Trojans defeat Bruins in rivalry game

  DAVE HILL/ Daily Bruin Senior Staff Although UCLA was
able to make a stop on this play, the Bruins were unable to hold on
in the final two minutes, as USC won by a field goal, 38-35.
Defensive breakdowns plagued UCLA all game long. USC
38 UCLA 35

By Joshua Mason
Daily Bruin Contributor

In a season of close finishes, it was only fitting that
UCLA’s biggest game of the season would be decided in the
contest’s final seconds. And for the Bruins, it is a finish
they hope to soon forget.

A 23-yard Trojan field goal with nine seconds on the clock
capped the 38-35 upset of the Bruins and epitomized UCLA’s
2000 campaign, a season of missed opportunities, fallen hopes, and
widespread inconsistency.

“This is a game where you have to live with the loss 365
days in this city now,” head coach Bob Toledo said.
“It’s the biggest game of the year regardless of what
some people think.”

Coming into the game, UCLA seemed to hold a clear advantage.

The Bruins were bowl-eligible, as opposed to a Trojan team
entering the game with only one conference win. USC’s
probable imminent firing of head coach Paul Hackett was thought to
pose a weakness as well, emphasizing the team’s internal
struggles. UCLA was even playing at home, where they haven’t
lost to the Trojans since 1990.

Even more importantly, UCLA was supposed to have the more
explosive offense, the more consistent defense, and place-kickers
who the fans were more likely to applaud than boo.

And yet, despite all of these advantages, it was the Bruins who
played like the conference’s last place team on Saturday.

Offensively, they were sluggish in establishing a running game
and were unable to convert on third downs. But in the end, the
defense was credited with the majority of the Bruin woes, blowing
vital coverages as well as beating themselves with senseless
penalties.

“I’m very frustrated with our defensive team,”
Toledo said. “Overall, we didn’t do a good
job.”

Nothing was more telling of UCLA’s defensive
inefficiencies than the final Trojan drive. With the game tied and
little more than a minute to play in regulation, the Bruins needed
to limit a Trojan offense starting from their own 35-yard line.

With two quick plays, the first a 13-yard run by tailback
Malaefou MacKenzie and the second a 12-yard reception by wideout
Kareem Kelly, USC spotted the ball at the UCLA 48-yard line and the
Trojans began their decisive march downfield.

With the clock still running, the Bruins’ hope for an
overtime seemed a distinct possibility, as field goal range was
still far from realized.

It was the ensuing play, however, that shattered all hope for
UCLA. After missing a tackle of tight end Antoine Harris, UCLA
safety Audie Attar was charged with a defensive holding penalty
that pushed the ball to the 25-yard line and set up the winning
field goal by USC’s David Bell two plays later.

“We had too many penalties on special teams and on
defense, and we did exactly what coach Toledo told us we
couldn’t do,” Attar said.

Despite scoring the game’s first points for the first time
this season, UCLA’s offense was unable to do much of anything
the entire game, with Cory Paus and DeShaun Foster posting their
worst performances of the season.

Aside from two long Freddie Mitchell receptions, Paus was
limited to only 87 yards of passing, and the ground game was
virtually nonexistent. DeShaun Foster was restricted to just 45
yards on 20 carries, averaging just over two yards per run.

The lone bright spot for the Bruins was Freddie Mitchell, who
finished the night with 140 yards on four receptions along with two
touchdowns, one passing and one receiving.

In UCLA’s first offensive series of the game, Mitchell was
involved with a trick pass play that resulted in a 45-yard
touchdown strike to split end Brian Poli-Dixon, putting the Bruins
up 14-7.

After the Trojans tied the contest late in the second quarter on
a Sultan McCullough touchdown run, Mitchell hauled in a Paus pass
with 4:04 remaining and scampered 74 yards to the 6-yard line. The
play set up an Ed Ieremia-Stansbury touchdown reception to push the
Bruins ahead just before the half.

Highly characteristic of the Bruin defensive performance of the
day was what happened in the final three minutes of the first half
after the offense had taken the lead.

Up by seven, a strong defensive performance would have sent the
Bruins to the locker room with momentum in their favor. But a
six-play Trojan drive of 84 yards culminated in a 39-yard Kareem
Kelly touchdown reception that tied the score at 21 at the half. It
also likely reversed the momentum to USC’s favor.

The Bruins went up 28-21 after a 13-play, 64-yard drive capped
by a 4-yard Freddie Mitchell touchdown reception.

But the Trojans responded, and took their first lead of the game
with a 57-yard Steve Stevenson reception, boosting the score to
28-35 with 3:58 left in the game.

It was Mitchell who kept the Bruins in the game, pulling in a
miraculous 51-yard pass from Paus, which led to a quarterback
scramble into the endzone that tied the game at 35-35 with less
than two minutes in regulation.

“We have a lot of weapons, but (Mitchell) just seemed to
be there when the time came,” Paus said. “He always
seems to be there.”

Unfortunately for the Bruins, Mitchell and the rest of the
offense’s late heroics were not enough to keep the game tied
and sent into overtime.

“Right now all that matters is that we lost,” Paus
said. “I’m very disappointed.”

GAME SUMMARY BOX DEFEATED 38-35 FREDDIE
MITCHELL:Not only did he single-handedly carry the passing game
with four receptions for 140 yards and one touchdown, he also
passed for a touchdown himself.

In a key third-and-12 late in the second quarter, USC tailback
Malaefou MacKenzie broke a 21-yard run to keep alive Trojan drive
that eventually tied the score at the half and reversed the
momentum in USC’s favor.

29 to 12: the number of first downs the Trojans had compared to
UCLA in Saturday’s contest.

"There’s nothing good to take in from it, so you just
acknowledge the moment for what it is and move on. You just walk
away."-UCLA quarterback Cory Paus on what he learned from the
loss

As a passer, Freddie Mitchell has had tremendous success. He is
5-of-6 in passing attempts, four of which were touchdown
throws.

Original by PAULINE VU/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Web Adaptation
by MONICA KWONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff