Early UCLA-WSU Gamer

PASADENA -
Rick Neuheisel courses through a nearly empty UCLA locker room, exhaustion visible in every crease of his face, making a bee-line to his backup sophomore quarterback, Richard Brehaut. He is momentarily sidetracked by a pack of wolves, young kids hoping for a handshake but praying for a signature, but he continues on to his pupil, who found out he would start against Washington State less than 24 hours before game-time.

There are less than 10 people still left in the UCLA locker room after a 42-28 win over the Cougars at the Rose Bowl on Saturday in front of 62,072, one that probably should have been more convincing against a weaker opponent, but one that ultimately left the Bruins relieved and satisfied.

Gone are Johnathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman, the two Bruin running backs who carried the team on their shoulders, 401 yards and four touchdowns combined.

Gone is much of the coaching staff, which preached for six days to not take the four-touchdown underdog Cougars lightly, not even after a 34-12 upset over Texas last week left UCLA the talk of the college football community.

It is not quite a ghost town, but most players have moved on from their post-game showers, safely in the arms of their loved ones.

Neuheisel reaches Brehaut, leans down, tosses an arm around his surprised quarterback's shoulder, his mouth forming a weary smile.

"I only have one question for you - was it fun?"

Brehaut looks up and breaks into a wide grin.

"I had a hell of a time," says Brehaut, who filled in for an injured Kevin Prince and completed 12-of-23 passes for 128 yards and had the game-clinching one-yard touchdown run. "I told you in the first quarter I was having a great time!"

After that it got a little dicey, Washington State pulling out all the stops.

Only UCLA had the one big stop, and the Cougars never recovered.

The Bruins took command early behind the one-two punch of Franklin and Coleman, as each scored touchdowns in the first 18 minutes of play. But Washington State crept back, ultimately going into the locker room at halftime down just 20-14.

UCLA had its share of success in the first half - Franklin broke the 100-yard mark, Brehaut looked effective despite the late notice about starting, completing 9-of-18 passes for 96 yards - but this was the hapless Cougars, and the Bruins were simply expected to be up more.
This was, after all, a UCLA team coming off the stunning upset of the Longhorns, an afternoon of thorough domination in Austin, versus a Washington State squad that has lost 23 of its last 27 games, including a 50-16 defeat to No. 20 USC a week prior.

Yet here the Cougars were, at the UCLA 1-yard line following a 50-yard Jeff Tuel-to-Marquesse Wilson connection, score tied at 28, just under 15 minutes left on the fourth-quarter clock. They've just had a Tuel one-yard touchdown run overturned, the sophomore quarterback ruled down a half-yard short - and a missed extra point, with the ball snapped just after the whistle to review - but they have two more tries.

Third down, incomplete pass.
Fourth down, James Montgomery stuffed at the line of scrimmage by UCLA cornerback Aaron Hester and safety Rahim Moore.

"The official came over and told me that they got buzzed right before they kicked the extra point which was missed, and I'm saying that if they score again they are going to get another extra point, so I was in between whether this was good news or bad news," Neuheisel said.
"But our defense went out there and did an unbelievable job of stopping them on third and fourth down. It was a defense that had been on the ropes all day."

After the stop, the Rose Bowl was deafening.

Then it went quiet, fans remembering that the Bruins now needed to march 99 yards with the score tied and a backup quarterback in the game.

All it took was a little thunder to get the crowd roaring again.

On 3rd-and-2 from the UCLA 9-yard line, Coleman - the thunder, offensive coordinator Norm Chow says, to Franklin's lightning - broke off a 73-yard run, carrying defenders along the way.

Four plays later, Brehaut ran the ball in from a yard out to give the Bruins the 35-28 lead, and Coleman would add a four-yard touchdown later, his third score and 185th yard of the game, capping off a day in which he and Franklin (216 yards, one score) became the first UCLA teammates to rush for more than 180 yards.

"We've practiced being in that situation, and I don't think anyone's nervous," Brehaut said. "I tried keep the guys loose, 'Guys, let's get the hell out of here, let's drive down the field, let's go 99 on these guys. We got a little breathing room, then Derrick broke off that run, and that was huge. Seventy-three yards? That's huge."
Sure sounds like fun, too.