Sun sets on disappointing season for Bruins

  The Associated Press Jermaine Lewis
(left) and Freddie Mitchell (right) sit on the
bench after the 21-20 UCLA loss to Wisconsin in the Sun Bowl on
Friday, Dec. 29, in El Paso, Texas. Despite a strong first half,
injuries and a strong Badger running game set the squad back.
Sun Bowl Wisconson 21 UCLA 20

By Greg Lewis
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

EL PASO, Texas “”mdash; UCLA’s Sun Bowl was a remarkable
microcosm of the entire season. A brilliant start coupled with the
finish UCLA wanted just out of reach. The Bruins held an opponent
to 21 points, but could only manage 20 themselves.

The game started the way most people expected it to. Wisconsin
(9-4) star running back Michael Bennett rushed for 25 yards on his
first two carries and the Badgers scored on their fourth play of
the game, a 54-yard pass from Brooks Bollinger to Lee Evans.

After watching the Badgers go 80 yards in less than two minutes,
the Bruins (6-6) went 75 in their next four. UCLA receiver Freddie
Mitchell made the play of the game to score from 64 yards out.
Using a formation the Bruins have run all season, Mitchell streaked
down the middle of the field, losing cornerback Jamar Fletcher and
free safety Jason Doering 10 yards behind.

At about the 15-yard line, Mitchell turned to Fletcher, showed
him the ball and then waved tauntingly before heading into the end
zone. The play, which drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct
penalty, showed the Bruins would not back down.

Before the game, Fletcher, the Jim Thorpe Award winner for the
nation’s best defensive back, had insisted he was going to
shut down Mitchell. During the pre-game warm-up period he ventured
onto the UCLA side of the field, inciting a pre-game scuffle in
which Fletcher hit UCLA cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. in the head,
but the Bruins were mysteriously flagged for a penalty before the
game started.

“(Fletcher) was on our 38-line, and that was wrong. He
started it,” said UCLA head coach Bob Toledo.

Afterward, Fletcher admitted that he did the pushing while the
Bruins got the penalty.

The Bruins decided that if the Badgers were going to score, they
would have to earn it the hard way. Linebackers Robert Thomas and
Ryan Nece played as well as they have all season, with Thomas
stopping Bennett when he went inside, and Nece containing him when
he bounced outside.

“After three weeks of just practicing, guys were ready to
go. We were itching to play,” Nece said.

The situation looked bleak for a short time after UCLA’s
two starting cornerbacks, Manning and Jason Bell, were both knocked
out of the game, Bell with a broken foot and Manning with a
concussion.

With Joe Hunter and Keith Short playing in their places, the
Bruins dared Bennett and the Badgers to run, and then stuffed them
when they did. Wisconsin finished the first half with 20 carries
and only 54 yards.

“I thought as far as coverage, they did an excellent job.
But (Bell and Manning) are our best run-support corners, and
that’s where it hurt us,” Toledo said.

In the second quarter, Wisconsin tried to pick on the backup
corners with little success. Reserve quarterback Jim Sorgi, in
temporarily for Bollinger, had a pass intercepted by safety Marques
Anderson, forcing the Badgers to think twice about going to the
air.

“We came out and hit them in the mouth, I don’t
think they were expecting it,” Anderson said.

UCLA had just as much success on offense as on defense in the
first half. Blake Worley and Sun Bowl Most Valuable Lineman Oscar
Cabrera opened huge holes for running back DeShaun Foster, who
tallied 100 yards and a touchdown.

“It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win,
though,” Cabrera said. “I’d give any part of my
last four seasons for the win today. You’re only as good as
your last game.”

Quarterback Cory Paus opened with one of his best halves ever,
finding open receivers downfield, and looking more nimble in the
pocket than he had through his entire career. Twice he sidestepped
heavy pressure from the Wisconsin line.

Chris Griffith put the Bruins up 10-7 with 5:48 left in the
first quarter with a 31-yard field goal. The Bruins almost had a
14-7 yard line when the side judge ruled that receiver Brian
Poli-Dixon hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass, but he was overruled
and the Bruins settled for three.

The Bruins went up 17-7 on a six-play 45-yard drive that was
capped by Worley’s devastating block from seven yards out,
allowing Foster to prance into the end zone. Displaying aggressive
play, especially at the line, UCLA seemed full of new life after a
month between games.

Just before halftime, the Bruins were attempting to drive down
the field and stretch the lead, but disaster struck on the last
play of the half ““ Paus broke his collarbone.

The season was beginning to repeat itself in one game. Thomas
and Anderson, the team’s two best defenders, were banged up
and forced to miss significant portions of the game. Defensive
starters were dropping like flies, and the starting quarterback was
knocked out early.

After a surprisingly good first half that mirrored the
season-opening three-game winning streak, the Bruins came close,
but couldn’t seal the deal in the second half. UCLA went up
20-7 after a 65-yard, 13-play drive and 25-yard Griffith field
goal.

Backup quarterback Scott McEwan looked adequate, but the
offense’s confidence appeared shaken without Paus at the
helm. Those were the final points of the day for UCLA.

After they gave up throwing the ball, Wisconsin got back to
Badger-ball, pounding the Bruins with the running game.

“It took long enough for them to wear out. I have to give
them credit,” said Wisconsin guard Bill Ferrario.
“These guys really went at us all game. We could tell they
were getting tired in the fourth quarter but, man, they were tough.
Most teams we play don’t last that long.”

The Badgers pulled within six at the end of the third when
receiver Chris Chambers took advantage of a defensive miscue for a
3-yard touchdown reception.

UCLA’s running game was stopped as the Badgers stacked the
line, daring McEwan to throw. Although he did not display the same
touch for going deep that Paus had, McEwan connected with Mitchell
seven times for 101 yards.

“I told him, don’t worry, just throw me the ball and
I’ll make you look good,” Mitchell said.

Up 20-14, the Bruins attempted a fake field goal, with holder
Drew Bennett handing off to Griffith, who ran. He needed four
yards, but only got two.

“We had them sealed off for a little bit, but they got
around the wall. It could have worked,” Toledo said.

Wisconsin took the ball and drove 70 yards down the field for
the winning score.

UCLA got the ball back three times after that, but could not
manage to score. On the game’s final meaningful play,
Fletcher got redemption for Mitchell’s nine catches and 180
yards with an interception to seal the victory.

With only three points in the second half, and one of the best
defensive efforts of the season, the Bruins will have to wonder if
they were one play, or one healthy collarbone, away from a
victory.

GAME SUMMARY BOX DEFEATED 21-20 FREDDIE
MITCHELLThe receiver, on his way to winning the Sun Bowl’s
Offensive MVP award, had nine catches for a Sun Bowl record 180
yards against Jamar Fletcher, one of the best cornerbacks in the
nation.

After Chris Griffith lumbered for only two yards on fourth-and-4
during a fake field goal, the Badgers drove down the field and
scored the game-winning touchdown.

13:1, as in the ratio of rushing yardage running back DeShaun
Foester had in the first half compared to how much he had in the
second half. Foster finished with 107 yards, 100 of them in the
first half.

"If that’s the best defensive back in the country, I guess that
means that this guy is the best receiver in the country." -Bob
Toledo on Mitchell’s performance against Fletcher

The Badgers scored a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, the
10th time in 11 games the opponent opened with a touchdown.

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