Just minutes away from burying its demons, the UCLA football
team instead invited its past history to take center stage.
The Bruins let an 11-point lead slip away with seven minutes
left, giving up two touchdowns in a two-minute span that led to
Arizona State’s 48-42 win Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.
UCLA (4-3, 2-2 Pac-10) controlled the majority of the second
half, holding a 42-31 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
However, two touchdown passes from quarterback Andrew Walter, for
46 and 65 yards respectively, not only brought the Sun Devils (6-1,
3-1 Pac-10) back to life, but gave them a lead they would never
relinquish. An Arizona State field goal with three minutes left on
the clock following quarterback Drew Olson’s fourth
interception capped the 17-point turnaround.
Walter completed 25 of 51 for 417 yards and six touchdowns on
the day, further exposing a weak UCLA defense that had previously
given up most of its yards on the ground. The Sun Devil quarterback
also threw a season high three interceptions, yet in the end
overcame his mistakes and led his team to an improbable
come-from-behind victory.
The Bruins’ fourth quarter collapse marred an otherwise
impressive performance by UCLA’s offense. Olson went 30 of 45
for 326 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon. Meanwhile, the
running game seemed to re-establish itself after two recent sub-par
efforts, compiling 188 yards on the ground.
After trailing 21-10 early in the game, the Bruins scored 10
points in the last two minutes of the first half to close the gap
to a single point. They took their first lead of the game on a
3-yard Manuel White touchdown run with two minutes remaining in the
third quarter. A 9-yard touchdown pass to Tab Perry with seven
minutes left in the fourth quarter extended the lead to 11, but the
Bruin defense proved incapable of holding on.
Compiled by Bruin Sports senior staff. Full coverage on
Monday, Oct. 25