Another Perfect Finish for UCLA

Just when it looked as if Washington State was about to close the curtain on No. 12 UCLA’s perfect season, the Bruins turned to Drew Olson and the senior quarterback led his team to an improbable come-from-behind victory for the third consecutive game.

Olson threw for a career-best 338 yards and tied a school record with five touchdown passes in a 44-41 overtime victory over the Cougars on Saturday afternoon at Martin Stadium.

Running back Maurice Drew capped the Bruin comeback with a one-yard touchdown run in the first extra period, but it was Olson who led UCLA back from deficits of 21-0, 28-7 and 38-21 to improve the Bruins to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

“Drew kept telling us that he wasn’t going to let us down,” tight end Marcedes Lewis said about Olson, who completed 31 of 43 passes and tied Cade McNown’s school record for touchdown passes in a game.

“Throughout the whole game he kept telling us that we’re not losing this game. When you have somebody like that, your leader, telling you that you’re going to win, and week in and week out he keeps elevating his game to a different level, what more can you say?”

For the Bruins, rallying from a 21-point deficit tied a school record achieved twice before, and their 17-point rally matched the record for a fourth-quarter comeback.

For the Cougars, who had defeated the Bruins four times in a row, it was a tough way to lose to UCLA in Pullman for the first time since 1993.

“I think we came out ready to play,” said Washington State Coach Bill Doba, whose team dropped to 3-3 and 0-3. “We moved the ball offensively and held up fairly well defensively, but as the game wore on we couldn’t stop anybody.

“Credit to them, they have been scoring points and they did it to us.”

For UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell, comeback victories are getting to be a habit after watching the Bruins erase 10- and 12-point fourth-quarter deficits against Washington and California in their previous two games.

“We’ve been a very good adjustment team in the second half,” he said. “We got [the score] close in the third quarter and then [the Cougars’ lead] kind of went out there again in the fourth quarter....

“There’s a lot of heart on this football team and a lot of fortitude. The guys just believe they can win all of the time.”

The Bruins’ late heroics were needed because they could not stop the Cougars’ Jerome Harrison, who ran for a career-high 260 yards, including 182 and two touchdowns in the first half.

Harrison, who gained 247 yards rushing against UCLA last year, scored on a 57-yard run in his third carry and had a 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Washington State a 28-7 lead.

“When a game starts, you really don’t know what you’re going to see from an offense,” UCLA defensive tackle Kenneth Lombard said. “We had trouble because they ran stuff at us, with cut blocks that we don’t see in practice.

“And [Harrison] is the type of running back who can give you fits. He is so patient. There were times when he had the ball when you just knew he had to be somewhere else and then, boom, there he goes.”

After Harrison’s second touchdown, the Bruins put together an 80-yard drive before halftime and cut Washington State’s lead on a four-yard touchdown pass from Olson to Lewis.

Washington State led, 28-14, and had outgained the Bruins, 362-223, in total yards over the first two quarters. During halftime, UCLA players received an earful from not only Dorrell and his coaching staff but also one another.

“We knew that in the first half we weren’t executing on defense or on offense,” said Drew, who did not return a punt but finished with 187 all-purpose yards, including 109 on the ground.

Said defensive end/linebacker Bruce Davis: “Obviously, the whole coaching staff had a lot of things to say to us and it wasn’t very pleasant.”

UCLA started strong in the second half, cutting the Cougar lead to 28-21 when Drew turned a short pass into a 45-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. But Washington State answered with 10 points to take a 38-21 lead into the fourth.

UCLA, which has outscored opponents in the fourth quarter, 88-17, this season, got back into the game when Lewis caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Olson and Justin Medlock made a 36-yard field goal to close within, 38-31.

UCLA’s defense, which struggled to make key stops for the first three quarters, stepped up and forced Washington State into three consecutive punts in the fourth quarter.

With 4:52 left, UCLA began its final drive in regulation from its four-yard line, and the Bruins said they did not have any doubt that they would score.

“We already knew that we were going to score,” said Lewis, who caught two passes for 45 yards in the game-tying drive. “We’re resilient. Too much heart on this team.”

Olson tied the score at 38-38 when he completed a nine-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Everett with 44 seconds left.

“I just used my body to pull it in,” said Everett, who finished with five catches for 39 yards.

In overtime, Washington State had the ball first but again, the Bruin defense was up to the challenge, forcing the Cougars to kick a 37-yard field goal by Loren Langley.

Then it was UCLA’s turn and the comeback was complete after five consecutive runs, including four by Drew, who scored the game-winner.