Sun Devils scorch Bruins in 11th hour

Monday, October 14, 1996

FOOTBALL:

ASU turns the game on its head in middle of fourth quarterBy
Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The Bruins put up a ton of big numbers Saturday. The largest?
Two. Fumbles, that is.

"I’ve got a sick feeling in my stomach now," head coach Bob
Toledo said.

Who can blame him? Playing a near-perfect game for over three
quarters, the Bruins self-destructed in a 42-34 loss to
fourth-ranked Arizona State, in front of 66,107 shocked fans at the
Rose Bowl.

The Bruins held a 34-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
But then the Devils were awoken. Everything that could go wrong for
the Bruins, did. Six plays and 66 seconds later ASU held the lead
and complete control of the game.

The Bruins suffered through a series of plays that Bob Toledo
wouldn’t even wish upon his worst enemy. Heck, Al Davis probably
wouldn’t even wish it upon his worst enemies.

Play #1: ASU touchdown to pull within 34-28 ­ 7:24
left.

Play #2: Skip Hicks fumbles, ASU ball at UCLA 16 ­ 7:17
left.

Play #3: Nothing big ­ ASU running back J.R. Redman runs
for no gain.

Play #4: Sun Devil quarterback Jake Plummer catches touchdown
pass to give ASU 35-34 lead ­ 6:33 left.

Play #5: Cade McNown throws 50-yard bomb to Jim McElroy to ASU
30.

Play #6: Durrell Price fumbles, ASU recovers ­ 6:18
remaining. Game over.

"To have a lead and have it slip away like that is a sick
feeling," Toledo said. "More games are lost than won, and I really
believe we lost the football game today."

The fact is, for three quarters it was hard to discern which of
the two teams was in contention for a national championship and
which was just trying to leave its mark on the national picture.
The Bruins did whatever they wanted to ­ run, pass, recover an
on-sides kick.

Cade McNown passed for 395 yards. Skip Hicks ran for 124. Jim
McElroy caught two passes for 105 yards. The defense had held the
fourth-best scoring offense in the nation to 14 points.

But, then it all started to slip away, in more ways than
one.

In what was the key play of the game, perhaps the season, Skip
Hicks, struggling to hang on to the ball all season, lost his grip
on a handoff from Cade McNown.

"I thought I had control of it," Hicks said. "As far as I know,
I just dropped the ball; you can’t have that up here."

The thing is, Hicks was not even supposed to be in the game.
Durrell Price was supposed to be there.

A couple series after suffering from dehydration, Hicks was told
to stay on the bench. He never knew.

"I told Durrell to go in, and Skip ended up running in and
Durrell ran out," Toledo said. "So that’s our problem."

"I felt fine when I went back in there," Hicks said. "I guess I
just wasn’t as fine as I thought I was."

Regardless, he fumbled before he was even hit by a Sun Devil
defender, losing the ball, the game and perhaps the season in one
play.

Actually, the Bruins still had a chance to maintain their lead,
but "The Snake" struck.

Two plays after the Hicks fumble, J.R. Redmond ran right with a
pitchout, stopped suddenly, and threw a cross-field pass to a
wide-open Jake Plummer. Plummer, more accustomed to throwing
touchdowns than catching them, proceeded to scramble, sidestep, and
power his way into the end zone for a 35-34 lead.

"We just put that play in this week," ASU head coach Bruce
Snyder said. "It didn’t go totally as planned, but (Plummer) went
right into the teeth of the defense. It was a great run ­ he
is so slippery. I guess that’s why they call him ‘The Snake.’"

Either that, or it’s because he coils with a calmness and then
strikes suddenly without a moment’s notice.

Through three quarters Plummer had passed for 207 yards,
respectable numbers, yes, but Heisman-Trophylike? No way.

But in the fourth quarter, Plummer showed why he is suddenly
being considered a candidate for college football’s highest
honor.

In the final eight minutes, Plummer hit for the cycle. He threw
for a touchdown, caught a touchdown to put ASU in the lead, and ran
for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.

"Jake Plummer is an outstanding QB," Toledo said. "He made the
plays when he needed to, that’s why he is so great."

Two plays later, the game was over. After McNown threw a 50-yard
bomb to Jim McElroy, giving the Bruins hope of a comeback, the
world came crashing down on them, in the form of another Bruin
fumble.

UCLA, which had not turned the ball over all game, suddenly
fumbled twice in a span of three plays.

After that ASU methodically marched on a 13-play, 66-yard
touchdown drive to increase their lead to 42-34, with 1:18
remaining.

The Bruins had one last shot, but McNown was intercepted by
Jason Simmons on a desperation hail mary pass.

It was a bitter end for McNown, who had his greatest day ever as
a Bruin.

He completed 22-of-41 passes and the 395 yards McNown threw for
was a career-high and third-highest total in UCLA history.

But, as impressive as his numbers were, his ability to avoid the
rush was even more impressive.

Time and again, McNown made something out of nothing. On third
downs, he was 8-for-11 and he also ran for another first down.

"He had a great game," Snyder said. "I think he is going to be a
great player."

For a player that put so much on the line and gave such an
effort, the loss was tough to take for McNown.

"I’m just so upset that we lost," he said. "It hurts when you
lose a game like this, where if we would have gotten things done
like we knew we could, we would have pulled the game out. So, it
really hurts."

"Tough" doesn’t even begin to describe it. On the verge of
taking control of the Pac-10 race and set to upset a top-5 team for
the first time since 1990, the Bruins suddenly lost everything
­ the game, national respect, and a good shot at the Rose
Bowl.

"We had a chance to do something good and now we are not in
control of our own destiny in terms of the Rose Bowl," senior
safety Abdul McCullough said. "When you come here as a freshman you
want to go to the Rose Bowl. I went as a redshirt freshman but I
didn’t really appreciate it. Now we need ASU to lose two games, and
if we can’t beat them I don’t know who can."

But, they could have, and probably should have. They just let it
slip away.

JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin

Senior strong safety Harlan Rashada (#5) breaks up a pass to
sophomore tight end Mike Grieb (#88).