UCLA Airs It Out in Victory

UCLA’s Drew Olson needed a big passing game and tight end Marcedes Lewis made sure that the quarterback had one against Arizona on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

Olson threw a career-high four touchdown passes, including three to Lewis, to keep the Bruins undefeated in Pacific 10 Conference play with a 37-17 victory in front of 57,638.

“This was probably [the best game] of the year for me in terms of my decision making and everything,” said Olson, who completed 17 of 25 passes for 234 yards with no interceptions. “I felt like I really did not force much.”

In winning their fourth game in a row, the Bruins, 4-1 and 2-0 in the Pac-10, turned to Olson on a day when their celebrated rushing attack was grounded by Arizona (1-4, 0-2).

Sophomore Maurice Drew, who was fourth in the nation with a 167.25 yards-per-game average before the game, was pretty much a non-factor with 22 yards in 11 carries. Senior Manuel White had 62 yards in 17 carries but, for the most part, the Bruins’ ground game struggled with only 114 yards, nearly 160 yards short of their average.

“Offensively, we had our lowest production in terms of rushing, but our passing game came alive,” Coach Karl Dorrell said. “It was good to see Drew have an excellent day. Marcedes had an excellent day. They did a nice job of really generating offense through the air.”

The main target for the Bruins was the 6-foot-6 Lewis, who matched a career high with six catches for 99 yards.

“He made some unbelievable plays,” Coach Mike Stoops said of Lewis, who had only nine catches for 115 yards over the first four games. “I love his athletic ability at tight end and his range. He went up a couple of times when we were all over him and he made some great catches. He deserves a lot of credit, he single-handedly got us tonight.”

Added Dorrell: “They play an eight-man front defensively, which is hard to run the ball against. But they had single coverage on Lewis with the corner and with his size and athleticism, he was able to produce.”

UCLA’s special teams made sure that Olson and Lewis worked with an early lead when redshirt freshman Chris Horton blocked Danny Baughner’s punt out of the end zone for a safety on the Wildcats’ first possession.

The Bruins took a 9-0 lead when Olson led a six-play, 71-yard drive the first time they touched the ball.

Olson’s best plays in the drive came on two screen passes, including a nifty 28-yard touchdown pass to fullback Michael Pitre. In catching only his third pass this season, Pitre ran behind a great block made by guard Steven Vieira to score his the first touchdown of his career with 11:05 left in the first quarter.

“We knew that we were going to screen them because they are a zone team that plays pretty aggressive,” said Olson, who also completed a 31-yard screen pass to Drew on UCLA’s first scoring drive. “Screens normally work against a team like that, but the success we had on those first two was pretty unbelievable.”

Arizona, which scored its first points on a 41-yard field goal by Nick Folk in the first quarter, had success running the ball most of the game, ending up with 258 yards on the ground.

But sophomore Kris Heavner had problems completing passes downfield for the Wildcats, finishing 13 of 24 for only 93 yards with one interception.

“They were really running the ball a lot and we knew that eventually they would have to come back with the pass,” said cornerback Marcus Cassell, who had four tackles and forced a fumble. “We were ready for them.”

Once the Bruins jumped ahead, they did not let up. Lewis caught his first touchdown pass, a juggling grab in the back of the end zone, early in the second quarter to give UCLA a 16-3 lead.

Lewis’ second touchdown catch was highlight material. With UCLA driving late in the half, Lewis caught a pass over the middle and ran into safety Darrell Brooks inside the Wildcat 10-yard line.

But Lewis did not go down and kept his feet going long enough to power his way into the end zone with the help of several UCLA blockers, led by sophomore Robert Chai. Lewis’ 12-yard touchdown capped an 11-play, 95-yard drive and gave the Bruins a 23-3 lead at intermission, their largest halftime lead since Sept. 28, 2002, against San Diego State.

“The first dude came up and hit me,” Lewis said, “but I saw the end zone and said, ‘No, I’m not going down.’ I picked the hole, put myself in there and started driving and pushing. The rest is history.”

In the second half, Arizona tried to make a game of it, but UCLA’s lead was too large to overcome. The Wildcats scored touchdowns the two times they had possession in the third quarter on short runs by Chris Henry but they could never get closer than 13 points.

The Bruins put the game away with two touchdowns in the second half. Lewis caught his third touchdown pass -- in the third quarter -- and freshman Chris Markey scored the first touchdown of his career on a two-yard fourth-down run late in the final quarter.

“I’m happy with this win,” said Dorrell, whose next two games are at California and Arizona State. “It showed a lot of character, and I’m pleased with how we found a way to win a football game. And that’s hard to do. I’ll take an ugly win any day, compared to losing ugly.”