CAN'T BEAT THIS; UCLA FINDS RIGHT CHEMISTRY TO CLINCH AT LEAST ROSE BERTH : UCLA 36, WASHINGTON 24.Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer The defense arrived, the special teams surprised, and now the Rose Bowl is their consolation prize consolation prize n. A prize given to a competitor who loses or does not win the first prize. consolation prize Noun something given to console the loser of a game . The UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I-A as part of the Pacific Ten Conference. Athletic alumni Jackie Robinson, Rafer Johnson, Yang Chuan-kwang (C.K. clinched the Pacific-10 championship Saturday with their most complete game in five weeks - a 36-24 victory over Washington, before 72,391 at Husky Stadium
, that secured a berth in the Rose Bowl regardless of what happens against USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. and Miami. ``The challenge was, `Let's win this week, let's get the Rose Bowl this week,' '' UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX coach Bob Toledo Bob Toledo (born March 4, 1946, in San Jose, California) is an American football coach, recently hired as head coach at Tulane University. He is best-known as the thirteenth head coach at UCLA. said. ``Nobody can take it away from us at this point.'' After winning their 19th consecutive game, the Bruins (9-0, 7-0) celebrated briefly with Rose Bowl representative Mel Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. and a few thousand fans nestled in the southwest stands, then turned their gaze to the Trojans and Hurricanes. ``We're not even emotionally high,'' guard Andy Meyers said. ``I can see sobriety in some of the guys. We haven't finished our business. There are no roses on this trip. ``In the showers, guys were already talking about USC.'' For the first time in weeks, the (Cade) McNown and (Danny) Farmer Show stepped off center stage, leaving behind several unlikely contributors. The defense held Washington to 17 points when it mattered - the Huskies scored a meaningless touchdown with 45 seconds left - as beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. coordinator Nick Aliotti charged through the locker room wearing a towel and a smile. Chris Sailer Sail´er n. 1. A sailor. 2. A ship or other vessel; - with qualifying words descriptive of speed or manner of sailing; as, a heavy sailer; a fast sailer s>. kicked five field goals for the first time in his career, including a 47-yarder, his longest of the season. Tailback DeShaun Foster DeShaun Xavier Foster (born January 10, 1980 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is an American football running back who plays for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. , his sprained knee finally healed, rushed for 73 yards. And punt returner Punt returner (PR) is a position on special teams in American football. Description The role of a punt returner is to catch the ball after it is punted and to give his team good field position (or a touchdown if possible) by returning it. Ryan Roques Roques is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:
If anything, the defense and special teams carried the day, as the offense scored touchdowns on two of eight trips inside Washington's 35. But when they needed it most - ie: when Washington closed to 26-17 at the end of the third quarter - the Bruins responded with their most impressive possession of the game. After a first-down pass, they ran on eight consecutive plays, covering 74 yards and grabbing a 33-17 lead on Foster's 1-yard run. Not surprisingly, UCLA handed its fate to the offensive line. In the first half, the Bruins had 17 passes and 16 runs. In the second, they had eight passes and 30 runs (for 135 yards). What's more, the line held Washington's No. 1-ranked pass rush - No. 1 in the nation - without a sack. ``I came in at halftime and talked to Bob and we agreed we needed to run the football,'' offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator typically refers to the coach on a football team in the National Football League or College football who is in charge of the offense. This position aids the head coach by designing and scripting plays, delegating work to offensive position coaches during Al Borges said. ``We got such a great push on the line of scrimmage line of scrimmage n. pl. lines of scrimmage Football Either of two imaginary lines extending across the field parallel to the goal line at the ends of the ball as it rests prior to being snapped and at which each team lines up for , it didn't make sense to do anything else.'' But this performance was a week, not a half, in the making. It began Monday, when Toledo both pounced on Aliotti and pronounced this a title game - a ``ring game.'' Actually, it wasn't. The Bruins needed to beat either Washington or USC for the Pac-10 crown, and putting disproportionate weight on Washington could have backfired with a loss. But after 18 consecutive wins and a soft midseason schedule, Toledo guessed (correctly) that a ring game would energize en·er·gize v. en·er·gized, en·er·giz·ing, en·er·giz·es v.tr. 1. To give energy to; activate or invigorate: "His childhood his players. ``That triggered something,'' receiver Brian Poli-Dixon said. ``We seem to get up for the big games. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what it is, but he put a lot of emphasis on this. He turned it into a big game. That's what we needed.'' Toledo also instructed Aliotti to simplify the complicated defense. He halted the last-second substitutions and eliminated line calls, when plays and assignments are changed at the line of scrimmage. The alterations - which included starting Marques Marques may refer to:
adj. 1. Of, relating to, or affected with coma. 2. Marked by lethargy; torpid. comatose (kō´m running game gained 248 yards, but the Huskies had just two plays of 25 yards or more. Last week, by contrast, Oregon State had five. ``We've been tense the last few weeks, not having fun,'' end Travor Turner said. ``But we got back to the old UCLA today, the UCLA of last year. We play better when we're relaxed and just reacting.'' The preparation concluded Friday night at the team meeting, when video coordinator Ken Norris showed highlights from the first eight games. When it ended, Toledo issued his final challenge. ``I told them if they wanted to get on the highlight film when the season's over,'' he said, ``then they had to make big plays today.'' UCLA vs. WASHINGTON: A CLOSER LOOK THE HERO UCLA punt returner Ryan Roques, whose 77-yard return before halftime gave the Bruins a 20-10 lead. THE GOAT Washington quarterback Brock Huard, whose fourth-quarter interception at the UCLA 6 ended the Huskies' chance for victory. STAT OF THE GAME Roques had 211 return yards, including the 77-yard punt return and an 81-yard kickoff return. QUOTE OF THE GAME ``That was insane what Ryan was doing out there.'' - UCLA receiver Brian Poli-Dixon NOTEBOOK: Sailer kicks career-best 5 field goals Yes, he's healthy - or healthier. But what Chris Sailer really needed was a chance. UCLA's red zone offense sputtered against Washington for the first time this season, and Sailer was there to lend a foot. He made a career-high five field goals - from 27, 25, 25, 47 and 29 yards - equaling his total from the previous seven games. ``It was fun to contribute,'' said Sailer, a senior from Burbank. ``It's nice to finally do the things I knew I could do all along.'' Sailer injured his right groin in late September and was unable to kick in practice for a month. When Saturdays arrived, he had no strength, no trajectory and no rhythm. With rest and treatment, the leg slowly healed, and for the past two weeks he has kicked during practice. As his strength returned, so did his trajectory and distance. ``Kicking in practice is a huge benefit,'' he said. ``It allowed me to get my rhythm back (during games). This is definitely the best I've felt, and I'm getting better week by week. I'm almost 100 percent.'' Still running: UCLA's defense, while improved, nevertheless had trouble stopping the previously ineffective Washington running game. The Huskies not only had their first 100-yard game by a tailback - they had two. Willie Hurst rushed for 114 yards and Braxton Cleman rushed for 100. ``The credit goes to the blockers for the push they had,'' Huskies coach Jim Lambright said. ``It was obvious at times when we would gain two, three or four yards just by the push of our line.'' Alone at the top: UCLA quarterback Cade McNown broke Steve Stenstrom's Pacific-10 record for total career offense when he completed a 12-yard, third-quarter pass to receiver Brad Melsby. McNown, who has 10,231 total yards, played a solid, mistake-free game but did not dominate like he did last week at Oregon State. Saturday, he completed 12 of 24 passes for 233 yards. Welcome back: Linebacker Mike Wiley recorded two tackles in his first game in two months and gave outside linebacker Santi Hall some much-needed rest. ``I played about 25 plays, which is a lot considering how long I've been out,'' said Wiley, who was sidelined with a bad back and sprained ankle. Please leave: UCLA coach Bob Toledo offered to help fund Washington quarterback Brock Huard's early departure to the NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga . Huard, a fourth-year junior, is considering leaving early. ``I sure hope he goes out,'' Toledo joked. ``I'll chip in $1,000. He needs to go to the NFL now.'' Change of speed: Washington used a no-huddle offense to move 80 yards in 10 plays for its first touchdown, a 23-yard run by Cleman. ``The reason we had trouble was people were moving closer to the sideline to get the call, and we weren't ready for the play,'' safety Larry Atkins said. ``Once we lined up on our man and got the calls from our spots, it wasn't a problem.'' - Jon Wilner CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) UCLA receiver Danny Farmer is tackled by Washington's J.D. Smith after hauling down a pass from quarterback Cade McNown in the first half of the Bruins' 36-24 victory. Rick Giase/Associated Press (2) Chris Sailer kicks one of his five field goals in the first quarter for the Bruins. Elaine Thompson/Associated Press (3) Jermaine Lewis dodges Washington's Ryan Julian on his way to scoring UCLA's first touchdown. John Froschauer/Associated Press (4) SAILER BOX: UCLA vs. WASHINGTON: A CLOSER LOOK (see text) |
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