Olson doesn’t crack under the pressure

PULLMAN, Wash. “”mdash; While UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was
lukewarm about the idea, Bruin quarterback Drew Olson doesn’t
want any nicknames for his newfound late-game success. But at the
rate the senior quarterback is engineering late-game drives, he
might not be able to fend off the monikers for much longer.
Shuffled in the dramatic ending to UCLA’s 44-41 overtime
victory over Washington State on Saturday was arguably
Olson’s most dynamic game as a Bruin, not to mention the most
impressive of his three straight last-minute drives in three weeks.
Stuck at his own 4-yard line with 96 yards of field and two weeks
of come-from-behind memories in front of him, Olson once again
marched the Bruins down the field as he did against Washington and
California. On the final Bruin drive in regulation, the senior
completed six of seven passes for 78 yards, the last of which found
receiver Marcus Everett in the back of the right side of the end
zone for a 9-yard touchdown to tie the score at 38-38 with only 44
seconds remaining. “There was nothing extra to say before the
drive,” Olson said. “We don’t have a 96-yard
play. We knew it would take a while, and we stayed focused.”
“He’s proven he can win when the chips are against
him,” Dorrell said. “He’s proven he can win in a
crazy environment.” Olson did neither of these before the
2005 season began. But after completing 31 of 43 passes and setting
career highs with 338 yards and five touchdowns, which tied a
school record, there’s not much else left for Olson to prove
he’s capable of doing. “That ability was seen in the
beginning of preseason camp,” Dorrell said. “He’s
both physically and mentally the best he’s ever been.
He’s been visualizing this type of season.” What Olson
didn’t visualize was that he’d have to come from behind
in the final minute for three consecutive weeks. “It’s
more in a way frustrating to put yourself in situations like that
where you have to come back,” Olson said. “That’s
what I don’t like about games like this.” That and if
there are more like them, he might start to be referred to as the
“comeback kid.”

HARRISON SHINES AGAIN: For the second straight year, Washington
State running back Jerome Harrison had a career day against the
Bruins. The senior rushed for a career-high 260 yards on Saturday,
eclipsing his previous career high of 247 yards, set last year
against the Bruins at the Rose Bowl in a Cougar victory. UCLA
defensive coordinator Larry Kerr on the Bruins’ inability to
stop the run and Harrison’s performance: “(All running
backs) look good against us so far. I’m just glad
Harrison’s a senior.”

NOT THIS WEEK: One week after running a successful fake punt
against California, UCLA failed to convert a fake punt on Saturday.
With the Bruins trailing 31-21 late in the third quarter, UCLA
punter Aaron Perez took the punt and threw the ball to Michael
Norris who was uncovered. Norris, however, thought that Perez had
punted the ball, and had his back turned as the ball fell behind
him right in front of a UCLA sideline pleading for Norris to turn
around. Both Dorrell and special teams coach Brian Schneider called
the play a coaching error.

INJURY UPDATE: Fullback Michael Pitre sat out the fourth quarter
and overtime after injuring his right shoulder. He expects to
practice this week.

EXTRA POINTS: With his 338 passing yards on Saturday, Olson now
has 6,946 passing yards for his career, surpassing Corey Paus for
No. 2 on the all-time UCLA list. Cade McNown sits comfortably atop
the list with over 10,000 yards passing … Maurice Drew’s
109 rushing yards on Saturday gave him 2,074 rushing yards for his
career, becoming the 13th Bruin to ever surpass the 2,000-yard
mark. His touchdown in overtime was also the third consecutive game
in which he scored the game-winning touchdown … Tight end
Marcedes Lewis’ two touchdown receptions against Washington
State give him 15 for his career, extending his own UCLA record for
touchdowns by a tight end … Saturday’s win ran the Bruins
all-time overtime record to 5-1 … After Saturday, UCLA has now
outscored its opponents 88-17 in the fourth quarter this season …
Touchdown receptions by Marcus Everett and Gavin Ketchum were the
first of their careers … UCLA’s No. 8 ranking is the
Bruins’ highest since 2001, when the team was ranked No. 4
after six games.

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