Coach Rick Neuheisel had a limited amount of time to address the Rose Bowl on Saturday after UCLA’s 23-9 win over Kansas State, so the ecstatic, optimistic coach opened with a brief but poignant apology that summarized the game.
“Sorry it was ugly,” he said. “But it was a win.”
“Ugly,” although cliche, may be the perfect word to describe Saturday’s contest.
The Bruins simply could not put away a pitiful Kansas State squad until redshirt senior Kevin Craft connected with senior Terrence Austin for a 51-yard touchdown with 6:18 remaining in the game.
UCLA had eight penalties that ranged from illegal crack-back blocks to illegal “head butts.”
A handful of throws from Kevin Craft gave Bruin fans scary flashbacks of 2008. Craft’s lone interception of the night led a wide-open Austin straight into a beaten defender on the sideline, who took advantage of the throw’s hang time to front Austin and pick it off.
The offensive’s anemic three consecutive three-and-outs in the third quarter combined with an agonizing touchdown drive by Kansas State to pull the Wildcats within a nervous four points.
But as Neuheisel said, it was a win.
“I think we overcame a lot,” Craft said. “We had a couple big plays that got called back, and we still got points on those drives. I just think we have a little bit of a swagger about us.”
With the victory, the 2009 Bruins became the first UCLA team to start a season 3-0 since 2005.
In addition, redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin rushed for 119 yards on the day and averaged a whopping 5.2 yards-per-carry, becoming the first UCLA running back to eclipse the 100-yard mark since Chris Markey did it in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2007.
“It felt so good,” Franklin said. “I’ve been trying to get 100 yards the first and second game. I’m just glad I got it. And God willingly, this isn’t the last game.”
In what has become a trend, the UCLA defense started slowly. Kansas State utilized the “wildcat offense” with direct snaps to running backs and lots of misdirection both on the first drive and throughout the game.
“They showed a lot of stuff, the majority of stuff we had never seen,” defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said. “So we just had to make adjustments on the sidelines, and the players did a great job of taking that and being able to go out there and get it done.”
The first of two interceptions by senior cornerback Alterraun Verner saved sure points from the Wildcats on their opening drive, and four consecutive running plays for a total of 31 yards helped UCLA take an early 7-0 lead.
But thanks to penalties and missed tackles, the Bruins would take only a 13-3 lead into halftime. A steady dose of Kansas State’s Daniel Thomas, a versatile quarterback and running back, in the third quarter led to a touchdown for the Wildcats, which brought the score to 13-9.
Although that was as close as the Wildcats would get, it was close enough to validate Neuheisel’s fears.
“I knew Bill Snyder would have his team ready and eager. This game scared me as much as any game in my career because of the excitement after the Tennessee win and the backslapping happening on campus. It was difficult to focus on the next week.”
Snyder, for his part, knew his team had hung around long enough to have a chance.
“Once again we failed to take advantage of opportunities that presented themselves,” he said.
Yet regardless of how ugly the game may have been, what opportunities may have been missed, or how many times UCLA was penalized, the Bruins are still 3-0 ““ and they like the feeling.
“It’s a fun place to be,” Neuheisel said. “But we have to keep going.”