It’s a Fowl Day for Bruins

The UCLA players shuffled slowly off the artificial turf Saturday, dodging the delirious Oregon students charging onto the field. The taunts stung, sure--”OVER-RATED,” over and over. The national championship dreams had all but evaporated. The top 10 ranking figures to disappear today.

What hurt most of all, though, was this cold slap of reality: The Bruins knew exactly what Oregon planned on defense, and they couldn’t do a thing about it. Oregon did not adjust its defense, nor did it have to, which is a pretty damning indictment when you fancy yourself a national championship contender.

“We were our own worst enemy,” wide receiver Brian Poli-Dixon said. “We play defense against ourselves better than any team in the country can play defense against us.”

As Oregon celebrated one of the biggest victories in school history, the sixth-ranked Bruins were well aware that the 29-10 score was deceivingly kind.

The Ducks, 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference, extended their home winning streak to 17 games, but they could have treated a rowdy and often deafening sellout crowd to so much more. The Ducks scored the final 19 points, breaking a 10-10 tie in the third quarter, but the Bruins (3-1, 0-1) played so poorly in the first half that the only surprise was that the blowout did not come until the second half.

The Bruins failed to stop Oregon tailback Maurice Morris, who carried 37 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns. The Ducks silenced UCLA tailback DeShaun Foster, who carried 19 times for 49 yards. The Bruins failed to counter, and that was the game.

Said UCLA quarterback Ryan McCann: “Their philosophy on defense was, make McCann beat us. I didn’t play very well today, so they won.”

Noble, but needlessly harsh. McCann missed several receivers in the second half, but his statistics compared satisfactorily to those of Oregon’s Joey Harrington. McCann completed 13 of 33 passes for 152 yards, with Harrington completing 15 of 34 for 153.

On their first play from scrimmage, the Bruins were cited for a false start. They got one first down in the first quarter, then were cited for three consecutive false starts. Wide receiver Jon Dubravac dropped a pass in the end zone. Wide receiver Freddie Mitchell dropped three passes, one of which bounced into the hands of Oregon cornerback Rashad Bauman. Drew Bennett, inserted to run the option, tossed a pitch well in front of Foster for a fumble.

And, with nothing else working for UCLA, the Ducks targeted Foster with impunity--with eight, sometimes nine defenders. Foster averaged 141 yards rushing in the Bruins’ first three games. He lost four yards on his first carry Saturday and finished nearly 100 yards below his season average. With McCann sacked four times, the Bruins rushed for minus-nine yards.

“Every other time the defense did the same thing--eight men in the box. We just didn’t get it done,” Foster said. “It’s not their scheme or anything.”

Said Bauman: “If you stop DeShaun Foster, then you stop the UCLA offense. If he isn’t running the ball, then their offense isn’t running.”

The Oregon offense sputtered often enough that kicker Josh Frankel attempted five field goals. He missed the first two--and punted from another field-goal formation--and so the Bruins gave thanks for what they considered a merciful halftime deficit of 10-0.

“I told our players that, as bad as we were playing, the score was close and we had a chance,” UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said.

The Bruins did not start a drive in Oregon territory. But, after stuffing the Ducks on three plays on Oregon’s first series of the second half, the Bruins started at the UCLA 46.

Two minutes later, Chris Griffith kicked a 46-yard field goal, and the Bruin deficit was 10-3. Four minutes later, Bennett returned and set up for another option. The Ducks bit, Bennett connected with Mitchell for a 54-yard touchdown pass play, and the score was tied at 10-10.

The crowd even shut up for a few minutes.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Bruins were penalized for using two players with the same number. Instead of a touchback, the Ducks got another kick and started the next drive at their 37, then got a field goal from Frankel. On UCLA’s next drive, what little momentum remained from the touchdown died quickly--Foster ran for no gain, McCann threw incomplete under pressure, McCann was sacked.

“We would miss one block, one read, one catch--it all just tumbled into a big snowball,” UCLA offensive lineman Brian Polak said. “That’s what killed us.”

Said Poli-Dixon: “It was frustrating to keep sputtering on offense. It was getting on my nerves. If we can’t throw and catch and execute simple plays, we’re not going to win.”

The Bruins can no longer hide their offensive inconsistency behind their national ranking. They came from behind to win their first three games, but not Saturday. They trailed Michigan at halftime, 13-3, in their previous game, but they won.

“Last week, we didn’t execute in the first half,” McCann said. “This week we never executed.”

Offensive coordinator Al Borges stood outside the locker room, shaking his head in disbelief. He knew the Ducks would play to stop Foster. Toledo knew it. The dude in the duck costume knew it. The Bruins couldn’t do a thing about it.

“I don’t know what explains performances like this,” Borges said. “Maybe that’s why I’m 44 and I look like I’m 54.”

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WEEK FIVE

No. 1 Cornhuskers

Pass the Test

Nebraska was held without a rushing touchdown for the first time since the 1998 Holiday Bowl, but five TD passes by Eric Couch did the trick in a 42-13 victory against Iowa. D9

Gamecocks Spring Another Surprise

Erik Kimrey replaced injured Phil Petty and threw a game-winning TD pass on his first play to send surprising South Carolina to a 23-19 victory against No. 25 Mississippi State. D9

Shoe Finally Falls on No. 7 Wisconsin

The Badgers were hoping to emerge from NCAA suspensions over a discount shoe scandal unscathed, but Northwestern stunned Wisconsin, 47-44. D10

Illini No Match for the Maze and Drew

Drew Henson replaced an ineffective John Navarre at quarterback late in the second quarter and helped No. 10 Michigan rally and defeat No. 19 Illinois, 35-31, at Champaign. D10

Smoker No Choker for No. 23 Michigan St.

Michigan State freshman quarterback Jeff Smoker threw a 68-yard touchdown pass with 1:48 left to give the Spartans a 27-21 victory over No. 16 Notre Dame. D10