ONLINE EXTRA: No place like home? Bruins win decisively on road in Kansas

By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Reporter

LAWRENCE, Kan. One rarely sees a grown man in tears. But a
football coach? Never. Yet Kansas head coach Terry Allen choked
back tears when he tried to speak after his team’s 41-17 loss
to UCLA.

"It’s a huge disappointment," he said. "I certainly want
to thank the people that came out. I’m sorry they had to
leave early. I’m sorry we ruined the festive atmosphere."

After early-morning tailgating, much of the stadium cleared at
half-time when UCLA led 27-10.

"Usually Midwest crowds are really energetic and really
supportive," said UCLA senior tight end Bryan Fletcher, "but they
have to have something to cheer for. We did a good job keeping them
from getting momentum."

Although UCLA went nowhere in its first two series, on the third
possession junior quarterback Cory Paus relied on senior tailback
DeShaun Foster and senior wide receiver Brian Poli-Dixon for a
70-yard drive. He topped it off with a one-yard dive over the goal
line. The touchdown set the tone for the rest of the game.

Despite the failure of the Jayhawk defense, Allen blamed his
offense more for the loss.

"We were so inept offensively, we put all the pressure on our
defense," he said.

The aggressive UCLA defense held KU to minus-10 yards rushing
and 22 yards passing in the first quarter. The Kansas passing game
was further hampered when star senior wide receiver Harrison Hill
broke his shoulder in the second quarter.

When senior linebacker Ryan Nece returned an interception 22
yards for a touchdown with 8:26 left in the first half, the Bruin
defense had more points than the Jayhawk offense

"I haven’t scored a touchdown since I was a quarterback
when I was a senior in high school," Nece said
enthusiastically.

After running the ball throughout the half, the UCLA offense
continued to dominate with a 49-yard play-action pass to Tab Perry
in a one-play, seven-second drive with 3:20 left in the second
quarter. UCLA capitalized on excellent field position throughout,
as KU’s punter averaged only 24.0 yards a punt.

UCLA’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage until the
final drive of the second quarter, when KU redshirt freshman
quarterback Mario Kinsey replaced sophomore Zach Dwyer. The
no-huddle spread offense was effective with Kinsey, who moved the
ball 80 yards for a touchdown.

"It is hard to contain (the no-huddle spread) when you have a
quarterback with running ability like that," Nece said.

The second half seemed almost superfluous as the UCLA defense
continued its stellar coverage and Foster racked up 230 all-purpose
yards. He matched Poli-Dixon as leading receiver as well as being
the leading rusher.

"DeShaun’s probably one of the best players we have, so
any way you can get him the ball, he needs to get it," said
Paus.

Foster averaged 6.4 yards per carry and looked every bit the
Heisman candidate as he powered through double and triple teams
with the help of senior fullback Ed Ieremia-Stansbury and an
experienced offensive line.

In the third quarter, once the Jayhawk defense came to expect
Foster runs, Bruin head coach Bob Toledo called a Z-reverse to
Craig Bragg, who carried the ball for a 37-yard touchdown.

Though UCLA pulled most of its starters when the game was safely
out of reach, the second- and third-stringers held KU scoreless in
the second half until midway through the fourth quarter.

"I was a little built up and had a lot of emotion," said Bruin
redshirt freshman strong safety Ben Emanuel, who recorded his first
career tackles. "It was good to get them out of the way."

Both offense and defense improved from last week’s victory
over Alabama. Poli-Dixon, who had zero receptions last week, made
three for 41 yards Saturday.

"When this offense starts clicking, things will really prosper,"
he said.

Though the festive atmosphere faded for the Jayhawks, the
prosperity seems to be just beginning for the Bruins.