The number 13 was anything but lucky for the UCLA football team in its 24-10 loss Saturday to Oregon, which just happened to be ranked No. 13 nationally heading into the game.
Thirteen ticks is all it took for a Bruin lead to disappear and the momentum to completely shift in the Ducks’ favor.
With UCLA leading by a field goal to start the second half, Oregon’s Kenjon Barner weaved his way past the Bruins’ special teams unit, from end zone to end zone, during a 100-yard touchdown return that lasted 13 seconds.
The Bruins, visibly flustered, could never fully recover.
“We didn’t come out flat, but it was all about that momentum,” said sophomore safety Rahim Moore, who shook his head and still seemed baffled by what had happened.
The Ducks didn’t stop there.
On the Bruins’ (3-2, 0-2 Pac-10) very next offensive play, Oregon (5-1, 3-0 Pac-10) used its newfound energy to stun the 77,819 in attendance.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince took the snap and immediately looked to his right, then carelessly flung the ball in the direction of senior receiver Terrence Austin. Oregon cornerback Talmadge Jackson read Prince perfectly, jumped the route and returned the interception 32 yards for the score.
Jackson crossed the end zone exactly 13 seconds after Barner’s kickoff return.
“After the kickoff return, we were like, “˜OK,'” Moore added. “Then after the interception for a touchdown, we were like, “˜Wow, that fast?'”
In a total of 26 seconds, the Bruins went from leading by a field goal to facing an 11-point deficit.
“That’s what our team does,” Oregon first-year coach Chip Kelly said. “They feed off of each other. Kenjon got us started. We get one big play and the next thing you know, we’re in the end zone.”
Meanwhile, everything that could go wrong did go wrong for UCLA.
Trailing 14-3, the Bruins began their next drive at their own 40-yard line. Prince ran for nine yards on the second play, but fumbled after having crossed midfield. The turnover handed the Ducks possession with a short field to work with.
“We came out in the second half and just didn’t get the job done,” Prince said.
Oregon junior quarterback Nate Costa, making his first career start in place of the injured Jeremiah Masoli, capitalized and put UCLA in a 21-3 hole with a 20-yard touchdown pass to junior Jeff Maehl.
“That little flurry in the beginning of the third quarter was decisive,” coach Rick Neuheisel said.
Perhaps more frustrating was the fact that Oregon’s three-score outburst ““ two on returns ““ came in a span of four minutes and was aided by a handful of Bruin miscues.
“If (the Ducks) were going to score, if anything, let it be on the defense,” redshirt sophomore linebacker Akeem Ayers said.
But the offense was on the field more than the defense. UCLA won the time-of-possession battle but was only able to muster 211 yards of total offense ““ something that clearly worried Neuheisel.
“That was a very, very tough sequence of events to weather,” he said. “Especially when your offense hasn’t been the kind of offense that is going to go out and make up three touchdowns. Psychologically, that’s difficult.”
Asked if the team was rattled by Oregon’s breakthrough, Moore gave a straightforward answer.
“It did, man,” he said, still shaking his head. “It definitely did.”