Football falls to Stanford, 24-16
Senior running back Toby Gerhart falls into the Stanford end zone for a touchdown during the first half of UCLA’s first Pac-10 game of the season in Palo Alto.
By Blair Angulo
Oct. 3, 2009 12:56 p.m.
PALO ALTO ““ The UCLA football team dropped its Pac-10 opener Saturday, losing to Stanford by a score of 24-16.
The Bruins’ vaunted defense, which had allowed just an average of 251 yards per game heading into Saturday, was unable to contain one of the nation’s best running backs, Stanford’s senior Toby Gerhart.
“He’s a load,” coach Rick Neuheisel said regarding Gerhart. “He’ll be sore, but he’s a load.”
Gerhart, the Pac-10’s leading rusher, was the centerpiece of Stanford’s offensive attack. And even with all of the attention, he managed 134 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns. Stanford went to Gerhart early and often, as the workhorse carried the ball 29 times for an average of 4.6 yards.
If Gerhart weren’t enough, UCLA (3-1) also managed to hurt itself, committing six costly penalties for a total of 57 yards. With the victory, Stanford (4-1) stayed atop the Pac-10 standings, improving to 3-0 in conference games.
“Their offense was as advertised,” Neuheisel said. “They got done what they said they could get done.”
UCLA had a chance to match last season’s late-game heroics.
The Bruin offense regained possession with just over three minutes left, trailing by eight points. But after a fourth-down conversion on the first set of plays, redshirt senior quarterback Kevin Craft threw four consecutive incomplete passes.
“I really am proud of the way we fought and scratched our way back at the end of the game,” Neuheisel said. “That’s what I expected from our guys.”
