PASADENA “”mdash; After thirty minutes of play it appeared the
only fireworks UCLA fans could see in the Bruins’ game
against San Diego State would be courtesy of the halftime
pyrotechnics show. However, as UCLA’s wide receivers stepped
up in second half, they put on their own fireworks display ““
giving the team the offensive punch it needed to defeat the Aztecs
Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
Sophomore Junior Taylor, who had seven catches for a career-high
110 yards and a touchdown, sparked the receivers’ unit from
the get-go, with a 10-yard run off a reverse on UCLA’s first
offensive play of the game. Taylor’s touchdown ““ a
41-yard connection with sophomore quarterback Drew Olson ““
broke open a 3-3 deadlock with 11:32 remaining in the third
quarter, giving the Bruins a lead they didn’t relinquish.
The touchdown was the first by a Division I-A team against the
Aztecs this season.
“Junior was at a high comfort level early on, and when he
was open he caught the ball,” UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell
said. “When he wasn’t open he was able to draw some
pass interference calls. It was nice to get that kind of production
from our receivers.”
Wide receivers junior Craig Bragg and senior Ryan Smith also
contributed solid performances, with Bragg making five catches for
83 yards and Smith adding three catches for 33 yards and an 11-yard
touchdown reception.
Smith’s fourth-quarter score highlighted the
receivers’ blossoming relationship with Olson.
With UCLA deep in San Diego State territory, the play called for
Smith to run a slant-and-go, but Smith read the Aztecs’
cover-two defense and adjusted, splitting the safety and the
cornerback so Olson could find him in the end zone.
“We have confidence in each other,” Olson said.
“We know where we are supposed to be. On that touchdown to
Ryan, we both made an adjustment and that shows we are on the same
page. That was the difference between tonight and the previous
three games.”
With his five receptions, Bragg now ranks tenth among UCLA
receivers with 107 career receptions. Dorrell, Bragg’s coach,
ranks just above him with 108 catches in his four years as a UCLA
wide receiver.
“We (the receivers) have been working hard every
day,” Bragg said. “We knew this was going to come. When
the receivers catch the ball, we can run the ball. The two go
hand-in-hand and it opens up our offense.”
Still, Dorrell does think the receivers can get markedly better
““ and this improvement will be necessary in competitive
Pac-10 play.
“We knew our receivers were capable and had the necessary
skills, but we aren’t close to what we could be,”
Dorrell said.
However, Dorrell did say that the game was an important
stepping-stone for Taylor, who had previously dropped several
passes and caught only five passes for 26 yards in the
Bruins’ first three games.
Taylor couldn’t agree more.
“I got my swagger back,” he said.