CORVALLIS, Ore. “”mdash; On a day that the Bruins’ defense kept them in the game while the offense sputtered, it was the play of UCLA’s special teams that may have clinched the win.
Throughout the game, UCLA backed up Oregon State deep inside their own territory and bottled up the Beavers’ return game.
“Special teams, in games like this when you’re on the road, that’s the difference in a lot of games,” coach Karl Dorrell said. “Our kickoff coverage team did a great job of making it hard for them to return kicks. We put some hits on some of their returners. It gave us some opportunity to operate in a short field and the offense capitalized.”
Punter Aaron Perez averaged 40 yards per punt, putting four inside the 20 and booting two for over 50 yards. Oregon State place kicker Alexis Serna, who has served double-duty after the Beavers’ punter quit early in the fall, struggled to pin the Bruins deep as UCLA took advantage of the good field position.
However, the biggest plays on special teams came in the flurry of turnovers that took place in the final nine minutes of the game. Up only 19-12, kicker Jimmy Rotstein put up a short, high kick that was knocked down into the wind, forcing returner Gerard Lawson to attempt an awkward catch. He could not make the play and gunner Matt Slater dove onto the ball, setting the Bruins up for another score.
On the next kickoff, as Lawson sprinted forward after making the catch, linebacker John Hale got his helmet on the ball and knocked it out during the tackle. Rodney Van recovered and UCLA had the game sealed.
“(Special teams) really came out and we were able to make plays that turned this game around and turned the momentum in our favor,” Slater said. “I’m just proud and feel blessed to be part of a great unit with the guys giving a great effort tonight.”
DEFENSE LOCKS DOWN: After a first quarter in which the Bruin defense gave up drives of 69 and 63 yards, the defense essentially shut down the Beavers for the rest of the game. They did not give up a drive of more than 20 yards the rest of the way and only allowed three drives of more than seven yards in that time.
“We met today and we all looked at each other and said, “˜Hey, we got to have each other’s backs.’ I asked them to have my back and they told me they would,” defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said. “And I told them that I would have their back. That’s kind of going to be our new motto this year.
“Everybody has to be held accountable, including me and including the coaches. It was good to see that they responded.”
The defense responded to the challenge by limiting OSU to a season-best 248 yards of total offense and only one conversion on 14 third-down attempts.
“It starts at the top with Coach Walker,” defensive end Bruce Davis said. “He called a great game tonight. He was lights out. He put us in position to make those plays and we did.”
TAYLOR SHOWS LEADERSHIP ON FIELD: After a forgettable first quarter, senior linebacker Christian Taylor got in the middle of a team huddle, making his opinions clearly known.
“I was just trying to get guys going,” Taylor said. “The last thing I wanted to see was the same thing that happened at Utah. They got some breaks and we just kind of went in the tank. I just wanted guys to fight.”
Whatever it was that he said, he should say it after every quarter. The Bruin defense posted their most complete game of the season.
“This was our best defensive effort of the year, no questions asked,” Davis said. “We gave up a little bit early on, but we played lights out the rest of the game.”
PRICE FLASHES POTENTIAL: True freshman Brian Price was in at defensive tackle for a handful of plays on Saturday, and at one point pushed the Beavers’ pocket inward while facing a double team.
“He’s a funny kid,” Walker said. “I tell him “˜Hey man, you’re a high school All-American. I want to see it. This is college football now.’ He accepted the challenge, and it’ll be interesting to see on tape, but we need him.”