SEATTLE “”mdash; More than a year passed before UCLA football finally won an away game.
The Bruins had fallen in six straight road games before they snapped the streak Saturday and beat a winless Washington team 27-7.
UCLA players and coaches said the win will help significantly even though it came in an unusually quiet stadium against an awful Husky team.
“You can’t be a good football team unless you can win on the road,” UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. “I know this Washington team has struggled, but you have to start somewhere, you have to win somewhere. … This will help us down the road.”
The 2007 Bruin team ““ led by former coach Karl Dorrell ““ finished its season with road losses at Washington State, Arizona and rival USC.
It started off even worse for the Bruins in 2008, when they were trounced 59-0 by BYU in Provo, Utah. They followed that game with losses at Oregon and at California.
But on Saturday, UCLA dominated from the opening minutes. Washington fans and a cool Seattle night did not faze the Bruins as they cruised to a relatively easy win. It was the program’s first road victory since beating Oregon State 40-14 in September 2007.
“There’s no doubt it helps,” defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said. “It’s just a matter of feeling good about ourselves.
“We work hard like everybody else. … To see guys battle with all these losses, that’s never good. I’m just happy that they get a chance to be happy.”
The Bruins will travel again for their next game, Nov. 28 at Arizona State.
A win in Tempe would push the Bruins’ record to 5-6 and open an opportunity for a bowl game.
But, for now, the team is happy to have taken one step forward, one step closer to the turnaround it’s hoping for.
“Our biggest thing was to get a road win, that’s what we’ve been saying all week, “˜win on the road,'” offensive tackle Jeff Baca said. “This one is huge. We’re all trying to go in the right direction. And we’re going. We’re already going. We’re turning this program around.”
BELL SITS, THEN STARS: Senior tailback Kahlil Bell did not start the game Saturday because of a disciplinary decision.
“Kahlil was late for a meeting earlier today,” Neuheisel said.
Freshman Derrick Coleman started in Bell’s place and played well. He ran four times on the team’s opening drive, including an 11-yard touchdown scamper.
Bell came in after and had his best performance of the year. He finished with 97 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
As a team, the Bruins had their best rushing performance of the season. UCLA finished with 157 yards rushing as a team. Reserve running backs Aundre Dean and Raymond Carter combined for seven carries and 16 yards.
GREAT START: UCLA scored a touchdown on its first possession for the first time this season.
Quarterback Kevin Craft completed all four of his passing attempts, as the Bruins marched down the field easily.
Tailback Derrick Coleman capped the drive with a touchdown run to put the Bruins up 7-0.
“The opening drive was rewarding for me,” Neuheisel said.
“That was the first time all year we looked like we were going on all cylinders.”
PRICE IS ALMOST RIGHT: UCLA uses perhaps its strongest player, defensive tackle Brian Price, as its goal-line fullback.
In the third quarter against Washington, the Bruins tried to throw to their big, burly defender.
Price faked to his right before cutting back to the left and running a short out-route. Quarterback Kevin Craft looked to him first but scrambled and tried to find wide receiver Gavin Ketchum with a shovel pass.
“The play didn’t work,” Price said.
NOTES: UCLA punter Aaron Perez broke Nate Fikse’s record of 267 career punts at UCLA. Perez is also just 9 yards short of the UCLA record for punting yards. … UCLA’s kickoff specialist Jimmy Rotstein was replaced midway through the game by field-goal specialist Kai Forbath. … Offensive guard Darius Savage injured his left knee in the first half and was carted off the field. A UCLA spokesman said that the team will run more tests on Savage when he returns to Westwood. … UCLA’s 92-yard scoring drive in the third quarter was its longest of the season.
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