A driven UCLA football team falls short against Oregon in Pac-12 Championship Game

EUGENE, Ore. “”mdash; The clock hits zero and a wave of green-clad Oregon students storm the field, a stage is rushed to midfield and photographers suffocate various victorious Oregon players who are already donning shirts and hats confirming the Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl berth they have just won by beating UCLA 49-31 at Autzen Stadium.

Meanwhile, UCLA redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Prince embraces recently fired coach Rick Neuheisel ““ his leader of the last four years ““ before attempting to swim through the sea of emerald and yellow fans, most of them hecklers, on his way to the locker room. Before he reaches the tunnel, an Oregon fan stops him.

“Good game,” said the fan with an open palm.

Taken aback, Prince met his handshake, calling the fan’s gesture “classy” after the game.

The UCLA football team entered Friday’s inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game as 32-point underdogs. Despite missing out on the Rose Bowl, the Bruins (6-7, 5-4 Pac-12) kept it closer than many prognosticators thought against the No. 8 Ducks (11-2, 8-1).

They never led the game but the attitude among UCLA’s players in the postgame locker room was vastly different than it was after a 50-0 blowout to USC a week ago.

“From the beginning of the game, we saw that we could play with them,” junior cornerback Sheldon Price said.

“We fought,” redshirt freshman safety Tevin McDonald said. “I hope our fans and people outside the program saw that we didn’t give up. I’m sure we gave Oregon a lot more than what they bargained for tonight.”

Anyone with an interest in Friday’s game knew that stopping Oregon’s high-powered offense was going to be difficult. The Ducks were averaging upwards of 45 points and 500 yards of total offense. While Oregon exceeded those averages in Friday’s game, the miracle upset seemed possible in the early going.

UCLA forced turnovers on two of Oregon’s first three drives. Redshirt junior linebacker Patrick Larimore recovered a fumble caused by McDonald and followed it up by intercepting Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas and taking it 35 yards for a touchdown.

“I’m really proud of the team,” Larimore said. “I think this game, even though we lost, is a very positive thing for UCLA. I think we and really build on it in the future.”

Not to be outdone, Larimore’s offensive counterparts raised a few eyebrows as well. As he promised earlier in the week, Neuheisel went deep into the playbook for UCLA’s first offensive touchdown. It came on a flea-flicker trick play where Prince found senior wide receiver Nelson Rosario wide open down the middle of the field for a 37-yard score. The Bruins also sustained a 43-yard touchdown drive to open the second half that narrowed Oregon’s lead to 11.

“That just shows what type of team we are,” redshirt senior center Kai Maiava said. “Regardless of the score, we’re not going to quit.”

UCLA’s final offensive drive of the game was meaningless to everyone outside of the team’s huddle but inside, it meant the world. The Bruins trailed 49-24 and the defense had just turned Oregon over on downs. With a little over seven minutes remaining in the game, the Bruins’ singular goal was to get into the end zone. Not because it would win them the game but to prove to themselves that they could.

“I was telling the people in the huddle that I don’t give a damn what the score is,” Rosario said. “We’re not going to quit.”

Down the field they went, converting a fourth down along the way and capping the drive with an acrobatic catch, the tail end of a 19-yard touchdown pass from Prince to Rosario. It didn’t win them the game, a Pac-12 Championship or a berth in the Rose Bowl but it was a fitting way to send Neuheisel out, a man who preaches positivity in everything he does.

“We knew coach Neuheisel wanted it,” Prince said. “That’s the mindset he has instilled in us. It was special to score one last time.”