UCLA’s Loss to Stanford Is Especially Frustrating

So much for the Rose Bowl. And the Holiday Bowl ... and the Sun Bowl

UCLA’s visions of grandeur faded amid a haze of special-teams mistakes and turnovers Saturday, and the Bruins’ chances of winning the Pacific 10 Conference championship were more than mildly damaged with Stanford’s 21-14 upset win before 44,950 in Stanford Stadium.

Luke Powell, Stanford’s gnat of a 5-foot-8, 175-pound receiver, snapped a 7-7 tie with a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter, and the Cardinal, winless in its first four conference games, took advantage of a fluke turnover on a third-quarter punt to set up the decisive touchdown and end UCLA’s five-game winning streak.

A blitz-happy Stanford defense that gave up an average of 38 points in the previous four games and ranked last in the conference with 11 sacks -- total -- sacked UCLA quarterback Matt Moore eight times and stopped backup quarterback Drew Olson on a fourth-and-one play from the Bruin 35-yard line with 42 seconds left, handing UCLA its first conference loss.

“I’m sick from coming here, I don’t like this place,” UCLA offensive guard Eyoseph Efseaff said, his hands trembling and voice cracking as he tried to come to grips with a loss that was painfully reminiscent of the Bruins’ 2001 trip to Palo Alto, when a 6-0 UCLA team with national championship aspirations was upset by the Cardinal, 38-28.

“It’s the same feeling we had here two years ago. We’ve been on a roll each time we came here and lost.... I’m heartbroken. I’m upset. We should have won. But I’ve got to give Stanford credit. They outplayed us.”

The Bruins spoke bravely afterward of “not folding after one loss” and going out next week and “running the table,” but one look at the rest of UCLA’s schedule, and the Bruins might want to duck under a table.

UCLA, 6-3 overall and 4-1 in Pac-10, is still tied for first place with USC and Washington State, but those standings are deceiving. The less demanding part of the Bruin schedule is behind them; the real tests lie ahead: at Washington State, home to Oregon and at USC.

If UCLA can’t beat the last-place team in the Pac-10, how are the Bruins, who were eking by on the strength of their big-play defense and a remarkable string of good fortune, going to compete with the class teams of the conference? Three more losses, and UCLA finishes 6-6, 4-4 in the Pac-10 and is playing in a lower-echelon bowl game, or no bowl game at all.

“We had a great opportunity to separate ourselves from the rest of the conference, and now we let everybody else back in,” UCLA flanker Ryan Smith said. “I knew if we kept playing the way we have offensively, we couldn’t keep putting it on our defense to win games for us. And two huge special teams plays went against us today. That can’t happen in a game like this.”

The first happened late in the second quarter, when Powell fielded a punt at the Stanford 10, bolted virtually untouched up the middle and sidestepped UCLA punter Chris Kluwe near midfield en route to a 90-yard return, which gave the Cardinal a 14-7 lead and stirred memories of Oklahoma’s Antonio Perkins, who returned three punts for touchdowns against UCLA on Sept. 20.

The second came late in the third quarter, when a weak effort by Stanford punter Eric Johnson bounced well in front of Bruin return man Craig Bragg, who had no choice but to let the ball roll toward the UCLA 10-yard line.

But the ball took a funny hop toward Bruin special teams player Marcus Cassel, who was blocking a Stanford player and had his back to the play. The ball nicked off Cassel’s calf, and Marcus McCutcheon recovered for Stanford at the UCLA eight.

Three plays later, Cardinal quarterback Chris Lewis, who threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Matt Traverso in the second quarter, scrambled for a one-yard touchdown run and a 21-7 lead with one second left in the third.

In between those two Stanford scores came two critical Bruin turnovers. Down 14-7, Bragg’s 64-yard punt return gave the Bruins the ball at the Cardinal 27.

Three plays later, from the 15, UCLA tailback Maurice Drew went off left tackle. But as he spun near the line, the ball popped out of Drew’s hands -- it appeared to be knocked from behind by UCLA pulling guard Paul Mociler -- and right into the arms of Stanford safety Oshiomogho Atogwe with 10:55 left in the third quarter.

On UCLA’s next possession, Moore, from the Cardinal 49-yard line, threw to Bragg on a quick slant pattern. But the pass was low and away, the ball tipped off Bragg’s hands and to Stanford safety Trevor Hooper, who made the interception with 6:31 left in the third.

For the next 11 minutes, UCLA failed miserably in its attempt to neutralize Stanford’s blitz -- Moore was sacked four times on UCLA’s next three possessions.

“They were blitzing on every single play,” Efseaff said. “They had nothing to lose. They were at the bottom of the Pac-10, and it was like they said, ‘ ... We’re bringing the house on every play.’ And we couldn’t stop it.”

UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell pulled the ineffective Moore in favor of Olson, who led a seven-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with Drew’s two-yard touchdown run with 5:28 left, but, like erstwhile Boston Red Sox Manager Grady Little against the New York Yankees in the playoffs, Dorrell went to his bullpen too late.

Olson was stopped on fourth down, the Bruins ran out of time, and Stanford held on for its third consecutive home victory over UCLA since 1999.

Said Smith: “I never want to come back here again.”