All freshman quarterback Drew Olson needed to do to get
comfortable in the game against Colorado State was get sacked.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like getting sacked, but it
calmed my nerves," said Olson who was taken down on his second play
of the game. Olson went in during the third quarter despite
Toledo’s guarantee he would play him in the second, but not in a
bad situation. The Bruins were never in a good situation, though,
and Olson’s debut had to wait. Ultimately, Toledo put him in on the
UCLA 7 yard-line and junior tailback Akil Harris gave Olson
breathing room with a 14-yard carry. Although Olson’s first series
was unspectacular, he led the Bruins on a scoring drive on the
ensuing series. He was aided by the solid running of redshirt
freshman Wendell Mathis, sophomore Manuel White and Harris, as well
as a roughing the passer penalty on Colorado State. "For an 18
year-old he showed a lot of poise. He threw some good balls and got
a lot of experience and that will pay off down the road," Toledo
said. Olson was 2-of-3 for 24 yards on the evening.
* As the Rams set up for a two-point conversion to tie the game
at 21 with 1:32 remaining, Ben Emanuel knew someone had to make a
big play. 89 yards was big enough. "It was a do-or-die situation
and we went in with that mind frame," Emanuel said. The Bruin
defense hit Colorado State quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt on the
option and he fumbled the ball. Emanuel snatched it and ran 89
yards down the sideline for the two points. "I didn’t think that
was a two-point play. I looked up at the board expecting to see a
touchdown," Emanuel said. He didn’t need one. With UCLA up 23-19,
the UCLA defense had broken the game open, albeit with 1:32
remaining.
* Perhaps it was the high school cheerleaders sitting behind the
goalposts, but UCLA looked like they did not want to leave their
own end zone. From Harris’ fumble of the opening kickoff, special
teams struggled on the night. "Field position was crucial. It
seemed like we were always starting out on our own 5 or 10 (yard
line)," senior tight end Mike Seidman said. Junior wide receiver
Tab Perry returned a kickoff 17 yards but then fumbled it leaving
freshman tight end Marcedes Lewis to recover it. Ricky Manning had
the lone good return of the night, with an 18-yard kickoff return.
Tyler Ebell returned two punts for seven yards and let one bounce
that put UCLA at their own one-yard line. Colorado State’s Dexter
Wynn gave the Bruins a blue print with 3 punt returns for 71 yards
including a 55-yarder that could have gone all the way if UCLA
punter Nate Fikse had not tackled him. Wynn also had two kickoff
returns for 41 yards. "In the first half the kicking game
faltered," Toledo said. UCLA kicker Chris Griffith’s first field
goal was blocked and his second, a 32-yarder, was wide left.
* With the departure of Robert Thomas and Ryan Nece, junior
strong-side linebacker Brandon Chillar shined. One of the few
experienced players on a young linebacking corps, Chillar led the
team in tackles with 10 total. He was in on key special teams stops
as well, holding Wynn to a 12-yard return on UCLA’s first punt.
With Colorado State on the Bruin 17-yard line in the second
quarter, the momentum seemed to tilt decidedly in the Rams
direction. But under pressure Van Pelt threw a high ball that
landed in Chillar’s arms like a fair catch for a key
interception.