Bruins Add a Finishing Touch

LAS VEGAS -- A spin by punt returner Craig Bragg here, a ricochet to safety Jarrad Page there, and Ed Kezirian retires with the best winning percentage among UCLA coaches.

One game as interim coach filling the breach between the departure of Bob Toledo and arrival of Karl Dorrell.

One 27-13 victory over New Mexico on Wednesday in the Las Vegas Bowl.

One tub of ice water dumped on his head.

Kezirian never did break out the trademark white towel he normally waves, although he could have used it to wipe his soaking face.

“I’ve always wanted to be the richest man in Las Vegas,” he said. “Today, I am.”

Less fortunate are the nine assistants who probably coached their last game at UCLA, which finished 8-5 despite playing 22 freshmen and losing senior quarterback Cory Paus to a season-ending injury in the seventh game.

For about three hours the assistants set aside the anxiety and uncertainty to do what they do best -- coach a football game.

“[The players] didn’t have to listen to us, but they were fun to coach today,” defensive coordinator Phil Snow said. “On the sideline, nobody would have known there was no head coach.”

And looking at the score, nobody would have known the UCLA offense was so impotent. Bruin defense and special teams made the big plays, from Bragg’s 74-yard scoring punt return to Page’s 29-yard scoring interception return to Nate Fikse’s two field goals and booming punts.

UCLA forced three turnovers and held New Mexico (7-7) to 92 yards rushing -- less than half its average.

“We knew our offense would take time to get going, and put the pressure on [the defense],” said linebacker Brandon Chillar, who recovered two fumbles and blocked an extra-point attempt. Freshman quarterbacks Drew Olson and Matt Moore had difficulty deciphering New Mexico’s 3-3-5 defense, and UCLA managed only 71 total yards in a 6-6 first half.

Lobo Coach Rocky Long, a former UCLA defensive coordinator, brought the quirky defense to Albuquerque five years ago in addition to a gimmick-filled offense.

He drained his playbook like Santa Claus emptying toys from a sack, but nothing worked until the Bruins went to a prevent defense late in the fourth quarter. Freshman tailback DonTrell Moore entered with 1,117 yards but added only 17 to the total in 14 carries.

“We were rusty today,” Long said. “DonTrell got nicked early and never really got going. And they really played well on defense.”

A fumble by Moore on his first carry set up a 49-yard field goal by Fikse less than five minutes into the game.

But New Mexico answered on a 55-yard interception return by Desmar Black.

Olson, who jammed his right thumb and played only the first quarter, expected Bragg to run an out pattern and when the receiver went deep, the pass went right to Black.

Katie Hnida, the Lobos’ third-string kicker, tried the extra-point kick, becoming the first woman to appear in a Division I-A game. But the kick was low and Chillar blocked it.

In the second quarter, Moore replaced Olson and directed a 15-play, 57-yard drive that ended in a 39-yard field goal by Fikse.

“We were going to keep pounding on the rock,” Kezirian said. “We were waiting for the opportunity to create turnovers. Our patience might have seemed like we were lethargic, but it paid off.”

Bragg provided a boost early in the third quarter with his scoring punt return that put UCLA ahead, 13-6. He was hit hard in the middle of the field, spun, raced to the sideline and burst past the coverage so quickly he raised a celebratory finger at the 30-yard line.

“We talked at halftime about making something happen and I took it upon myself to make a big play,” he said.

Bruin tailback Tyler Ebell, who was held to 17 yards rushing in the first half, began to find holes in the third quarter, but holding penalties thwarted two consecutive drives.

It was up to the defense to secure the victory. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter a pass bounced off the back of Lobo tight end Zach Cresap and into the hands of Page, who raced for a touchdown.

“The momentum switched,” Page said. “Their crowd was talking, and when I scored our crowd erupted.”

It might have seemed that way because Page’s touchdown came directly in front of the small contingent of UCLA fans that occupied one corner of Sam Boyd Stadium. The game drew only 22,584, though there were 30,324 tickets sold.

The Bruins didn’t care about the empty seats. They wanted to erase the memories of landslide losses to USC and Washington State in their last two regular-season games, and they did so.

UCLA increased its victory total three years in a row, from four to six to seven to eight, and the modest improvement was not lost on a plucky group of seniors who never beat USC, never won a championship, but never stopped playing hard.

“It’s not such a big bowl game but it means a lot to win for our missing head coach [Toledo] and for coach Snow,” said linebacker Marcus Reese, who had eight tackles, including three for losses.

“We had to play hard for our coaches.”

In two years, Snow transformed the UCLA defense from a laughingstock to the team’s strength. He figures that won’t be enough for him to keep his job. So like the veteran players, he just wanted his last Bruin memory to be one of triumph.

“This was for the seniors, we are all going out together,” he said. “No matter where we see each other, we can always talk about [this game.]”

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UCLA Coaching Records

*--* COACH YEARS W L T PCT Fred W. Cozens 1919 2 6 0 250 Harry Trotter 1920-1922 2 13 1 156 James Cline 1923-1924 2 10 3 233 William H. Spaulding 1925-1938 72 51 8 580 Edwin C. “Babe” Horrell 1939-1944 24 31 6 443 Bert LaBrucherie 1945-1948 23 16 0 590 Henry R. “Red” Sanders 1949-1957 66 19 1 773 George W. Dickerson 1958 1 2 0 333 William F. “Bill” Barnes 1958-1964 31 34 3 478 Tommy Prothro 1965-1970 41 18 3 685 Pepper Rodgers 1971-1973 19 12 1 609 Dick Vermeil 1974-1975 15 5 3 717 Terry Donahue 1976-1995 151 74 8 665 Bob Toledo 1996-2002 49 32 0 605 Ed Kezirian 2002 1 0 0 1.000 TOTALS 499 323 37 607

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