UCLA 29, Arizona State 28 (final)

UCLA controls its own destiny.

The Bruins improved their record to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the South Division of the Pacific 12 Conference, which moves them into a tie for first place with Arizona State (6-3, 4-2). What's more, UCLA holds the tiebreaker with their victory Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.

But the Bruins didn't get there easily.

In fact, even if that game going on in the Deep South is said to be the Game of the Century, there's a good chance it won't live up to what transpired tonight in Pasadena.

At the finish, Arizona State kicker Alex Garoutte was short on a 46-yard field-goal attempt as time expired. 

Just before that, the Sun Devils moved down field from their 24-yard line to the Bruins' 29 largely on three plays: a 20-yard pass from Brock Osweiler to Gerrell Robinson, a controversial pass interference call on UCLA cornerback Aaron Hester and a 12-yard pass from Osweiler to Mike Willie.

But Garoutte couldn't come through. He missed all three of his field-goal attempts tonight. He had missed only three all season coming into the game.

Some final stats: 

--The Bruins tallied 416 total yards, and 220 of them came on the ground. Derrick Coleman had 119 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 17 carries. Quaterback Kevin Prince had 61 yards in 15 rushes.

--Arizona State had 465 total yards, 264 through the air from Osweiler, who completed 22 of 38 passes and threw for two touchdowns. Robinson was his main target, catching six passes for 131 yards.

--Prince completed 11 of 17 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. Nelson Rosario caught five passes for 151 yards and a touchdown.  

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UCLA vs. Arizona State photos

Here's a recap of the game:

UCLA 29, Arizona State 28 (late in the fourth quarter)

The Bruins have shown plenty of fight tonight and just retook the lead with 49 seconds left after a one-yard touchdown run by Derrick Coleman with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Stanford 45, UCLA 19 (final)

 
The beat goes on for Stanford, and we're not even talking about its world-famous band.

The Cardinal football team has won 12 in a row -- the longest streak in major-college football.

On Saturday in Palo Alto, Stanford made it three in a row over UCLA, methodically -- and occasionally spectacularly -- overpowering the Bruins in a Pacific 12 Conference game.

Let us count a few of the ways:

Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck showed why he is a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, completing 23 of 27 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns.

Just for fun, he added a spectacular reception, making a one-handed, over-the-shoulder grab of a pass from Drew Terrell and managing to get one foot down before sprawling out of bounds.

"He's an unbelievable athlete," Stanford Coach David Shaw said of Luck in a television interview after the game. "The guy can do anything, probably play any position, but we like him at quarterback."

Yeah, good choice, coach.

Sixth-ranked Stanford (4-0, 2-0 in the Pac-12) outgained UCLA, 442 yards to 343, and seemed never to run out of options.

The running game used nine ballcarries, with Stepfan Taylor leading the way with 112 yards and two touchdowns in 17 carries.

And Luck connected with 10 different receivers, with Coby Fleener (four catches, 78 yards, two touchdowns) and Chris Owusu (six catches, 48 yards, one touchdown) leading the way.

UCLA, which fell to 2-3 overall, 1-1 in the Pac-12, received solid play from quarterback Richard Brehaut, who completed 18 of 33 for 202 yards and two touchdowns, and Johnathan Franklin, who had 96 yards rushing in 12 carries.

 

Stanford 45, UCLA 19 (1:51 left in fourth quarter)

Back to methodical for Stanford.

And back into the end zone.

With the outcome in hand, the Cardinal offense just finished a little game of keep away with UCLA, taking 6 minutes 28 seconds to drive 59 yards in 12 plays.

Andrew Luck connected with Chris Owusu for the final five yards and the touchdown.

Stanford 38, UCLA 19 (10:21 left in fourth quarter)

Every time UCLA looks like it might make a game of it, Stanford says, uh, no.

Stepfan Taylor just added his second rushing touchdown of the game, bolting in from a yard out to complete a typically efficient eight-play, 59-yard scoring drive.

Taylor has 112 yards in 17 carries and Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck has completed 19 of 23 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

Stanford 31, UCLA 19 (early fourth quarter)

UCLA is showing some life -- and a bad kicking game.

Coming right back after a fumble set up a Stanford touchdown, the Bruins moved 56 yards in nine plays, with Josh Smith scoring on a seven-yard run.

Johnathan Franklin carried three times for 27 yards on the march.

And Jeff Locke missed the point-after, again -- his second miss of the game.

Stanford 31, UCLA 13 (start of fourth quarter)

Just when it looked like UCLA's defense was stiffening, a turnover popped up and mucked things up.

Taylor Embree coughed up a punt at midfield, flinching just as he was about to get hit instead of just calling for a fair catch.

Ty Montgomery recovered for Stanford at the UCLA 40, and after a five-yard penalty it took the Cardinal only four plays to get into the end zone.

Tyler Gaffney scored on a 16-yard run. 

Stanford 24, UCLA 13 (10:31 left in third quarter)

UCLA may be onto something.

The something is tight end Joseph Fauria.

The 6-foot-8 Notre Dame transfer just hauled in his second touchdown pass of the game -- while showing great potential as a high jumper.

Fauria took a short out pass from quarterback Richard Brehaut, turned the corner, and hurdled -- yep, right over the top -- Stanford free safety Michael Thomas just inside the 10 yard line and went in untouched.

Fauria has three catches for 43 yards and two touchdowns. Brehaut has completed 12 of 18 passes for 155 yards.

Jeff Locke missed the point-after kick.

Stanford 24, UCLA 7 (14:15 left in third quarter)

You know that crack earlier about every Stanford scoring drive taking forever?

Never mind.

The Cardinal took all of 45 seconds to put up a touchdown after halftime.

Stanford's second play from scrimmage was a 51-yard pass from Andrew Luck to Cody Fleener.

Stanford 17, UCLA 7 (halftime)

UCLA is on the board, thanks to a couple of clutch passes from Richard Brehaut to tight end Joseph Fauria, who at 6 feet 8 inches, can be tough to miss.

Brehaut found Fauria twice on a nine-play, 80-yard drive. The first time was on third-and-15, and the gain went for 18 yards.

The second was for a 12-yard touchdown.

Brehaut has completed nine of 14 passes for 126 yards, but he fumbled to set up a Stanford touchdown.

Stanford's Andrew Luck has completed 10 of 12 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. The Cardinal also has 107 yards rushing, including 77 in 11 carries by Stepfan Taylor.

UCLA has 44 yards rushing, including 42 in eight carries by Johnathan Franklin.

Stanford 17, UCLA 0 (2:37 left in second quarter)

Does every Stanford scoring drive seem to take forever. The Cardinal beat teams methodically.

Jordan Williamson just tacked on a 23-yard field goal at the end of a nine-play, 60-yard march.

The bright side for UCLA: Stanford had a first-and-goal at the 7 and couldn't punch it in for a touchdown.

Stanford 14, UCLA 0 (9:19 left in second quarter)

UCLA compounded one mistake with another, allowing Stanford to cash in with an eight-play, 28-yard scoring drive.

The first miscue was by Bruins quarterback Richard Brehaut, who lost a fumble when the ball was punched out of his hand by Stanford's Chase Thomas. Making matters worse, UCLA was tagged with a 15-yard personal foul after the play.

Stepfan Taylor scored the touchdown on a two-yard run.

Stanford 7, UCLA 0 (end of first quarter)

Ball control and one-hand catches dominated the opening period in Palo Alto.

Nearly the entire quarter was chewed up in one possession by each team. Both drove the length of the field.

Well, in UCLA's case, it was almost the length of the field. The Bruins' drive stalled at the 1, and Stanford took over from there.

The Cardinal took 16 plays to go 99 yards, the highlights being a pair of leaping one-handed catches.

The first was made by Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who showed he can do more than throw by hauling in a pass from receiver Drew Terrell and managing to get the required one foot down before he went sprawling out of bounds.

The other one-hander was on the touchdown, with tight end Coby Fleener pulling in an 18-yard pass from Luck.

UCLA 0, Stanford 0 (early first quarter)

It looked like UCLA was going to accomplish in the opening minutes tonight what it couldn't do in an entire game against Stanford last season:

Score.

On their first possession, the Bruins drove 79 yards in 13 plays, only to stall just short of the goal line.

Johnathan Franklin ran for 16 yards and quarterback Richard Brehaut connected on all four of his passes -- including two on third down -- for 60 yards.

UCLA had the ball first and goal at the Stanford 4, but after Jordan James gained two yards on first down, two runs by Derrick Coleman netted nothing, and Brehaut was stopped a yard short of the goal line on a fourth down run.

--Mike Hiserman

Pregame

UCLA will be without three prominent defensive backs against Stanford and quarterback Andrew Luck tonight.

Starting cornerback Sheldon Price, safety Dalton Hilliard and safety Alex Mascarenas did not make the trip to Palo Alto for the game.

Price has a sprained right knee, which he injured near the end of a 27-19 victory over Oregon State last week. Andrew Abbott is expected to start in his place.

Hilliard, who plays in the defense’s nickel packages, suffered a sprained left shoulder against Oregon State. Mascarenas, who also sees time in nickel packages, has a concussion.

Coach Rick Neuheisel had said all three would be “game-time decisions.”

Mascarenas also holds for field goals and extra points. He will be replaced by wide receiver Taylor Embree.

F-back Anthony Barr and kicker Kip Smith also stayed home. Barr is expected to undergo knee surgery to repair cartilage and Smith has a hip flexor injury.

MORE:

Looking ahead to new classic college matchups

Record day for Barkley in USC win over Arizona

UCLA's Neuheisel is looking for balance on offense

--Chris Foster

Photo: Cody Fleener makes a one-handed catch for a touchdown. Credit: Jason O. Watson / US Presswire.

 

 

 

 

UCLA football: Bruins limit player injury reports

UCLA, which has struggled on the field this season, decided to change its media policy regarding injured players.

The policy shift followed a week in which Coach Rick Neuheisel became angry about player injuries being reported in the media.

Injured players were placed off-limits to the media. Neuheisel will give injury reports only on Mondays and Thursdays.

Neuheisel said this week that he expected cornerback Sheldon Price (knee injury), safety Dalton Hilliard (shoulder injury) and safety Alex Mascarenas (concussion) to play and that it would be a “game time decision.”

None of the players made the trip to Stanford.

“We decided to amend and formalize our injury policy to streamline the injury reporting process,” UCLA spokesman Nick Ammazzalorso said. “The new policy draws its principles from similar policies at [Football Bowl Subdivision] institutions as well as several professional sports leagues.”

-- Chris Foster

Photo: Bruins cornerback Sheldon Price hits the turf after nearly making an interception against Oregon State last week. Credit: Jim Z. Rider / US Presswire

UCLA vs. Stanford: Live updates from Palo Alto

 

Pregame

UCLA will be without three prominent defensive backs against Stanford and quarterback Andrew Luck tonight.

Starting cornerback Sheldon Price, safety Dalton Hilliard and safety Alex Mascarenas did not make the trip to Palo Alto for the game.

Price has a sprained right knee, which he injured near the end of a 27-19 victory over Oregon State last week. Andrew Abbott is expected to start in his place.

Hilliard, who plays in the defense’s nickel packages, suffered a sprained left shoulder against Oregon State. Mascarenas, who also sees time in nickel packages, has a concussion.

Coach Rick Neuheisel had said all three would be “game-time decisions.”

Mascarenas also holds for field goals and extra points. He will be replaced by wide receiver Taylor Embree.

F-back Anthony Barr and kicker Kip Smith also stayed home. Barr is expected to undergo knee surgery to repair cartilage and Smith has a hip flexor injury.

MORE:

Looking ahead to new classic college matchups

Record day for Barkley in USC win over Arizona

UCLA's Neuheisel is looking for balance on offense

--Chris Foster

Photo: Rick Neuheisel's Bruins face the toughest test so far this season in Stanford. Credit: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times.

 

 

 

 

UCLA 27, Oregon State 19 (final)

 

UCLA won its Pacific 12 Conference opener Saturday, holding off Oregon State when Sheldon Price knocked away a late fourth-down pass by the Beavers at the Bruins' 22-yard line.

The Bruins (2-2 overall) survived despite a blocked field-goal attempt, a blocked point-after try and a UCLA punt that was returned 85 yards for a touchdown by Jordan Poyer.

"It was a great win on the road. That's what you have to do in this conference," UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel said afterward in a television interview.

Asked if the win might have also made the hot seat he's on "a little more tepid," the coach said, "I'm just trying to stay standing. That's it."

UCLA was able to control the ball, rushing for 211 yards in 49 carries. Derrick Coleman led the way, running for 100 yards in 20 carries.

Oregon State (0-3) managed only 88 yards rushing in 29 carries, though freshman quarterback Sean Mannion completed 24 of 40 passes for 287 yards and a touchdown with one interception.

UCLA's Richard Brehaut passed only 11 times, completing seven for 146 yards and a touchdown.

RELATED:

Photos: UCLA vs. Oregon State

UCLA 27, Oregon State 19 [6:15 left in fourth quarter]

The Bruins grind out a drive when they needed it most, going 65 yards after defensive end Damien Holmes stopped Oregon State's Terron Ward on a fourth-and-one play.

Texas 49, UCLA 20 (final)

Texas turned the tables.

Embarrassed last season in Austin when they were run over by UCLA in a three-touchdown loss, the Longhorns delivered payback in an even bigger way Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

With a lot of help from the host Bruins.

UCLA committed four turnovers, including three first-half interceptions of passes thrown by Kevin Prince, and the Bruins were unable to recover.

Texas, ranked No. 23 by Associated Press, ran its record to 3-0 by running and passing at will. Sophomore Case McCoy completed 12 of 15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Malcolm Brown ran for 110 yards and a touchdown in 22 carries.

And the UCLA running game, unstoppable in this matchup a year ago, simply couldn't bust enough big plays to get the Bruins back in the game.

UCLA, which ran for 264 yards in a 34-12 win over Texas last season, gained 141 yards in 34 carries  Saturday.

Prince, making the start at quarterback after missing last week's win over San Jose State because of a shoulder injury, was benched after having three of his seven passes picked off.

Richard Brehaut came on to complete eight of 19 passes for 150 yards.

UCLA is 1-2 and will open Pacific 12 Conference play next Saturday at Oregon State.

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Photos: UCLA vs. Texas

Texas 49, UCLA 20 (2:57 left in fourth quarter)

From start to finish, the Texas offense is cashing in opportunities provided by its defense.

Taking over at midfield after stuffing UCLA on a fourth-and-one play, the Longhorns drove 50 yards in 11 plays for their seventh touchdown in 11 possessions.

UCLA vs. Texas football: Live updates from the Rose Bowl

Texas 7, UCLA 0 (early first quarter)

The Longhorns converted an intercepted pass into a touchdown.

Carrington Byndom picked off a poorly thrown pass by Kevin Prince, giving Texas the ball at the UCLA 45-yard line. Two plays later, Case McCoy connected with a ridiculously wide open D.J. Grant, who coasted into the end zone on a 45-yard yard touchdown pass.

The interception was on Prince’s first pass since he sprained his right shoulder against Houston in the season opener two weeks ago.

Pregame

Kevin Prince will start at quarterback for UCLA today against Texas at the Rose Bowl.

Prince missed last week’s game against San Jose State because of a sprained right shoulder. He was the Bruins’ starting quarterback in the season opener against Houston, but injured his shoulder and sustained a concussion when he was upended on a scramble in the second quarter.

Richard Brehaut started against San Jose State.

Prince engineered a 34-12 victory over Texas in Austin last season.

MORE:

Bruins, Longhorns have things to prove

Can UCLA beat Texas and capitalize on the win?

Derrick Coleman is pounding out tough yards again

--Chris Foster

Photo: Kevin Prince (4) and Richard Brehaut during pregame drills last week at the Rose Bowl. Credit: Bret Hartman / Associated Press

UCLA football: Plenty of seats were available for Bruins-Spartans

At least UCLA’s near-debacle against San Jose State was a private affair.

The Bruins drew 42,685 to the Rose Bowl for their 27-17 victory Saturday. It was the second-smallest crowd since UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl. UCLA had 37,965 show up for a game against Cal State Fullerton in 1992.

Saturday was the sixth sub-50,000 crowd for UCLA at the Rose Bowl, joining Rice (44,808) in 2005, Boise State (46,752) in 1999, Oklahoma State (48,702) in 2004 and Northeast Louisiana (49,990) in 1996.

Coach Rick Neuheisel, though, was relentlessly optimistic about the small crowd.

“I never get disappointed at people who come to a game,” Neuheisel said. “Our job is to get more to come, but the ones who come we love and appreciate them and look forward to them coming next week.”

Still, Neuheisel broke with his tradition and did not address the crowd following the victory.

--Chris Foster

Photo: UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel gives the thumbs-up to fans as he arrives at the Rose Bowl for Saturday's game against San Jose State. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

USC football: Trojan scout team wears UCLA colors

USC plays its opener against Minnesota on Saturday.

The Trojans do not play rival UCLA until the final game of the season in late November.

But USC Coach Lane Kiffin and his staff got the Trojans in the mood for the Bruins on Thursday. During the final scrimmage portion of practice, scout team players donned powder blue jerseys with gold numbers.

 "I guess they put them in UCLA jerseys to make it a statement as an enemy,” tailback Curtis McNeal said. “It was pretty funny."

Kiffin said, "Hopefully they’ll be motivated to get off the service team so they won’t have to wear the powder blue jerseys."

Were the jerseys a symbolic message?

“Not really,” Kiffin said. "We were bored.”

More later at latimes.com/sports

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USC football: NCAA President Mark Emmert addresses questions about Trojans

-- Gary Klein

UCLA football: Neuheisel to name starting QB Tuesday afternoon

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel said he will name a starting quarterback late Tuesday, though the Bruins are likely to play both Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut against Houston on Saturday.

Neuheisel said that he wanted “to talk to those kids this afternoon and tell them what my plan is.”

Asked why he didn’t keep Houston guessing up until game time, Neuheisel said, “I wasn’t doing it to befuddle Houston. I was doing to get the most out of these kids and I don’t want it to be a distraction as we get closer to game time.”

Houston, though, was a bit befuddled.

“They have us practicing a lot of different things with the two quarterbacks,” Houston Coach Kevin Sumlin said. “It keeps us guessing.”

Sumlin will get to stop guessing sometime Tuesday.

“You know, whoever lines up, we’re going to have to go out and defend against them,” Sumlin said.

MORE:

Brandon Willis working on returning to the Bruins

Commentary: College football turns itself in to authorities

USC football: NCAA President Mark Emmert addresses questions about Trojans

-- Chris Foster

Photo: Rick Neuheisel. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times.

UCLA football: Guard Chris Ward leaves practice with ankle injury

UCLA’s bad luck on the offensive line may have struck again, as guard Chris Ward was charted off the field with an ankle injury Tuesday.

“I was told it was probably just a sprain,” Coach Rick Neuheisel said. “I don’t think it’s that serious. We've got our fingers crossed that he will be back shortly.”

Ward was scheduled to undergo X-rays as a precaution, Neuheisel said.

The Bruins' depth on the offensive line is minimal; at least until tackle/guard Jeff Baca finishes rehabilitation from a broken ankle suffered during spring practice. He is expected back in mid-September.

Ward was playing with the second team during a two-minute drill when he rolled the ankle. He was helped off the field for treatment before being removed to the training room.

Ward and Albert Cid had been alternating at guard with the first team. Greg Capella was the other guard on the first team.

Offensive line coach Bob Palcic said he had options on the line if Ward was out for any length of time. That could include moving Sean Sheller from tackle to guard and playing Brett Downey at tackle.

In other injury news, wide receiver Taylor Embree will undergo an MRI on his right calf Tuesday. Embree has been told by doctors that he probably has a strained calf muscle.

RELATED:

Brandon Willis might return to UCLA football team

UCLA football: QB Brett Hundley practices for the first time

-- Chris Foster

UCLA football: QB Brett Hundley practices for the first time

Freshman quarterback Brett Hundley, the guy who made UCLA football fans’ hearts go pity-pat when he chose the Bruins, went through team and individual drills for the first time on Monday.

Hundley, considered the centerpiece of the UCLA’s 2011 recruiting class, had been sidelined a month following knee surgery. There was a moment when being back sunk in.

“I got chewed out one time today and started laughing,” Hundley said. “It was like, ‘OK, I’m back.’ ”

Hundley was expected to make mistakes, having been on the sidelines. But the raw talent was obvious during 11-on-11 drills. He completed two of three passes in a brief stint with the first team.

“I was surprised to realize what I actually knew,” said Hundley, who was injured playing basketball in May and had surgery in July. “I learned from all those mental reps and from the opportunity to study a little more while I was out.”

UCLA football: Quarterback Kevin Prince shines in practice

The Kevin Prince that UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel has been waiting to see appeared at practice Wednesday morning.

Prince looked very much like the guy who won the Bruins’ quarterback job the last two seasons, completing 11 of 17 passes during 11-on-11 drills.

Of the misses, two were drops and another was broken up by a defender. His passes were crisp and -- pleasing to Neuheisel’s eyes -- on target.

“I thought it was maybe as good a practice as he has had,” Neuheisel said. “It’s like anything that requires skill and touch, it’s about confidence. A golfer with confidence can hit any shot. A golfer without it is playing defense all day long. We want to coach him hard but we also want to remind him he’s a good player.”

Prince struggled through Tuesday’s practice while getting most of the reps. Fellow quarterback Richard Brehaut is sidelined with an injured left foot.

Brehaut was out of the walking boot Wednesday, but Neuheisel wasn’t sure whether he would participate in Saturday’s scrimmage.

As for Prince, footwork has been a big issue, Neuheisel said.

“It’s all about distributing the weight,” Neuheisel said. “When you’re throwing in the backyard it’s easy. But you never get that type of throw in a game. You have to move your feet, like if you were playing shortstop. Only you’re not just throwing to first, but third sometimes.”

Prince said he relaxed more Wednesday.

“I broke down on the fundamentals yesterday,” Prince said. “The ball was flying pretty well today, so I think it was better. I’ll know when I see the tape.”

As for his footwork, “I just keep doing the drills over and over and it will carry over to where I don’t have to think about it when I play.”

-- Chris Foster

UCLA football: Coach Rick Neuheisel optimistic as Bruins begin practice

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel is optimistic. So it was business as usual when the Bruins’ opened training camp Monday morning with workouts for incoming freshmen.

“We have real depth for the first time, which means there will be real competition,” Neuheisel said. “Hopefully, we can parlay that into success.”

The Bruins' first practice was scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m., but Neuheisel and players were already addressing the season during media day. That included questions about Neuheisel’s future as coach.

Neuheisel has a 15-22 record in three seasons at UCLA.

“To tell you the truth, I haven’t thought anything about that this summer,” Neuheisel said. “I can’t let it take my attention away from what I have to do.”

 

UCLA football: Coach Rick Neuheisel optimistic as Bruins being practice

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel is optimistic. So it was business as usual when the Bruins’ opened training camp Monday morning with workouts for incoming freshmen.

“We have real depth for the first time, which means there will be real competition,” Neuheisel said. “Hopefully, we can parlay that into success.”

The Bruins' first practice was scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m., but Neuheisel and players were already addressing the season during media day. That included questions about Neuheisel’s future as coach.

Neuheisel has a 15-22 record in three seasons at UCLA.

“To tell you the truth, I haven’t thought anything about that this summer,” Neuheisel said. “I can’t let it take my attention away from what I have to do.”