Moore’s Return Epitomizes Exit

It took fewer than four minutes Saturday evening for Matt Moore to remind UCLA fans how thrilling -- and exasperating -- it could be to have the 6-foot-4, 191-pounder as your quarterback.

After being serenaded by Bruin students’ chants of “We don’t want you!” during pregame warmups, Moore guided Oregon State on a four-play, 85-yard drive that seemed as if it could have been sustained all the way to downtown L.A. if necessary.

Moore completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Mike Hass, who made a nifty catch between two Bruin defenders, and Oregon State had a 7-0 lead.

Then came a tug-at-your-hair moment also reminiscent of Moore’s two turbulent seasons with the Bruins. He forced a pass into zone coverage that UCLA linebacker Spencer Havner intercepted and returned to the Beaver 20-yard line.

The Bruins converted the turnover into a field goal and were on their way to a 51-28 victory at the Rose Bowl behind an improved defense and the stellar play of quarterback Drew Olson, who threw a school-record six touchdown passes.

Olson had beat out Moore as UCLA’s starter late in the 2003 season, prompting Moore to transfer.

Olson was better Saturday, completing 16 of 24 passes for 262 yards, but Moore also impressed with the exception of two passes that were intercepted. Moore completed 14 of 25 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns.

“It was nice to be back here and playing again,” said Moore, who exchanged pleasantries with Olson and UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell after the game. “It wasn’t really a big deal. It was just playing a football game.”

Did the students’ taunts jar him?

“I heard all that stuff, but that’s the students’ job. That’s college football,” Moore said. “You gotta love it. It didn’t surprise me.”

Nothing Moore did surprised the Bruins, either.

“We knew how strong his arm was, but we also knew he would try to force the ball against some zone [coverages],” UCLA defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said. “We tried to pressure him a little bit.”

Bruin strong safety Jarrad Page credited the defensive line with pressuring Moore and forcing him to rush many of his passes. That appeared to be the case on Havner’s interception.

“We had good pressure up front and Matt kind of threw across his body a little bit and I happened to be there,” said Havner, who returned the interception 10 yards.

Moore also had his moments. He made big plays on each of Oregon State’s three fourth-down conversions, completing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Hass in the second quarter, a 23-yard pass to Yvenson Bernard in the third and a 20-yard pass to Jason Vandiver in the fourth. Kerr called the Bruins’ fourth-down defense “galling.”

“I thought he made a lot of tough plays,” Beaver Coach Mike Riley said of Moore. “That one [interception] gave them three points, but besides that I thought he led our team and played well.”

The Bruin defense stifled Moore for most of the fourth quarter, with two Oregon State drives ending in turnovers.

“It’s always fun to play against someone you know, and we got after him pretty good,” linebacker Justin London said. “We really felt like we had to do a good job for Drew and those guys who knew him well.”