Fun for the Road

Thunderstorms were forecast. And although not a drop fell from the sky, the weather report was on target.

Cory Paus was a one-man cloudburst, raining passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns in UCLA’s 38-24 victory Saturday night over Oklahoma State.

Lightning was provided by a Bruin defense that surrendered large chunks of yardage but had four interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Thunder came courtesy of the UCLA offensive line, which gave Paus plenty of time and answered a second-half Cowboy rally by opening gaping holes for running backs Akil Harris and Manuel White.

“It turned into a great night for football,” Bruin Coach Bob Toledo said. “It wasn’t too humid, it wasn’t too hot.”

And never is heard a discouraging word when UCLA faces a Big 12 opponent.

The victory was the fifth without a loss for Toledo against the Big 12 and it came on UCLA’s first visit to Oklahoma State. It was also the ninth consecutive nonconference victory for the No. 23 Bruins (2-0), who are 10-1 in September the last three years.

“We had some mistakes and too many penalties, but I’m pleased with the way our young team responded,” Toledo said. “[Oklahoma State] had energy early but we didn’t cave in.”

The Cowboys (1-2) scored the first 10 points--just as Colorado State did against UCLA last week--but the Bruins soon quieted the boisterous orange-clad crowd of 43,020 at Lewis Field.

Paus hit Craig Bragg on a fly pattern for a 41-yard touchdown and linebacker Spencer Havner returned an interception 23 yards for a score to put UCLA ahead to stay 10 minutes into the game.

The lead grew to 24-10 by halftime and was never less than 14 points thereafter.

Although Paus completed a modest 13 of 27 and had his first pass intercepted, he spread the ball around to seven receivers. And on long throws, the Illinois native, playing again in the Central time zone, was as in-sync as a Swiss watch, completing eight of more than 20 yards.

“Cory was putting the ball on the money,” receiver Tab Perry said. “We were making big plays.”

Paus, who sported a scruffy seven-day beard because he hasn’t shaved since cutting his chin against Colorado State, seemed more relieved than elated. He was happiest about not allowing the rough start to snowball into a poor performance.

“The interception was not a good way to start the game, and the crowd was so loud it was hard to hear, but I had family here and I’m glad we played well enough to win,” he said.

“Early on, it was like having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. One is saying ‘Here we go again’ and the other is saying ‘Keep your head up.’ ”

Ultimately, he kept his eyes focused downfield, hitting Mike Seidman for a 27-yard touchdown late in the second quarter and scrambling before finding Ryan Smith for a 25-yard touchdown and a 31-10 lead early in the third quarter.

Then after Oklahoma State responded with a seven-yard touchdown catch by Rashaun Woods, Paus directed an 80-yard drive that ate up the last five minutes of the third quarter.

He capped it with a three-yard touchdown run, lumbering into the corner of the end zone ahead of two defenders.

“When Cory did that I knew he was going well,” Perry said. “He was doing anything it took for us to win.”

Toledo is grudging in his praise of his quarterback. But after the fifth-year senior moved to No. 4 on UCLA’s career touchdown list with 35, the coach had kind words.

“He missed a few balls early but got back in the rhythm,” Toledo said. “He does more than people realize. He’s a veteran and he understands what’s going on.”

Despite the cushion, the work of the UCLA offense wasn’t done because Oklahoma State moved the ball consistently in the second half behind the passing of Josh Fields, who threw for 291 yards.

Woods made seven catches for 143 yards and consistently beat senior cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., who was called four times for pass interference. Woods, no slow ‘Poke, went over the 100-yard mark for the fourth consecutive game and has caught at least two passes in 21 games in a row.

Receiver John Lewis also had seven catches--for 113 yards--giving the Cowboys another threat.

“We made as many big plays as we could,” Woods said. “We thought we could come back and we gave it a good effort. But they kept coming too.”

UCLA countered late in the game by chewing up yardage on the ground. Harris finished with 83 yards, White had 67 and Bragg added 34 on two reverses.

“We saw holes in their defense and made adjustments at halftime,” Harris said. “The line did a tremendous job, just playing hard down the stretch.”

Oklahoma State wasn’t through quite yet, cutting the deficit to 38-24 with 12:53 to play and mounting a drive to the UCLA 39-yard line with about four minutes left.

That’s when lightning struck one more time for the Bruins, with sophomore Ben Emanuel notching his second interception.

Emanuel, the starting strong safety, moved to free safety in the second half because Matt Ware sprained his right ankle. Ware had an end-zone interception in the second quarter that stopped a Cowboy drive near the goal line.

“We had enough talent to play with these guys, but when you turn the ball over five times you change the outcome of the game,” Oklahoma State Coach Les Miles said.

Bruin linebackers Brandon Chillar (cramps) and Marcus Reese (ankle) also sat out most of the second half. Tim Warfield and Dennis Link filled in admirably, complementing Havner, who had eight tackles, two pass deflections and a forced fumble in addition to the interception.

“A lot of guys contributed, just like last week,” Seidman said. “We have to be happy with this victory.”

The Bruins showered and were on the bus headed to the airport by the time thundershowers hit. They had beaten the storm, beaten Oklahoma State, and were setting their sights on another Big 12 foe, Colorado.

“We have another game next week against a team that started the season with high expectations,” Emanuel said. “I think we’ll just keep getting better.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

KEYS TO THE GAME

Steve Henson’s keys to the game and how the Bruins matched up:

1. Contain the potent Cowboy passing game: The Bruins did not exactly stop quarterback Josh Fields, who passed for 291 yards, or receiver Rashaun Woods, who had seven catches and 143 yards. But they did intercept four passes, returning one for a touchdown.

2. Improve special teams play: Nate Fikse averaged 45.2 yards on five punts and put all but two kickoffs into the end zone. Only one of the punts was returned--for 25 yards in the fourth quarter. UCLA’s Tyler Ebell had two 16-yard punt returns and Tab Perry brought back a kickoff 34 yards. Chris Griffith made one of two field goals after missing two tries last week.

3. Establish a running attack: UCLA rushed for 189 yards, including 141 in the second half when the Bruins were protecting a lead.