PASADENA “”mdash; It became apparent early that Houston had a problem. The high-scoring Cougars arrived at the Rose Bowl hoping to launch an aerial bombardment. UCLA turned it into a slugfest.
The Bruins knocked out two of the Cougars’ quarterbacks and used a methodical ground game to propel UCLA to a 31-13 victory, its first win of the season.
An aggressive UCLA defense that was invigorated by big plays from its biggest stars held one of the nation’s top offensive programs to its lowest point total since December of 2007.
“The one thing you saw was that we played fast,” UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. “Rahim (Moore) and Akeem (Ayers) made some big plays that changed things.”
Moore and Ayers each had an interception off of Houston quarterback Case Keenum, with both picks coming deep in UCLA territory. Those were the highlights of a pass defense that held Houston to 252 yards through the air, nearly 100 yards lower than its season average. The Cougars’ biggest play through the air came not from the arm of Keenum but rather from backup quarterback Terrance Broadway, who found receiver James Cleveland for a 50-yard gain in the fourth quarter.
“Keenum’s like the Peyton Manning of college football,” Moore said. “You have to move around, you have to confuse him.”
Although Houston and its Shotgun-style offense got all the attention, UCLA’s Pistol fired far more effectively. With Derrick Coleman sidelined because of a concussion suffered last week, redshirt sophomore Johnathan Franklin was the feature back for UCLA. He carried the ball 26 times for 158 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Bruins control the game from a physical standpoint.
“We’ve had confidence in (Franklin) all season,” UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince said. “We knew that he was going to have a breakout game sooner or later.”
The Cougars actually drew first blood, getting a field goal in the first quarter before the Bruins rallied off the next 31 points.
UCLA got a pair of touchdown runs from Franklin and one from Prince to build a 21-3 lead going into halftime. But perhaps the biggest play of the first half occurred with Houston driving deep into UCLA territory. Keenum was intercepted at the Bruins’ goal line by Ayers, who returned the pick deep into Houston territory. Not only did the turnover thwart a Houston scoring opportunity, but Keenum was also knocked out of the game trying to make a tackle on Ayers.
“Once we went down there and scored a touchdown, the crowd got into it,” Neuheisel said. “The defense fed off of that, and the game changed at that point.”
The second half offered much more of the same. UCLA kept Houston’s offense in front of them, kept the skill players at bay, kept handing the ball to Franklin, and kept the crowd of 54,407 at the Rose Bowl energized.
“It was very exciting stuff,” Prince said. “Beating a team like Houston, with their offense ““ being able to stop them, and being able to score points, it’s a great thing.”
Franklin added his third touchdown of the game late in the third quarter to extend the lead to 31-3. Although the Bruins didn’t do much in the fourth quarter, the 10 points that Houston scored in the final period were too little too late. UCLA actually squandered more opportunities to put points on the board, as Malcolm Jones fumbled twice, and Prince was picked off ““ all in the red zone.
But a week after getting shut out by Stanford in their home opener, the Bruins looked like a different team after a strong week of practice.
“You have to remember that you’re in a foxhole with a bunch of guys you can count on,” Neuheisel said. “The only way to get out is for everybody to get a shovel and start digging.”
What UCLA didn’t have to dig themselves out of this time was an early deficit. Although they gave up a quick field goal, the Bruins responded with a series of touchdowns to grab the lead and allow them to control things with the running game.
“We had a great amount of passion leaving the locker room tonight,” Neuheisel said. “Certainly it wasn’t error-free. It was very exciting stuff and is hopefully a precursor what’s to come.”
What’s to come in the immediate future is a date with national runner-up Texas. But instead of going into Austin trying to avoid an 0-4 hole, the Bruins, having knocked off a top-25 team, suddenly possess a bit of a swagger.