Unable to rely any longer on the arm of Cory Paus, UCLA turned
to smaller, unlikely sources for answers.
The Bruins used the feet of 5-foot-9-inch running back Tyler
Ebell and the leg of 5-foot-9 -inch kicker Nate Fikse to carry the
Bruins to a crucial 28-18 victory over Stanford, keeping UCLA in
the mix for a postseason berth.
True freshman quarterback Matt Moore, pressed into his first
collegiate start due to Paus’ season-ending ankle injury last
week, performed just well enough for the Bruins to win, and the
UCLA defense was stifling in shutting down the Stanford
offense.
“Most teams starting a freshman quarterback might have
bellied up and I don’t believe that was the case,” UCLA
head coach Bob Toledo said. “They fought back and hung in
there, and worked hard the entire game. If you keep battling and
hanging in there for 60 minutes, you always have a
chance.”
The Bruins got off to a rough start, as Stanford converted two
turnovers into a 15-point lead just under five minutes into the
game.
Instead of folding, however, the Bruin defense stepped up in a
big way. Playing maybe with the hopes of an entire season on their
shoulders, the defense responded by getting aggressive and playing
physical. The defense allowed only a field goal in the second
quarter and shut out Stanford for the entire second half, allowing
UCLA to claw its way back into the game.
“We knew that we had a young quarterback at the
helm,” safety Matt Ware said. “If we let Stanford score
again, it’s a pretty big deficit to come back from.
That’s daunting to any quarterback. We knew we had to play
very physical.”
Slowly but surely, UCLA chipped away at the lead. It was a far
cry from an efficient offensive engine, but it was just enough.
Moore’s 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Seidman
brought UCLA to within 15-10 early in the second quarter ““
the squad’s first glimpse at Moore’s throwing
ability.
“The touchdown set the mood for me for the rest of the
game,” said Moore, the first freshman quarterback to start at
UCLA since Cade McNown in 1995. “It made me feel more
confident, and it felt really good. After that, Stanford had to
respect our ability to throw the ball.”
Nonetheless, UCLA’s red zone problems carried over from
the past two weeks. Twice, the Bruins were able to march within
five yards of a touchdown, and twice, UCLA had to settle for field
goals. Nevertheless, the field goals kept the Bruins within
striking distance.
Fikse, a punter who supplanted Chris Griffith, hasn’t
kicked field goals since he was a senior in high school. He made
all five of his field goal attempts, one shy of the team
record.
After Fikse had connected on three of his field goals, however,
UCLA still found itself down 18-16 early in the fourth quarter. The
Bruins then turned to Mighty Mouse.
Ebell, UCLA’s redshirt freshman running back who sports a
tattoo of the cartoon character on his arm, took a handoff from the
Stanford 18, shrugged off Stanford linebacker Jon Alston, and raced
the remainder of the way into the end zone. The touchdown gave UCLA
its first lead of the game at 22-18, and two more field goals
sealed the deal.
Ebell finished with 163 yards on 39 carries as he became
UCLA’s first ever freshman to rush for over 100 yards for
four consecutive games.
As for Moore, he performed admirably in his first collegiate
start. He finished just 7-of-19 with 142 yards, but it was enough
to keep Stanford from crowding the line of scrimmage.
“Matt Moore stepped in and did a great job,” Ebell
said. “He was like a veteran in the huddle. He was the three
C’s: cool, calm and collected.”
“When you have a freshman quarterback, it’s
important for your experienced players to step up,” senior
right tackle Mike Saffer said. “Moore didn’t come out
there too nervous. We kept telling him, “˜You’re our
guy.’ I think he took it to heart.”
In the postgame locker room, each of his teammates came up and
gave Moore a pat on the helmet. Slowly, his teammates circled
around him and began jumping up and down.
The team rallied around its new leader. Instead of a season down
the drain, the Bruins found new life.