California wide receiver DeSean Jackson had been manhandling the Bruins’ secondary all day. Nine receptions, 136 yards, two touchdowns ““ it was only fitting the Bears would throw to him with the game on the line.
Facing a third-and-5 on UCLA’s 30-yard line with just over a minute remaining, the Bears needed to convert to shorten what would have been a long 47-yard field goal opportunity.
A completion of five yards or more and the Bears (5-2, 2-2 Pac-10) likely would have gone home victors. But on the play that mattered most, UCLA sophomore corner Alterraun Verner was ready.
With the crowd as loud as it had been all day, Cal quarterback Nate Longshore motioned Jackson from the left sideline into the slot. That’s when Verner, who was on Jackson, knew something was up.
“When the play came, it was third-and-short so I knew it was probably going to be a short play,” Verner said. “So before the motion, I was thinking, “˜All right, he’s probably going to get something quick so he can make something happen.’ When he motioned down, they had only done that a couple times, so it was like, “˜OK, there’s something that’s got to be going on.'”
Jackson then broke on a short out and Verner recognized the route, knowing exactly what to do.
“Right when he came off the ball, I was thinking, “˜OK, I think I got a feel for what he’s doing,'” Verner said. “Right when he broke, I was like “˜OK, I got it.’ So I broke and the ball just came.”
Verner cut off Jackson’s route even before Longshore had released the ball, and picked off the pass with 76 yards of open Rose Bowl turf in front of him. A few seconds later, the Bruins had a 30-21 lead.
“I stepped in front, caught it, and just knew I could get to that end zone,” Verner said. “I didn’t see anybody in front of me.”
The touchdown was the biggest play of the year so far for the Bruins (5-2, 4-0 Pac-10). The score iced the game against a favored opponent, and put UCLA in the driver’s seat in conference competition.
The interception, Verner’s second of the game, could be partially attributed to the bye week that the Bruins had last week, giving them an opportunity to study plenty of film of Cal’s offense.
“We studied them, and that was an advantage we had with the extra week,” coach Karl Dorrell said. “We tried to get to know their offense as good as we could. It was good to see (Verner) recognize in that critical down to see what they wanted to do. He made a great play.”
On the day, the secondary shut down the rest of Cal’s receivers as the corners began to play more man-to-man in the second half.
“If they’re going to come in there and come at our back end, we’ve got to make them pay,” senior cornerback Trey Brown said.
“Verner took it on for the rest of us to get us going, picking two passes off. That’s the type of team and type of defense that we’re trying to create.”
Verner’s playmaking abilities could even get him on the field on the other side of the ball, at least according to Brown.
“Verner contributes everywhere on the field,” Brown said. “Special teams, defense … shoot, we could maybe throw him in on offense. You never know. He’s a great player and he’s going to keep getting better.”