New year. Same old story.
Nearly a century has elapsed since UCLA and San Diego State
first met on the gridiron, yet nothing about the rivalry has
changed.
The Bruins kept their undefeated streak alive against the
Aztecs, routing them 33-10 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. UCLA now
leads the series between the two teams 19-0-1.
“They thought this was their best chance of beating
us,” UCLA strong safety Jarrad Page said. “They thought
we weren’t a very good team. They thought they were
definitely going to come in and beat us. That pumped us
up.”
For San Diego State, a team that almost beat then-No. 17
Michigan two weeks ago, this looked like a chance to break a losing
streak that dated back to 1922. But as the game progressed, it
became clear that would not happen.
Even when the Aztecs (2-2) drove easily toward the goal line
late in the third quarter for what would be their only touchdown,
UCLA (3-1, 1-0 Pac-10) was still in control.
Though UCLA still was able to gain over 400 yards for the third
consecutive game, the offense lacked the electricity Bruin fans had
become accustomed to in recent weeks.
UCLA found the end zone only twice on offense, the first coming
off the initial drive of the the game on a breakout 57-yard run by
sophomore tailback Maurice Drew. Coming off the spectacular
five-touchdown display at Washington, Drew rushed for 167 yards and
also threw a 47-yard pass to fullback Michael Pitre. UCLA put the
game away in the third quarter when quarterback Drew Olson found
split end Tab Perry for a 23-yard touchdown pass to put the Bruins
ahead 27-3. But Olson’s highlights were few and far between,
as the junior only completed 15 of his 31 passes for 158 yards
while throwing an interception late in the first half.
UCLA’s big-play offense was forced into a more
conservative game by a strong Aztec defense that limited the Bruins
to field goal attempts when they approached the red zone.
Placekicker Justin Medlock converted four field goal attempts,
three of which were over 40 yards.
“That’s frustrating, you get down there and you have
nice drives and all of a sudden you get stopped at the 20,”
Olson said.
Unlike UCLA’s first three games, it was the defense that
helped provide the spark. Besides leading the team in tackles for
the fourth consecutive game, linebacker Spencer Havner intercepted
a pass by Aztec quarterback Matt Dlugolecki and returned it for 52
yards for his third career touchdown, giving the Bruins a 14-3
lead.
Despite surrendering 402 total yards, the defense did its job.
The Bruins prevented the Aztecs from converting on any of their
three fourth-down attempts and intercepted two passes, keeping San
Diego State’s “Air Craft” offense grounded.
“We talked about having to do our part,” defensive
coordinator Larry Kerr said. “You know there’s always
going to be games like this where your offense doesn’t score
every play like it has been doing. So we have to hold our own. When
we get both sides playing at their top level, we’ll be
awfully tough to beat.”
While neither side played at its peak Saturday, the Bruins still
definitively crushed the Aztecs’ hopes of gaining their first
win ever against UCLA.
The Aztecs were unable to gain any momentum throughout the game
and were only productive when passing the ball. Dlugolecki was 23
of 42 for 215 yards, with wide receiver Jeff Webb leading the way
with seven receptions for 71 yards.
While San Diego State had success throwing the ball, UCLA again
had to turn to its running game.
Without Craig Bragg, the team’s leading receiver, the
Bruin still managed to do enough to put the Aztecs away.
“We didn’t score as much as we had hoped,”
coach Karl Dorrell said. “But we did score when we needed
to.”