UCLA at Washington State: A memory

(First off, this is my BruinsNation debut. For those of you confused about my screenname, it's an inside joke from Dodgerblues.com, where I am a frequent poster. The "LAT" stands for "Los Angeles Times," and the "F"...well, it's probably self-explanatory. On with the fanpost.)

October 15, 2005. A day that will live forever in college football lore, as it birthed several of the greatest finishes in the sport's history. Wisconsin beats Minnesota 38-34 on a blocked punt return with 30 seconds left. Matt Ryan begins his BC legacy of amazing fourth-quarter comebacks by throwing two TD passes in the final three minutes to beat Wake 35-30. West Virgina overcomes a 17-point fourth-quarter lead by Louisville to win in three overtimes when their defense stops Brian Brohm on a two-point conversion attempt. Michigan beats Penn State 27-25 on a last-second pass only made possible by a questionable refereeing decision to put time back on the clock earlier in the drive. And...ugh, yeah, there was the legitimately great SUC-Notre Dame game, which I'll just assume you're all familiar with because even thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach. At any rate, it was an amazing, amazing day to be a college football fan, with all of these thrillers reminding people why they follow the sport in the first place.

But I didn't even see a single one. While all of these incredible finishes were taking place, I was in my dad's car, driving from Portland, Oregon up to Pullman, Washington. And I think you all know why:

UCLA was 5-0 at the time, coming off a 47-40 victory over Cal that seemed to legitimize the Bruins as a team to be reckoned with and not just the "lucky" team that had barely beat crappy Washington at home the week before. Now, they had to prove that against Wazzu. The Cougs were nobody's idea of a great team, but they were 3-2 and boasted one of the Pac-10's best running backs in Jerome Harrison. As UCLA boasted one of the Pac-10's worst running defenses, several predicted that Washington State could play UCLA close and possibly upset them.

This was my first college football game, and I was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the Wazzu fans. The place was completely packed, and the cheering and chanting began ten minutes before kickoff and lasted almost the entire contest. As my dad and I were covered head to toe in UCLA gear, we were forced to endure endless taunts from the Wazzu fans, and as we approached our seats and sat down among the few scattered UCLA fans in our section compared to the thousands of Wazzu fans surrounding us, something just didn't feel right to me. It didn't feel like we were supposed to win, or that we were going to win.

The game started, and the experts were proved right. Jerome Harrison shredded the UCLA defense, and Alex Brink wasn't shabby either as the Cougs piled up touchdown after touchdown to take a 21-0 lead. I remember the sinking, hopeless feeling in the pit of my stomach, as well as the anger and frustration towards all of the Wazzu fans, wishing I could do something to get them back. It was just a terrible experience, the first quarter-and-a-half: the crowd exploding with cheers after every bad thing that happened to my team, and having to just slink down in my seat embarrassed as everyone around me was whooping it up and having the time of their life. I began to regret ever coming to the game in the first place.

Thankfully, though, Drew Olson, a guy I'd given up on at least 459845 times in his first three seasons, led us back and began to establish his Bruin legacy. Olson threw two TDs in the final eight minutes of the second quarter, including one with 26 seconds left that finally shut up the Wazzu fans for a few minutes. Still, at halftime the score was still 28-14 Cougs, and then came the biggest insult: "O-VER-RATED! O-VER-RATED! O-VER-RATED!" It came raining down all around me, with various Wazzu fans pointing at me and my dad as they yelled. My dad practically had to restrain me to keep from picking a fight. At that point, I wanted UCLA to win more than I'd wanted anything in my entire life.

But even though the offense had finally gotten going, the defense still couldn't stop Jerome Harrison. Even after Olson threw yet another TD pass early in the third to cut the lead to seven, Harrison just went right back to work, gaining huge chunks of yardage with every play. Wazzu extended their lead to 31-21, and after a completely stupid fake punt pass attempt by Dorrell (on FOURTH AND FIFTEEN FROM HIS OWN 40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), Wazzu got the ball right back in great position to add to their lead. And after Harrison started the drive with a 15-yard run to get inside the UCLA 30, the crowd could sense the kill. They began to get as loud as they had been at halftime, and the feeling of hopelessness returned. Harrison's next run only gained about five yards, and he was forced out of bounds. It was a regular run, I thought, nothing special, and the crowd seemed more subdued than anything. But about two seconds after the whistle blew, my dad jumped to his feet.

"He's limping! He's hurt!" my dad was yelling. I looked to the sidelines, and he was right. Harrison seemed to be favoring his ankle, and he went out of the game for the next play.

Something clicked in my brain now: if Harrison couldn't run the ball as effectively as he had, then Wazzu's offense was neutralized and we still had a chance. And although Washington State scored three plays later on an Alex Brink run, my thoughts proved prophetic. Olson threw another TD pass early in the fourth to cut the lead to 38-28, and when Washington State got the ball back, Harrison wasn't the same. His injury wasn't noticeable, but his cutting ability was severely limited. As a result, the Cougs went three-and-out, and Olson got the ball back and drove the Bruins down for a field goal. 38-31, 10 minutes to play.

Once again, Wazzu went three-and-out, thanks once again to Harrison's inability to break free from defenders. UCLA got the ball back, and Olson drove the Bruins down into Wazzu territory, facing a 4th-and-1 from the 47. The next play basically confirmed every single fear I'd ever had about Karl Dorrell: the man simply was not a good in-game coach. We had MJD and Chris Markey suited up and kicking ass. We needed ONE YARD. And the Doofus calls for Olson to drop back and pass when Wazzu knows he's the one who's been beating them all game? What a crock. Olson, of course, threw incomplete to force a turnover, and the Cougs had the ball and excellent field position with seven minutes to play. The crowd exploded, and the hopelessness and anger returned (although now most of the anger was directed toward KD, not the stupid Wazzu fans).

But yet again, Harrison's injury reared it's ugly head. He lost four yards on Wazzu's first play, and couldn't get anywhere on a third-down screen pass that he probably would have gained 30 yards on in the first quarter. Wazzu had to punt, and this time it was really our last chance with 5:30 to play. I can't even describe how cool, calm, and collective DO was on this drive; he managed the game and the defense perfectly the first few plays, and then completely took over once the ball entered Wazzu territory. 19 yards to Marcedes Lewis. 10 yards to Gavin Ketchum. 7 yards to Chris Markey. After an incompletion, that set up 3rd-and-3 from the Wazzu 9, and what followed had to be one of the most clutch passes in UCLA history: Olson takes the snap, rolls right, and sees Marcus Everett in the back of the endzone. Considering Everett's postion on the field and the way he was defended, basically only an absolutely perfect pass would get the job done.

Well, Olson threw an absolutely perfect pass, Everett made a fine leaping catch and got his feet down, and the game was tied 38-38 with 44 seconds to go. And like that, the entire building went completely silent save for the small UCLA section whooping it up. I couldn't help but smirk to myself at the fans all around me with their hands on their knees, looking at the ground in disbelief. It seemed like sweet justice.

Of course, my good feeling was almost blasted to pieces in the final 44 seconds, as Brink heroically head the Cougs into UCLA territory with time for one last play in regulation. For the first time in the entire game, I closed my eyes as Brink took the final snap of regulation. I had my hands over my head, and my heart was beating faster than it had been the whole game. "Please no...please no...please no..."...and then I opened my eyes a crack and found that Brink's Hail Mary had juuuust fallen incomplete. Whew. On to overtime.

Wazzu did nothing with their drive and had to settle for a field goal. I, and the rest of the UCLA fans, could sense blood in the air. The offense was firing on all cylinders, the Cougar defense was tired, and the outcome now seemed inevitable. A couple of running plays gave the Bruins a first down on the Wazzu 14, and then a killer facemask penalty put the ball on the 5. MJD then blasted forward into a pile around the goal line, and I jumped up into the air in jubilation thinking the game was over. Not quite yet; the referees placed the ball at the 1. At that point, I thought several horrible thoughts (Botched snap? Fumble into the endzone? Karl Dorrell for some reason brings in Spencer Havner to play QB and has him try and punt the ball into the endzone?) before MJD finally, truly, busted through the pile to score the winning touchdown. 44-41, final.

The second jump of jubilation was even better than the first. I saw the UCLA fans hugging each other in complete exhaustion, happy but tired at the same time. I saw the same Wazzu fans taunting me for my Bruin gear flee the stadium like it was on fire. I clapped and cheered until my hands were red and my voice was gone. And I didn't even care. It was a completely incredible game, one that turned me into the full-blown UCLA football junkie that I am today. And although it was simply a striptease game not unlike the several exciting Lavin victories in the dark ages of UCLA basketball, it was still a great experience, one that I'll never ever forget.

Of course, I bring this up because we just so happen to playing at Washington State this next week, and once again we'll be favored, but many will give Wazzu the "possible upset" tag (this is one of their last chances to not go winless in the Pac-10, Prince might be suffering some concussion aftereffects, we're 1-3 on the road, etc). I can't say that I hope the game goes the way the '05 game did, as I might just have a heart attack, but I do hope the end result is the same. KP...may you channel your inner Drew Olson for this one, and give us all another Pullman game to remember.