCLA unsuccessfully threw twice to the end zone, and used a 28-yard field goal by Griffith for a 20-7 advantage at the break.