What had the making of a back-and-forth shootout after the first
few minutes of play quickly turned into a sound drubbing as UCLA
easily beat Oregon State 51-28 to continue marching forward with
its perfect record intact.
Senior quarterback Drew Olson engineered an offense that put
points on the scoreboard without much resistance from a bewildered
Beaver defense. For the second-straight week, Olson threw his way
into the UCLA record books. Just one week after tying a school
record with five touchdown passes in a game, Olson broke the
single-game mark with six touchdowns as an encore performance.
The much-anticipated return of Oregon State quarterback Matt
Moore, who transferred out of UCLA after the 2003 season, when he
and Olson split time as the starter, initially looked to be worth
the hype after the teams exchanged quick touchdowns within the
first three minutes of the first quarter. Moore drove the Beavers
85 yards in four plays to take a 7-0 lead. Olson answered back with
an 83-yard drive that also spanned four plays.
After that, however, the Bruins’ defense contained Moore
while Olson kept his offense rolling. Olson, who finished with an
efficient completion rate of 15 of 23 for 258 yards, distributed
the ball throughout the game as junior running back Maurice Drew
and senior tight end Marcedes Lewis each had two touchdown
receptions.
UCLA (7-0, 4-0 Pac 10) had difficulty once again with stopping
the run, as Oregon State (4-3, 2-2) totaled 190 yards on the
ground, with sophomore running back Yvenson Bernard carrying the
load with 167 yards on 31 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
However, the Bruins’ defense was able to come up with key
stops in the first half and provide the offense with enough room to
create a sizable lead, something that hasn’t happened since
conference play began.
Oregon State moved the ball well at times, but did not have a
third-down conversion until the last play of the third quarter. In
addition to tightening up on third downs, UCLA also forced several
turnovers on defense, including a decisive fumble late in the game.
Sophomore defensive tackle Chase Moline sacked Moore and jarred the
ball loose, putting an end to any thought of a Beaver comeback
against the Bruins.
In something of a supporting role, Drew quietly rushed for 120
yards on 21 carries while also registering a 57-yard punt return
that set up a touchdown.
In a losing effort, senior wide receiver Mike Hass caught seven
passes for 198 yards with two touchdowns for Oregon State.
As for Moore, his return to the Rose Bowl didn’t have a
storybook ending, as his old team beat up on his new team. He
finished completing 14 passes out of 26 attempts for 276 yards.
Moore had a pair touchdowns equaled by a pair of interceptions.
For complete coverage of UCLA’s victory over Oregon State,
check out the Daily Bruin on Monday.