Bruins Find Their Rhythm at Last

Turns out UCLA’s heart was not gone, merely misplaced for a month.

It beat in the passing combination of Scott McEwan and Craig Bragg, and in running backs Akil Harris and Manuel White.

It beat in senior safeties Marques Anderson and Jason Stephens, and in senior fullbacks Ed Ieremia-Stansbury and Matt Stanley.

It beat in senior defenders Kenyon Coleman and Robert Thomas. And it beat until Arizona State was finally beaten, 52-42, in an entertaining if sloppy regular-season finale in front of 45,271 Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

From McEwan, who passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns in his first start, to Thomas, who had two tackles for loss and one of six UCLA sacks in his 31st start, the Bruins made the most of a game that might have been the last for 22 seniors.

Then again, it might not.

UCLA (7-4) is a candidate for an at-large berth in either the Silicon Valley or Humanitarian Bowl. Bruin administrators are lukewarm because the athletic department would lose money by playing in either game. The bowls require teams to guarantee the sale of thousands of tickets, which UCLA would have difficulty doing because its fans traditionally do not travel to road games.

That also makes bowl officials uneasy about inviting UCLA when a team that would bring as many as 10,000 fans--read Michigan State--is available.

Even Bruin players were ambivalent earlier in the week. But after finding their heart, they want to wear the blue and gold one more time.

“I had a blast today and the rest of the team had a blast,” McEwan said. “We are hungry for another game.”

Added Anderson, who made five tackles despite playing with bruised ribs: “I would really appreciate strapping it up one more time.”

Can’t blame them. The victory snapped a devastating four-game losing streak that bumped the Bruins from No. 4 to unranked, and they finished a respectable 7-4.

The last time UCLA did not play in a bowl game after winning seven games was 1977, when there were far fewer postseason opportunities.

But chances are, rolling up 536 yards and leading from early in the first quarter against the lowly Sun Devils (4-7, 1-7 in the Pacific 10) was too little, too late.

Perhaps UCLA carries an unpleasant odor from the well-chronicled problems of tailback DeShaun Foster and quarterback Cory Paus.

Perhaps the Bruins’ 4-4 Pac-10 mark and sixth-place finish just don’t justify several more weeks of practice for a Dec. 31 appearance in a low-level bowl.

“I don’t know if we will play another game, but I know this team went 7-4 and won its last home game,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “They went out there and battled and had fun.”

Fun it was, sometimes resembling a raucous street pickup game.

There were trick plays, including a 19-yard gain on a fake field goal when holder Garrett Lepisto flipped a pass to Ieremia-Stansbury.

There were big hits on defense, including a monster pop on Sun Devil receiver Ryan Dennard with 14 seconds to play by Stephens, who had a team-high seven tackles despite not practicing the last two weeks because of a foot injury.

And, certainly, there were big plays by the Sun Devils, who scored on a 100-yard kickoff return and on two runs of more than 40 yards.

But for the first time since October, the Bruins answered with big plays of their own.

After Tom Pace dashed 42 yards for a Sun Devil score 1:57 into the game, Harris ran 50 yards to the three and scored two plays later. The sophomore, whose previous career high was 100 yards against Arizona State last season, rushed for 138 in 22 carries.

After the long Arizona State kickoff return cut UCLA’s advantage to 31-21 in the third quarter, McEwan completed five passes on a 67-yard drive that ended with White breaking tackles on a bruising nine-yard touchdown run.

White, a 240-pound freshman who shared time with Harris for the third week in a row in place of the suspended Foster, scored from eight yards in the first quarter on a similar run, churning through defenders.

McEwan, a fifth-year senior playing because Paus was relegated to third string for not informing Toledo about two alcohol-related driving incidents, was poised and accurate throughout.

He completed 20 of 36 passes and connected with Bragg on long scoring tosses of 62 yards in the second quarter and 39 yards in the third. He was sacked only once, protected by an offensive line that also opened holes for 237 rushing yards.

“The line was awesome,” McEwan said. “Nothing was going to bring us down today.

“I’m happy not only for the players, but for the coaches as well. This has been tough on them too.”

Toledo’s judgment was questioned when he allowed Paus to play against USC two days after the quarterback’s legal problems came to light. The coach was questioned for not knowing Foster drove a 2002 Ford Expedition for six weeks in violation of NCAA rules. And his play-calling had come under fire.

For one day, every decision he made turned out fine.

“Today we showed character, today we had bounce,” he said. “There was no fold in this team.”

UCLA led, 24-14, at halftime, and any doubt that the lead would diminish was erased the way it had been during the team’s 6-0 start--with third-quarter domination. Stanley scored from five yards early in the period, and after the touchdowns by White and Bragg the Bruins led, 45-21, increasing their scoring advantage in the third quarter to 117-24 this season.

It was enough to remind UCLA loyalists in the sparse crowd that at one time this was an excellent team.

Even now, it might be good enough for an encore. The Bruins hope so.

“Let’s do this one more time,” said Coleman, who had two sacks. “We’ve had a tough time, but that’s behind us. Let’s go bowling.”