Special teams, defense step up to Roques Huskies

Monday, December 14, 1998

Special teams, defense step up to Roques Huskies

WASHINGTON: Bruins use field goals, kickoff return to clinch
Rose Bowl berth

By Jeff Kmiotek

Daily Bruin Staff

It was a Roques and Bowl afternoon for UCLA that Saturday.

The No. 3 Bruins (9-0, 7-0 Pac-10) clinched the Pac-10
championship and earned at least a berth in the 1999 Rose Bowl by
rocking Washington (5-5, 3-4) 36-24 at Husky Stadium.

Rocking, as in UCLA defensive back Ryan Roques.

The tailback-turned-cornerback returned a kickoff 81 yards in
the first quarter, and later scored on a 77-yard punt return to
give UCLA a 20-10 lead and a mountain of momentum going into
halftime.

With under a minute remaining in the first half and the Bruins
clinging to a 13-10 lead, Roques took a punt at the UCLA 23-yard
line and took off.

He escaped a couple tackles, juked a couple defenders and turned
on the afterburners as flailing arms trailed him to the end
zone.

"That was insane," said receiver Brian Poli-Dixon.

"It was unbelievable effort and desire. If every guy plays as
hard as he did on that play, we won’t have any trouble winning,"
said quarterback Cade McNown.

And thanks to that play, as well as the exceptional performance
of kicker Chris Sailer, the offensive line and the entire defensive
unit, UCLA didn’t have much trouble winning.

"I’m very pleased with our football team. I’m really excited to
win the Pac-10 championship and we’re excited to represent UCLA in
the Rose Bowl," said Bob Toledo.

The night prior to the game, UCLA’s video coordinator prepared a
tape that showed highlights of UCLA’s first eight games.

"My big emphasis for this game was that if you want to get on
the highlight film when the season is over, you’ve got to make some
big plays," said Toledo.

The Bruins took Toledo’s challenge to heart and responded
quickly. UCLA won the coin-toss, elected to receive and put
together an almost flawless touchdown drive.

"It’s kind of fun to get seven points on the board early in the
game," said McNown. "We were already in front of the
eight-ball."

But the Huskies grabbed the cue stick, and on their first
offensive play, quarterback Brock Huard hit receiver Andre
DeSaussure with a 53-yard completion. It seemed ominous that Huard
would keep exploiting UCLA’s struggling secondary, but that play
proved to be a fluke. The Bruin cornerbacks stepped up and allowed
just one more pass over 20 yards.

"Defensively, we rose to the occasion," said Toledo. "We
simplified it a bit and tried to change it up more by putting in
more zones.

For the Bruins, simple was better. And while Huard was kept in
check, McNown had yet another quality performance. He was given a
big assist from the offensive line, which didn’t allow a sack to a
Washington defense that led the nation with 48 sacks (5.3 per
game).

But although the offense was solid – in possibly their most
balanced game of the season – they were plagued by missed
opportunities in the red zone.

But fortunately for the Bruins, when the offense failed to punch
it into the end zone, Sailer kicked it through the goal posts.

Sailer nailed a career-high five field goals, including a
season-long 47-yarder.

"Nobody can take the Rose Bowl away from us," said Toledo. "But
obviously, there is more football to be played."

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