SOUTH BEND, Ind. “”mdash; UCLA suffered one of its most
heartbreaking defeats ever on Saturday as they fell 20-17 to No. 10
Notre Dame in historic Notre Dame Stadium.
The Bruins, fresh off a defeat from Oregon, had a chance to
bounce back in remarkable fashion against the Fighting Irish, but
gave up a fourth-quarter lead they will never forget.
The Bruins were up 17-14 with 1:02 to play, but the Fighting
Irish drove down the field 80 yards in three plays to recover the
field and steal the victory from the Bruins.
After the game, the Bruins simply had no explanation for what
happened.
“We’re disappointed. The players put out everything
there for us,” coach Karl Dorrell said. “They wanted to
do something special on the road. They know that they had the win
in their grasps and didn’t finish.”
Prior to the final touchdown drive, the Bruins had the ball with
two minutes to play and a chance to run out the clock. However,
unable to get a first down after three running plays, the Bruins
were forced to punt.
That put the ball in the hands of Notre Dame all-everything
quarterback Brady Quinn, who guided the Irish to a second
miraculous comeback this season.
Quinn, who started the season as a Heisman candidate, made the
winning touchdown play on a 45-yard pass to wide receiver Jeff
Samardzjia, who went around two tacklers to get into the end
zone.
“I saw a window, and I was about ready to throw when I saw
a defender coming that way,” Quinn said. “I gave a pump
fake, and then I found Jeff and he did the rest.”
The loss now puts the Bruins at 4-3, with one more loss than
they had all last season and trouble finding reason to strive for
success for the rest of this season.
“Obviously we’re disappointed, but as coach Dorrell
said, we have to move on and learn from this,” running back
Chris Markey said.
Next week, the Bruins return home to face traditional Pac-10 foe
Washington State.
For more coverage of Saturday’s game from South Bend,
Ind., check out Monday’s print edition.