Defense Earns Some Redemption

Same situation.

Same defense.

Different outcome.

Staring down defeat and bad memories, UCLA went to the same alignment Saturday night in the final seconds that had failed a week earlier at Arizona State, this time getting a stop on the one-yard line and some redemption.

“You hate to say you want to prove a point,” Coach Bob Toledo said. “But that’s what we had to do. That’s exactly what we had to do.”

Because of what happened in Tempe, Ariz., where UCLA led, 27-21, but gave up an 80-yard drive capped by a screen pass that became a 49-yard touchdown for the Sun Devils with 23 seconds left. The Bruins then spent much of the week getting criticized or being reminded of that play.

That the opportunity came again two nights ago at the Rose Bowl may not have been so welcome, because it meant Oregon scoring 19 unanswered points on turnovers and great field position to turn a 34-10 UCLA blowout into a 34-29 contest in the closing moments. The Ducks drove from their 11 with 1:16 remaining to the Bruin 21, then had two tries for the win.

The first was an incomplete pass. UCLA called timeout with four seconds left. The defense was put in the same formation that had crumbled the week before. When play resumed, A.J. Feeley passed to Marshaun Tucker, but the Bruins stopped him at the one-yard line as time expired.

“When they started down around their own 20, about one minute left, it was like you couldn’t help but think back to last week,” safety Joey Strycula said. “Definitely. Everyone was out there on the field yelling, ‘We have to redeem ourselves!’ It’s kind of nice to get the chance again, to show that you can stop a team in that situation.”