In UCLA’s 26-16 win over visiting Rice on Saturday night,
the Bruins’ erratic offensive play overshadowed the fact that
their defense became a third-down stalwart for the second time in
two weeks. The Bruin defense held the Owls to a meager 184 yards of
total offense and was at its stingiest when it mattered most. Rice
converted on two of 13 third-down attempts, one week after Utah
went 0-16 on third-down conversions against UCLA. Considering Rice
runs the option offense, the 53 rushing yards that UCLA gave up is
an astonishing feat for a unit that was 113th in the nation in 2005
at stopping the run. The Bruins’ (2-0) ability to stop the
Owls (0-2) from moving the chains was primarily due to the pressure
they were consistently putting on the Owls’ quarterback. Much
to the appeasement of first-year UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne
Walker, who preaches the need to pressure the opponent into making
mistakes, defensive end Justin Hickman led the way with three of
UCLA’s four sacks. Hickman, a senior, made perhaps the
game’s definitive play when he sacked Rice quarterback Joel
Armstrong on third down early in the fourth quarter. The Bruins
were protecting a fragile 19-10 lead at the time, and Hickman
forced a quick three-and-out that effectively ended any notions of
an upset. “They made a couple of big plays, but for the most
part we dominated up front,” said Hickman, who also sacked
Armstrong on the last two plays of the game. “As the defense,
it was our job to step up if the offense isn’t in
rhythm.” UCLA’s defensive performance might be viewed
as a side note in an uninspiring win against one of the
nation’s worst programs. But Hickman refuses to look at the
bigger picture with such cynicism. “A win is a win,
that’s the way we feel about it,” he said. “We
still get to put that one in the win column. But on Monday,
we’ll have to watch the film and see what we need to
fix.”
RICE TURNAROUND: Rice coach Todd Graham is well
aware of the horrific losing tradition that he has inherited, but
he chooses to focus on this year’s Owls club as a new chapter
for Rice football. “I’m so proud of everyone on this
staff and all our players for coming into UCLA’s house and
not backing down,” said Graham, who is in his first year as
Rice coach after serving as Tulsa’s offensive coordinator for
the previous three seasons. Like any coach, though, Graham shies
away from the term “moral victory.” Instead, he focused
on the ways Rice could have come away from the Rose Bowl with an
upset win rather than a near miss. The loss to UCLA comes one week
after a 31-30 heartbreaker against Houston. “The biggest
thing that comes to mind is that first and goal that we came away
with no points on,” said Graham, referring to the Owls’
first down at the Bruins’ two-yard line. The Owls were
stuffed on back-to-back running plays, and then Armstrong was
sacked on third down. Kicker Luke Juist missed a 38-yard attempt
that turned the ball over on downs. “If we score on that
drive, we’re leading going into the fourth quarter,”
Graham said. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact
that our players are starting to realize they can win.”
Graham has a long week of practice ahead of him, as the Owls
prepare to play Texas at Reliant Stadium.
MEDLOCK SETS RECORD: Senior place kicker Justin
Medlock converted on all four of his field goal attempts, including
a 51-yard attempt. Medlock now has five field goals of 50 or more
yards in his UCLA career, which sets a new school record. His other
field goals were of 32, 37, and 34 yards.
HAPPY RETURNS: Although Chris Markey was
expected to return punts for the second week in a row, coach Karl
Dorrell chose to rotate wide receivers Marcus Everett and Terrence
Austin into the rotation. Everett lost 11 yards on his lone
return.
EXTRA POINTS: Olson threw the first
interception of his career on the first play of the second half,
when Rice cornerback Ja’Corey Shepherd stepped in front of a
pass to Junior Taylor. … Speaking of Taylor, the redshirt senior
caught his first touchdown since coming back from a season-ending
knee injury in early 2005. … Fullback Michael Pitre led the
Bruins in receiving with four catches for 43 yards. … The
Bruins’ 5.3 yards per run is more than double their average
of 2.6 against Utah in the season opener.