Over the past six quarters, the UCLA defense has allowed 67 yards passing (42 at Oregon, 25 this half versus Stanford), and yet the Bruins lost to Oregon and are now trailing the Cardinal.
Tavita Pritcahrd is throwing mostly for Stanford, and back-up QB Alex Loukas is running whenever he takes a snap. Loukas has three carries for 41 yards. Stanford’s strategy was probably based on UCLA’s quarterback containment issues last week at Oregon.
Jim Harbaugh spoke this week about the leadership of his offensive line. So far the offensive line has dominated and allowed Stanford to control the game, even though the Cardinal’s passing game hasn’t worked.
Alterraun Verner tips a Pritchard pass and DT Jess Ward catches it out of the air; a huge turnover for UCLA as Stanford looked to increased its lead to 15 points.
Kevin Craft skips a pass to Terrence Austin on second down and is then sacked on third down. This has been one of Craft’s worst games since Arizona, although he’s faced a ton of pressure.
Everyone always talks about safety Glenn Love’s potential and we saw why on the last play. Love smacked Stanford punt returner Doug Baldwin, and forced a fumble. UCLA’s Mike Schmidt recovered and the Bruins are now in the red zone.
Quick thinking from Kevin Craft, he shovels the ball to Terrence Austin for a touchdown just as two Stanford defenders tried to hit him, Stanford 14, UCLA 13.
UCLA LB Reggie Carter called Stanford ‘dirty’ last week, and Cardinal LB Pat Maynor may have just delivered a cheap shot on UCLA QB Craft. Craft had already flipped a touchdown pass when Maynor nailed him. It looked like Craft didn’t see the hit coming. A 15-yard personal foul penalty was called.
Gavin Ketchum just delivered a huge hit on Stanford return man Jeremy Stewart, which is impressive considering Ketchum plays wide receiver.
On two straight plays UCLA lines back-up quarterback Chris Forcier up under center, while starter Kevin Craft plays wide reciver. Forcer carried the ball on QB draws on each play.
Longest, and probably most important, completion of Kevin Craft’s season, a 43-yard bomb to Taylor Embree. Craft was on the run as he threw. The completion setup UCLA with first and goal.
The quarter ends as UCLA lines up a short field goal, which would give the Bruins a 16-14 lead. That’s it for the blog, check back at dailybruin.com for more coverage after the game.