MIRACLE WORKERS BRUINS RALLY FROM 21-POINT DEFICIT UCLA 30, STANFORD 27.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer STANFORD - Even for a team that says its faith and belief never wavers, doubt crept in for some. For a program that spent a decade being ridiculed because its heart was the opposite of its wealth of talent, the payback is sweet. And for a 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 team that has made fourth-quarter comebacks its thing, this one left many of the Bruins' jaws dangling on the Stanford Stadium History Built partly in competition with the University of California, Berkeley to see who could build a football stadium first, Stanford Stadium was built in four months and opened its gates on November 19, 1921. turf. UCLA rallied from a 21-point deficit with three touchdowns in the final 8:26, then capped the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in school history when Brandon Breazell caught a 23-yard touchdown pass in overtime as the eighth-ranked Bruins stunned the Cardinal 30-27 Saturday. The remarkable turnaround tied a record for biggest comeback in school history. It was the fourth, and easily most stirring, fourth-quarter rally of the season for the Bruins, who spent the first 3 1/2-half quarters stumbling over themselves in a display of offensive ineptitude Ineptitude See also Awkwardness. Brown, Charlie meek hero unable to kick a football, fly a kite, or win a baseball game. [Comics: “Peanuts” in Horn, 543] Capt. Queeg incompetent commander of the minesweeper Caine. . ``This gets more incredible every time,'' Bruins strong safety Jarrad Page Jarrad Page (born October 19, 1984) was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 7th round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played for UCLA in his collegiate career. Before attending UCLA, Page grew up in San Leandro, California, attending San Leandro High School, where Page was the top said. ``I never found myself doubting one time. That's just the biggest part. Everybody's always thinking of a way. I mean, it looked real bad for us. Everybody was always talking about a way to get back in the game.'' UCLA converted a fourth-and-1 from Stanford's 6-yard line when quarterback Drew Olson Drew Olson (born April 6, 1983 in San Francisco, California) is a former starting quarterback for the University of California, Los Angeles football team, where he broke many of UCLA's passing records. found his third option, Joe Cowan Joseph William Cowan (born September 15, 1984 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian-born American college football wide receiver for the UCLA Bruins. High school He played at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California. , with 57 seconds left in regulation, then tied it on Maurice Drew's 1-yard plunge and Justin Medlock's extra point. Bruins defensive end Justin Hickman Justin Hickman (born July 20, 1985 in El Paso, Texas) is an American football defensive end with the Washington Redskins. He played collegiately at the University of California at Los Angeles. sacked Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards Trent Edwards (born October 30, 1983, in Los Gatos, California) is an American football quarterback who starts for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bills in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Stanford. on the last play of regulation, then harnessed him on a third-down bootleg attempt in overtime to force a field goal. ``There were many times we could have, and many teams probably would have, folded, being 21 points down and about nine minutes left,'' said Gatorade-drenched UCLA coach Karl Dorrell Karl Dorrell (born December 18, 1963 in Alameda, California) is the first black head coach in the history of the UCLA Bruins college football team, a position he took on December 18, 2002. . ``This team just (shows) you its heart, its character, that they just keep believing in themselves and keep finding ways to put themselves back in a ballgame.'' On the second play of the Bruins' overtime possession, Breazell beat T.J Rushing off 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 . Olson then lofted a perfect pass to the left side of the end zone and Breazell made the catch to set off another Bruins-Gone-Wild celebration. ``I knew I had the release (from Rushing) off the line,'' Breazell said. ``He tried to jam me inside, I went outside, saw the ball and made a play on it.'' For the fifth time in school history the Bruins (8-0, 5-0 Pac-10) started the season with eight straight wins, but for the first time since 1997 they won on the Farm. Olson, who admitted ``doubt crept in'' at one point, finished 24 of 35 for 293 yards. His toss to Breazell capped a fourth-quarter and overtime in which he completed 15 of 20 for 206 yards. ``It was my biggest throw, his biggest catch and, ya' know, that was the biggest play we've had here in a long time to win a game like that,'' said Olson, who grew up in the Bay Area. ``This kills everything. It's Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern , in front of family and friends. Everybody is here.'' Certainly, the fourth-quarter comebacks are now habitual for the Bruins, but this was different from the 10-point rally against Washington, the 12-point one against California or even the 17-point one at Washington State. In those contests, the Bruins showed life at other points in the game. Against the Cardinal, UCLA's offense was stuck somewhere near Fresno much of the night while the defense battled to keep it respectable. But after Nick Frank gave Stanford a 24-3 lead with 8:26 left in regulation, the Bruins found belief in a hurry-up offense The hurry-up offense is an American football offensive which has several strategic applications usually categories as the "two-minute drill" and even a "no-huddle offense". . It helped Stanford went to a prevent defense. A series of screen passes got the Bruins offense in rhythm, and Drew scored on a 6-yard run to make it 24-10 with 7:04 remaining. ``I sensed the momentum changing with our team,'' Dorrell said. ``It was a catalyst for a number of things.'' UCLA quickly forced a punt, and three plays later Olson connected with Cowan for a 31-yard touchdown along the right sideline to make it 24-17 with 4:43 to play. Bruins 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 Tom Cable said that play also set up Breazell's game-winner because the Cardinal played man-to-man defense Man to man defense is a type of defensive tactic used in basketball and Football (Soccer) in which each player is assigned to defend and follow the movements of a single player on offense. Often, a player guards his counterpart (e.g. . ``We got maybe a little too conservative offensively,'' Edwards said. ``They're a great football team. You can't let a team like that back in the game. It's always in the back of our minds (UCLA comes back). That's a good team that's won games like that. Even when you're up three touchdowns, you still see it.'' The Bruins got the ball back again in a very familiar position - at their own 34 with 2:30 left and needing a touchdown. In the previous three comeback wins, UCLA scored in the final two minutes to take the lead or tie it, and this was no different. Olson connected with tight end Marcedes Lewis Marcedes Alexis Lewis (born May 19, 1984 in Los Alamitos, California) is an American football tight end who plays for the National Football League Jacksonville Jaguars. He was drafted from UCLA as the 28th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. for 21 yards, and a rattled Stanford defense committed back-to-back pass interference penalties. UCLA moved down to the 6-yard line before Olson hit Cowan on the pivotal fourth-down play. Drew scored on the next play, and Medlock made the extra point after holder Brian Callahan had some difficulty with the snap. ``My heart hurts right now,'' Lewis said. ``I'm emotionally drained right now. I need to sleep.'' Brian Dohn, (818) 713-3607 brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) UCLA's Brandon Breazell hauls in the winning touchdown pass from Drew Olson in overtime at Stanford. Kenneth Wong/Associated Press (2) UCLA quarterback Drew Olson (14) and lineman Brian Rubenstein celebrate another come-from-behind victory. Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press Box: COMEBACK KIDS |
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