Forced fumble ends Halloween scare

Monday, December 14, 1998

Forced fumble ends Halloween scare

STANFORD: Bruins haunted by poor play but Anderson manages to
strip ball at 1-yard line for win

By Jeff Kmiotek

Daily Bruin Staff

The Bruins could have skipped trick or treating, because they
got their Halloween scare during the day.

Less than a week after becoming No. 1 in the BCS poll, the
Bruins (7-0, 5-0 Pac-10) became escape artists against Stanford,
rallying from a 10-point deficit to squeak out a 28-24 win.

This was the same Stanford team which had just one win and the
worst defense in the Pac-10. The same Cardinal that came into the
Rose Bowl as a four-touchdown underdog against a team with a
nation-leading 16-game winning streak.

"That’s the worst we’ve played all year," said coach Bob Toledo.
"But to play as bad as we did and still win says something."

The Bruins had destiny on their side, overcoming penalties,
turnovers and overall sloppy play to do what they do best – win
football games.

"We just had to come up with the W, no matter how ugly it looked
or how pretty it looked," said cornerback Marques Anderson, who
made the biggest play of the game – maybe the year.

Anderson, who had a sprained toe, was almost held out of the
game due to the injury. But with 10 minutes remaining before game
time, he was given the signal to play, and the decision was a
blessing for the Bruins.

With four minutes left and UCLA leading by four, Stanford
quarterback Todd Husak fired a pass to Jeff Allen, who grabbed it
and sprinted toward the end zone. Anderson caught up to Allen and
raked the ball out of his grip at the one-yard line, an instant
away from Stanford taking the lead.

"I went for the strip. Luckily, it was there and it came out,"
said Anderson. "Sometimes that’s where your big plays come from –
luck."

Another unlikely hero was tailback DeShaun Foster, who made a
surprise appearance in the second half. Foster, who was out for two
weeks with a sprained knee but expected to be sidelined longer,
didn’t even know he was going to play until halftime, when Toledo
decided it was an emergency.

Jermaine Lewis had bruised his knee in the first quarter and
Keith Brown was a bit tired, so Foster got the nod and proved
himself. He ran nine times for 51 yards, including the game winner
– an 8-yard TD trot with eight minutes to go in the fourth
quarter.

UCLA had its fair share of chances to take control of the game
early but was continuously nailed by penalties. Cade McNown threw a
first-quarter touchdown to Danny Farmer, but it was called back on
a holding penalty. In all, UCLA committed 12 penalties for 125
yards.

"Mistakes just killed us," said McNown. "I wish we could have
played better a little early on, and I think we will next week. I
think we’ve learned some lessons in the last couple weeks. We’ve
escaped, but we haven’t dominated."

"How could you be displeased when you win a game like that?"
said defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti. "Sometimes you need a
little bit of magic, and we certainly had the rabbit’s
foot."DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin

UCLA wide receiver Danny Farmer tries to break

a Stanford tackle at the Rose Bowl.

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