SEATTLE ““ UCLA picked a good time to get warm.
The Bruins were left for dead after losing their senior starting
quarterback and the game to Cal two weeks ago. They were playing in
front of a hostile Washington crowd on Saturday, in weather that
was even colder.
And UCLA actually didn’t get bowled over. Instead, the
Bruins (6-3, 3-2 Pac-10) are now bowl-eligible after escaping with
a 34-24 victory over Washington (4-5, 1-4) that just might turn
around their season.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Spencer Havner returned an
interception 42 yards for a touchdown with 1:17 left in the fourth
quarter to seal the win.
“Words can’t even describe how happy everybody was
when he scored,” redshirt freshman tailback Tyler Ebell
said.
Senior defensive tackle Steve Morgan came up with one word.
“Relief,” he said. “We were down to our skin
and bones at defensive back. At the end, it got a little scary, but
like we’ve done all year, we found a way to win.”
Bruin safeties Ben Emanuel and Jarrad Page got nicked up.
Sophomore cornerback Matt Ware left the game with a strained
hamstring. Senior Joe Hunter, Ware’s replacement, missed a
tackle that allowed wide receiver Paul Arnold to score a 66-yard
touchdown on a short pass with 8:36 remaining, and left the game
with a bruised chest.
Still, the debilitated defense held up. Husky quarterback Cody
Pickett’s charge failed on fourth down when his pass went
into Havner’s hands.
For the most part, Pickett had a busy day picking on the UCLA
secondary, going 29-of-60 for 429 yards and three touchdowns.
However, the Bruins tallied a season-high four interceptions and
scored 17 points off of them.
“I turned the ball over too many times,” Pickett
said. “I can’t throw picks if we want to win in the
Pac-10. It was a frustrating night.”
UCLA picked Pickett at opportune times. Two of them came in the
second quarter ““ one on the first play and the other on the
final play.
Senior cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. intercepted the latter,
killing Washington’s opportunity for a field goal try and
preserving a 24-14 halftime lead for UCLA.
The previous pick was tipped by Havner and snatched up by senior
linebacker Marcus Reese, who returned it to the Washington one-yard
line. Two plays later, Ebell plunged in for the score.
Ebell scored three first-half one-yard touchdowns and ran for
102 yards on 31 carries. In only his fourth career start, he went
over the century mark for the fifth consecutive game and broke the
school’s freshman single-season rushing record.
UCLA needed a big day from Ebell without an experienced
quarterback at the helm. True freshman Drew Olson was also starting
for the first time in his career after missing last week’s
game with a sprained shoulder. Head coach Bob Toledo did not name
him the starter over true freshman Matt Moore until Saturday
morning.
“It was ideal to come in here and win in my first
start,” said Olson, who went 13-of-27 for 189 yards.
Senior tight end Mike Seidman was Olson’s favorite target,
catching five passes for 96 yards.
The Bruins committed 13 penalties in the game, costing them 87
yards. Many of the flags were a result of false starts and offsides
instigated by the loud Husky crowd of 72,017.
The crowd cheered in the first half when wide receiver Reggie
Williams hauled in a 13-yard touchdown that was keyed by a blocked
punt to give Washington a 7-3 first-quarter lead. It roared when
Arnold cut the lead to three points.
But in the end, the Bruins were more dogged than even the
Huskies and made the loudest statement of all.
“Good teams have to win in November and on the
road,” Toledo said.
“We haven’t won in November lately, and we
haven’t finished strong. For a team to come away with a win
in Husky Stadium, I was pleased.”