The Bruins were in the midst of getting back the momentum.
Freshman quarterback Drew Olson had just driven the UCLA offense
89 yards to pull within 21-7 of the USC Trojans, and the Bruin
defense came up with a big stop to force a punt.
What had been a horrendous 21-0 start was now looking like an
opportunity for UCLA to come back, just like it had done so many
times this season. And maybe a chance for Olson to go down in UCLA
lore.
But Olson never got that chance as Bob Toledo stuck with his
pre-game plan and inserted Matt Moore in the game on the ensuing
drive.
“I was a little surprised to see Matt in there,”
Olson said. “I felt like I had finally settled down and
gotten into a rhythm. We had the momentum. All of a sudden, I had
to sit on the sideline and watch. It was very tough to get going
again.”
Standing helplessly in a baseball cap, Olson watched as Moore
bobbled his first snap, barely able to hand it off to running back
Tyler Ebell.
He watched desperately as, on the very next play, Moore
mishandled the snap again. This time, USC recovered the fumble.
He watched grimly as the Trojans capitalized on the turnover,
and an opportunity to pull within 21-14 became a daunting 28-7
deficit.
“I wasn’t really uncomfortable,” Moore said.
“It was just one of those things that happened. It’s my
fault. I’ve got to keep my hands under center longer. I got a
little excited and pulled out a little early.”
Olson never did get back into the flow of the game. Coming back
in after halftime, Olson lost two fumbles and threw an interception
in the third quarter as any chance of the Bruins making a comeback
evaporated. And for USC, the rout was on.
UCLA knew entering the game that its hopes of victory hinged on
the arms of its freshmen quarterbacks. The duo of Moore and Olson
had performed admirably in the absence of senior quarterback Cory
Paus, playing relatively error-free football for three straight
games, each a win.
But in this, their fourth game without Paus, the quarterbacks
turned over the football ““ and the game.
“I guess it was just bound to happen,” senior tackle
Mike Saffer said. “They’re freshmen. They had three
great games in a row, which is amazing in itself, and it’s
really hard to ask freshmen for four great games.”
“It’s not their fault; it’s just the way the
ball bounces sometimes.”
In an effort to prove that the team wasn’t giving up, down
52-7 late in the fourth quarter, Moore found Manuel White for a
touchdown pass.
After getting the ball back on an onside kick, John Sciarra Jr.
found tight end Marcedes Lewis for another touchdown. If anything,
the ending was a far cry from the finish of last year’s 27-0
debacle.
“We just wanted to fight back,” Lewis said.
“We wanted to go out with heart. Mistakes killed us this
game, but we lose together, we win together. Everybody was fighting
until the clock hit all zeroes.”
As for Olson, he’ll just take the game as a learning
experience as he’s reminded of USC quarterback Carson
Palmer’s freshman year against UCLA, when the Trojans fell
34-17. Now, four years later, Palmer is a legitimate Heisman
candidate and played the biggest role in USC’s victory.
“Today wasn’t the UCLA Bruins,” Olson said.
“We made so many mistakes, but we’re freshmen this
year. We’ll have three more chances at USC, and our day will
come.”