[0] BRUINS CLAW ANOTHER WIN UCLA RALLIES TO BEAT SUN DEVILS UCLA 38, ARIZONA ST. 31.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

PASADENA - UCLA hasn't found a hole it couldn't dig itself out of this season, but this is getting ridiculous. What's next, the Grand Canyon?

The Bruins, who've been behind in every game they've played, trailed Arizona State by three touchdowns, were without tailback DeShaun Foster, who suffered a broken right hand, and were about to kiss their Rose Bowl hopes goodbye before the calendar turned to October.

But tailbacks Jermaine Lewis and Akil Harris came off the far end of the bench, the Bruins started blocking and tackling better they forged a 38-31 victory in the fourth quarter Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.

The game, which looked more like the Arena League than the Pac-10, had so much action it was easy to forget the Bruins' comeback came with Cory Paus at quarterback.

The sophomore, who suffered a separated right throwing shoulder on the first play of the season opener, threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to Freddie Mitchell, both putting the Bruins ahead.

The other members of the coming-out party were Lewis, who rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries through three quarters, exceeding his season yardage total and nearly matching his total in carries.

Harris, who had one carry against Fresno State for 1 yard, had six carries for 49 yards and two touchdowns through three quarters against ASU.

Trying to bring the Sun Devils back was the Bruins' nemesis Griffin Goodman, who rallied them to a last-second 28-27 win over UCLA. Goodman, who began the week as the No. 3 quarterback, replaced injured starter Ryan Kealy and led ASU to 10 points in his first two series.

That a comeback would be necessary seemed impossible early.

ASU jumped to a 21-0 lead, taking advantage of UCLA turnovers (four in the first half) and making big plays of their own.

Alfred Williams forced and recovered a fumble with a hit on UCLA tailback DeShaun Foster at the UCLA 31-yard line. Kealy escaped blitzing linebacker Robert Thomas and with Thomas about to grab him by the heels, lofted a third-and-15 pass to Richard Williams for a 20-yard gain.

Two plays later, Mike Williams, a first-year freshman from Lakewood Mayfair, took a pitch, got a good lead block from fullback Stephen Trejo and raced 39 yards untouched for a touchdown.

Arizona State's defense forced a quick punt and the Sun Devils went to work in the air. Kealy hit tight end Todd Heap for 34 yards and on the next play found Donnie O'Neal, who ran past cornerback Jason Bell for 38 yards to the UCLA 5-yard line.

On third-and-goal, Bell was beaten again, this time on a quick slant by Richard Williams, who caught Kealy's pass for a 2-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 6:09 left in the first quarter.

When UCLA's ensuing drive stalled, it ran a fake punt on fourth-and-22 from the ASU 47. But Nate Fikse's pass didn't reach Jerry Owens and it's unlikely he would have made the first down anyway.

The Sun Devils took advantage of the good field position. Kealy hit Heap for 16 yards to give ASU a fourth-and-1 from the UCLA 5. Mike Williams ran through a huge hole on the left side and scored on the play, putting the Sun Devils ahead 21-0 with 11:54 left in the second quarter.

After ASU punter Nick Murphy pinned them at their own 5-yard line, they drove 95 yards in seven plays, culminating on Harris' 23-yard touchdown run. Paus kept the drive alive by hitting Poli-Dixon for 17 yards to convert a third-and-11 at the UCLA 4.

Lewis took the ball on the first play of the second half and burst through a huge hole up the middle for a 57-yard touchdown, the longest of his career. Suddenly, despite their worst half of the season, the Bruins trailed only 21-14.

They evened it less than five minutes later.

Joe Hunter picked off Kealy's underthrown pass at the UCLA 21 and four plays later, Harris ran 7 yards up the middle for the tying touchdown with 10:28 left in the third quarter. The drive was aided by a pass interference call on Kenny Williams, who was face-guarding Freddie Mitchell.

The Bruins took a 28-21 lead on their next drive when Paus hit Freddie Mitchell on an 8-yard scoring pass on third-and-goal with 4:31 left. The drive was kept alive when Tommie Townsend was called for spearing Paus after he was sacked on third down.

Now it was the Sun Devils turn to answer. Kealy left with a sprained right knee midway through the third period, but Goodman hit Richard Williams, who got behind Ricky Manning, on a 60-yard bomb to even the score, 28-28, with 4:08 left in the third quarter.

UCLA recaptured the lead, 35-28, on Paus' 80-yard bomb to Mitchell with 1:24 left in the third period. ASU cut the lead to 35-31 on Mike Barth's 49-yard field goal with 14:05 to play, though it lost a touchdown when Richard Williams dropped a pass in the end zone.

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2 photos

Photo: (1) DeShaun Goster runs for a first down during UCLA's 38-31 victory against Arizona State on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

(2) Sean Phillips, left, sacks Arizona State quarterback Ryan Kealy during UCLA's 38-31 victory.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer