ROSE DREAMS WILT; UCLA DEFENSE AND DREAMS ARE DEVASTATED : ASU 28, UCLA 27.Byline: Jon Wilner Staff Writer It would have been an unbelievable ending, it would have been an incredible collapse, if it hadn't also happened six games ago. A blown fourth-quarter lead . . . defensive breakdowns . . . an opposing runner loose in the open field . . . a devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. touchdown. Yes, the Bruins have walked this plank before. Both times it ended in tears. ``I have a very sick feeling right now,'' 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 Saturday, his voice soft and eyes sad. ``It's like you've got something and somebody took it away from you.'' The Bruins' 28-27 loss to Arizona State, before 54,048 at Sun Devil Stadium Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals • • , did not cost them a Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Tostitos tortilla chips (a Frito-Lay product), is a United States college football game played annually since 1971. Originally, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium where it remained until 2006. berth or a national championship. But for this team this year, it was as devastating as the collapse at Miami last season. All week, the Bruins (2-3, 0-2) built this into the most important game of the season. A Rose Bowl elimination game, they called it. A character game. A season-altering game. That doesn't change because they wasted a 24-14 fourth-quarter lead, or because they let the Sun Devils
``We've lost our ring game,'' fullback Durell Price said, referring to the Pac-10 title. ``Our next goal to reach is a bowl game, any bowl. We have to turn it around. There's no way I'm finishing my senior year the way I started (his career), when we were 5-6 (in 1996) and didn't go to a bowl.'' Inside the somber locker room, a few feet from Price, safety Ryan Roques Roques is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:
For 49 yards, Flowers weaved down the middle of the field - the heart of UCLA's defense. Impossibly, there were no Bruins in tackling position. They were charging from the left side and the right, but no one got close enough to grab Flowers, who cut left at the 25-yard line and raced into the corner of the end zone. ``It looked like we had guys there to make the play, but we didn't,'' said Roques, who was on the opposite side of the field. ``I was hoping one guy would get him, or turn him my way, or slow him down, or something.'' Instead of something, the Bruins did nothing, and in that respect, Flowers' run typified their demise. They got a career-high 182 rushing yards from Phoenix product Keith Brown Keith Brown can refer to: People
But time and again, the Bruins failed to stop ASU ASU Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ) ASU Appalachian State University ASU Arkansas State University ASU Angelo State University ASU Alabama State University ASU Australian Services Union tailback J.R. Redmond (185 rushing yards, three touchdowns), and they did not make big plays when it counted. Freshman quarterback Cory Paus threw two interceptions and missed countless open receivers in the first half, when UCLA's 21-7 lead could have been much greater. Tailback Jermaine Lewis Jermaine Lewis (born October 16, 1974 in Lanham, Maryland) is an American football wide receiver in the NFL. A star high school athlete at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, he was a two-time team MVP as a running back while also starring as a sprinter on the track team, setting fumbled at UCLA's 14-yard line, leading to an ASU touchdown midway through the fourth quarter Receiver Freddie Mitchell For the fictional character, see . Freddie Lee Mitchell (born November 28, 1978 in Lakeland, Florida) is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL who most recently played for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was a 1st round draft pick in the 2001 NFL Draft out of UCLA. botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. a trick play A trick play, also known as a gadget play, is a play in American football that uses deception and unorthodox strategies to fool the opposing team. Trick plays are highly risky, usually with a large potential for a loss of yards or turnover, but the payoff is often high with by overthrowing Price, who was wide open for a touchdown. On the next play, reserve receiver Devon Reese's holding penalty negated Brown's 15-yard run in ASU territory. ``I say this every week, but we missed several opportunities,'' 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 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 Alan Borges (born October 8, 1955 in Salinas, California) is an American college football coach and the current offensive coordinator of the Auburn University football team. said. ``That's typical of a young team, especially a team with young people at crucial positions.'' UCLA's defense played its best game of the season, at least for 59 minutes. On the first play of the final drive, with 53 seconds left, Roques missed an open-field tackle that allowed receiver Tariq McDonald to get out of bounds - thus salvaging 10-15 seconds for the Sun Devils, who had no timeouts. Flowers' touchdown run was no one's fault and everyone's fault. No one missed a tackle, no one blew an assignment, but no one emerged from the morass to make a play. That was the story of Miami and Wisconsin and it is quickly becoming the story of 1999. If the Bruins don't slow their fall, it might squash the season. ``I told (the players) that basically the Rose Bowl's out of the picture, and the national championship's obviously out,'' Toledo said. ``But we have six games left, and we want to finish strong. We can still play in a bowl game. ``I told them I was as sick as they were. It hurts. You've got a game won and you lose it and that's what hurts.'' UCLA vs. Arizona State: A closer look The Hero: Arizona State receiver Delvon Flowers, who caught a short slant pass and raced 49 yards for the winning touchdown with 30 seconds left. The Goat: UCLA's linebackers and defensive backs, who failed to stop the timeout-less Sun Devils on the final drive despite playing a prevent defense. Stat of the Game: ASU's four touchdowns came on drives of four, one, five and four plays. Quote of the Game: ``We've got to play 60 minutes. We can't play 59 minutes and 30 seconds and expect to win.'' UCLA safety Eric Whitfield. Notebook: Brown busts loose for family in hometown UCLA senior tailback Keith Brown hoped to strut his stuff in front of 91 friends and family members in Sun Devil Stadium. In the only hometown appearance of his career, Brown did just that - rushing for a career-high 182 yards and two touchdowns in UCLA's 28-27 loss to Arizona State. ``I was really emotional before the game, but I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be,'' said Brown, who attended Phoenix Mountain Pointe High School Mountain Pointe High School is a secondary school located in Phoenix, Arizona. History The school was the fourth of its kind in its area, which experienced huge population growth during the late 1990s. Its first graduating class was the class of 1994. . Brown started for the injured 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. and wasted no time energizing energizing, adj giving energy to; revitalizing; rejuvenating. his massive cheering section. His first run was a 50-yard touchdown and for the game, Brown averaged 7.6 yards per rush and caught two passes for 15 yards. ``He ran his rear end off,'' offensive coordinator Al Borges said. Where's the starter? In each of UCLA's three defeats, a reserve quarterback has sparked the opponent to victory: Ohio State's Steve Bellisari, Stanford's Joe Borchard and, Saturday, Arizona State's Griffin Goodman. Goodman, a junior college transfer, is actually the third-string quarterback. But when starter Ryan Kealy got hurt and backup John Leonard was ineffective, ASU inserted Goodman, who completed 8-of-17 passes for 141 yards, one touchdown and one interception. ``There really wasn't much happening,'' ASU coach Bruce Snyder said of replacing Leonard with Goodman. ``I didn't want to leave this game without giving (Goodman) a try. Grif came in there and did a nice job.'' In and out: Tailback DeShaun Foster played briefly in the third quarter, rushed twice for zero yards, then headed for the bench, where he iced his sprained right ankle. ``I didn't re-injury it, I just couldn't go,'' he said. ``It was weak, but I haven't done any more damage.'' Foster hopes to practice Monday, but the training staff must evaluate the overnight swelling before making a decision. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box PHOTO (1 -- color) UCLA tailback Keith Brown is brought down by Arizona State defenders in the first quarter. He got a career-high 182 yards rushing. Mike Fiala/Associated Press (2) Arizona State tailback J.R. Redmond races in for a touchdown after catching a pass in the fourth quarter. Roy Dabner/Associated Press (3) Arizona State quarterback John Leonard is tackled by UCLA line backer Marcus Reese and tackle Pete Holland and Kenyon Coleman. Mike Fiala/Daily News BOX: UCLA vs. Arizona State: a closer look (see text) |
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