With 3:39 left in the fourth quarter and the Bruins trailing by
three, UCLA senior quarterback Drew Olson continued to fulfill on
his potential by doing something he had never done during his UCLA
career.
He finally led the Bruins to a come-from-behind victory in the
fourth quarter.
Olson completed six of seven completions on the Bruins’
final drive, the biggest of which was a 5-yard completion to junior
wide receiver Andrew Baumgartner on fourth-and-one with 2:45
left.
“That last drive was huge for me personally,” Olson
said. “I had a few hiccups in close games last season, and
this year, I wanted to prove that I was a better quarterback than
that.”
The drive came after the Bruins had failed to move the ball
steadily for the first three quarters, during which they committed
two turnovers and accumulated only 247 yards of total offense.
The change for the Bruins, however, came at the end of the third
quarter, when Olson scrambled to his right and flipped end over end
to the Huskies’ 1-yard line.
“I saw the opportunity, and I took it,” Olson said
of the play.
“I decided I wasn’t going to let this team
lose.”
After the play, the Bruins scored 14 unanswered points and
completed a comeback that hadn’t been accomplished in quite
some while.
“I honestly don’t remember the last time we had a
victory like that,” Olson said. “It just shows how much
character and resilience this team has.”
On the final drive, Olson completed passes to six different
receivers, including a hitch route he threw to sophomore wide
receiver Marcus Everett for a gain of 39 yards with 2:22 left.
Prior to that play, Everett was having a quiet evening with only
one reception, but his second catch proved to be a definitive play
on the critical drive.
“After fighting back the way we did, we had to score on
the last drive,” Everett said. “We didn’t want to
score a field goal; we wanted to prove that this team is different,
that we can win in critical situations.”
For Olson, the victory was especially vindicating.
Last year, the Bruins were in a similar situation against
Washington State. The Bruins were down in the fourth quarter and
pulled within two points with 1:51 left. But Olson’s
two-point conversion attempt failed, and the Bruins lost 31-29.
“That game stood out particularly in my mind,” Olson
said. “But this game compared to that just shows the
improvement we’ve made.”
Olson finished the game with 287 yards passing and two
touchdowns, yet his pass efficiency and quarterback rating will
certainly drop after he threw his first two interceptions of the
season on Saturday.
Whatever the changes are to his stat sheet, Olson chose to look
past the numbers and focus on the growth of his team.
“I’m glad we got this test out of the way
early,” Olson said. “We’ve learned that we have
to come out and play hard, no matter who the opponent or the
situation is.”
On this Saturday, at least, Olson passed the test, but the
expectations and the scrutiny will become a lot tougher starting
next Saturday against No. 11 Cal.