We’ll Take It: Coleman Saves The Day For Bruins

As the San Jose State Spartans, a team that was supposed to be UCLA’s whipping boys this past Saturday night as they were a 21-point underdog, tied the score on Brendon Rutley’s 65-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and particularly after Johnathan Franklin and Taylor Embree fumbled later on, giving the Spartans two golden opportunities…

Visions – nightmares, really – of San Jose State players dancing on the field celebrating the biggest upset in their history flashed in my head.

Thank the Good Lord for Derrick Coleman, however, because if it wasn’t for the Bruins’ senior running back and his 135 yards on just 14 carries, with a back breaking 24-yard touchdown dash in the fourth quarter…

Well, that’s a shuddering thought for me and the entire Bruin Nation as UCLA escaped with a 27-17 win before a rather sparse crowd of 42,685 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

It was the second smallest crowd to ever see the Bruins over the 30 seasons they have played there. Only a game against Cal State Fullerton in 1992 drew fewer fans.

The best way for me to describe this game was that it was supposed to have been Mike Tyson – in his prime – fighting Mini-Me, but it turned into a Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier heavyweight title fight, with the Bruins delivering a late round TKO.

The defense didn’t impress me all that much at the start, especially after that 65-yard run, but they stepped up at the end as they intercepted to passes and had another two turned over on review, with the UCLA faithful showed their displeasure at by lustily booing.

Richard Brehaut was efficient enough, going 12 of 23 for 145 yards and a touchdown to Joseph Fauria in the second quarter to put the Bruins up 14-7 at the half.

I’m sure that everyone agrees that this was a sluggish game that UCLA played for the most part, a game where they played down to San Jose State’s level and courted disaster with those two fumbles.

Luckily, the Bruins countered with those two picks, one by linebacker Sean Westgate and the other by defensive back Sheldon Price, that stopped Spartan drives cold and swung the momentum in UCLA’s direction.

Before this game, I mentioned that the only thing that San Jose State had going for them was that they had nothing to lose.

As it turned out, not only did they play exactly like that, but by the middle of the third quarter they were inspired, jumping around on the sideline, before reality reared its Bruin head in the form of Coleman.

The bottom line for UCLA was, it was a win.

And 1-1 looks a hell of a lot better than 0-2.

One thing that’s the gospel truth here: In a season where every victory is crucial, I’m positive that every one of these Bruins, from Rick Neuheisel on down, will gladly take it.

After the game, a friend of mine remarked that Neuheisel’s seat got hotter due to UCLA’s less than spectacular performance, but you know what?

If the Bruins end up winning seven or eight games by this fashion, it will still be seven or eight wins.

Which will be good enough to go to a post season bowl.

And Neuheisel’s job will be safe.

So as Al Davis always says, “Just win…” oh, never mind.

NEXT OPPONENT:  Texas, September 17th, Rose Bowl, 12:30 p.m.

Preview: At 2-0 after beating an always-overmatched Rice team and barely getting by BYU, the Longhorns, one of college football’s greatest programs and the marquee team in a state where football is a religion, will be looking to something that they haven’t done in 40 years: Beat UCLA.

The burnt orange clad lads from Austin want to beat the Bruins more than anyone save for USC, being that they lost to UCLA 34-12 last year and got blown out by them twice in 1997 and ’98.

At least ten to 15,000 Longhorn fans will descend to the Rose Bowl desperate to see their team throw the Bruin monkey off their back.

All I have to say is that if UCLA performs against Texas the way they did against San Jose State, it will be a long, frustrating, and ultimately depressing day, so it’s imperative that the Bruins step up and play a lot better than they have.

Or else.