After three opportunities within Stanford’s 35-yard line
before halftime, the Bruins’ offense had scored zero
points.
Quarterback Ben Olson could only think of one thing.
“Not again, this can’t be happening,” Olson
said. “We were moving the ball exceptionally between the
20-yard lines, but after that, I just don’t know what
happened.”
But unlike last week against the Washington Huskies, the Bruins
responded to their first-half troubles in the red zone, scoring
twice on runs by freshman tailback Chane Moline in the second
half.
That momentum started, remarkably, with a failed decision at the
end of the first half to go for the touchdown on fourth down.
“Despite the fact we didn’t make it, it set an
aggressive tone for our offense,” UCLA coach Karl Dorrell
said. “It was the biggest learning point of the game, and you
could (see) that our offense responded in the second
half.”
In that second half, Olson finished 9-15 for 103 yards and, more
importantly, committed zero turnovers as the Bruins capitalized on
both of their red-zone possessions.
An offense that had scored only one offensive touchdown in more
than 70 minutes of game action erupted for two scores in less than
10 minutes.
“It was a breakthrough, to say the least,” offensive
coordinator Jim Svoboda said. “I think everyone stopped
thinking about the past failures and just looked at the current
opportunity, especially Ben.”
“The offense got into a groove,” Svoboda added.
Part of the offenses’ mastery in the second half came from
the Bruins’ two tight ends, Ryan Moya and Logan Paulsen.
After being used sparingly in last week’s game, the two
finished as the Bruins’ top two receivers, combining for
eight catches and 104 yards.
Paulsen especially came up big during the Bruins’ first
scoring possession of the second half, catching a 20-yard pass on a
crucial third down that sent the Bruins into Cardinal territory and
eventually into the end zone.
“I knew the defense was going to play soft, and … (the
tight ends) were going to have an opportunity,” Paulsen said.
“I knew that if Ben had the time and made the right reads I
was going to get the ball.”
For the Bruins and Paulsen, the challenge is now to replicate
their second-half performance against the Cardinal for the rest of
the season.
“Our motto is play a full 60 minutes,” Olson said.
“We have to start the game the same way we finish it.
“If we can do that, I don’t see how our offense can
be stopped.”
STUDENT SECTION OVERFLOW: As a result of a UCLA
promotion to allow all new students to attend Saturday’s game
against Stanford for free, the normal student section (Sections
7-9) at the Rose Bowl was over capacity.
The athletic department had planned for the overflow and as a
result the fence that usually separates the student section from
general admission had been removed and the excess students were
accommodated in the adjacent general admission area, Section
10.
The situation was not perfect, however, as many students were
eventually moved as far as two sections over to be able to find a
place to sit.
Saturday’s attendance of 72,095 was by far the largest
attendance of the season for the Bruins and the largest student
attendance as well.
MOLINE SCORES: After seven carries for 19 yards
prior to Saturday, freshman tailback Chane Moline recorded two
carries against Stanford, both touchdowns.
Asked whether Moline, who might be the solution to the
Bruins’ red-zone woes, might get more opportunities at
tailback, coach Dorrell wasn’t hesitant to comment.
“He will definitely be seeing more opportunities,”
Dorrell said. “He gives us that added element of size that we
don’t have at the goal line, and is definitely a nice option
to have.”
EXTRA POINTS: UCLA’s victory against
Stanford was its ninth-consecutive home victory, its longest home
winning streak since 1999, when it won 13 consecutive home games.
UCLA’s defense, which ranks third in the NCAA in total
defense, has held three consecutive opponents under 60 yards
rushing for the first time since 1993. Senior place kicker Justin
Medlock leads the nation in field goals (2.50) per game, and is
12th in the nation in scoring (10.25).