BERKELEY “”mdash; The marching bands from Cal and UCLA opened the afternoon by playing what is essentially the same fight song. But while one team took the tune ““ and its implication ““ to heart, the other must not have been listening.
Cal came out of the gates throwing punches, and UCLA never recovered. The Golden Bears scored early, and cruised to a 35-7 victory at Memorial Stadium.
“They came out, they hit us hard, and they hit us in the mouth,” UCLA redshirt senior defensive tackle David Carter said. “We came out today with the feeling that we were going to dominate, but we let them hit us in the mouth.”
“They were more ready to play than us,” junior linebacker Sean Westgate added. “They played with a lot of heart.”
The Golden Bears (3-2, 1-1 Pac 10) marched right down the field on the opening possession and got a 1-yard touchdown run from junior Shane Vereen less than five minutes in. The Cal running back would add another score less than five minutes later after UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin fumbled the ball away deep in his own territory.
“It’s just a series of unfortunate events,” UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince said. “We couldn’t get the game started like we wanted to.”
The early 14-0 deficit proved too much to overcome for a UCLA offense that has prided itself on ball control and a punishing running game. Suddenly, the Bruins (3-3, 1-2) were forced to play from behind, something they weren’t accustomed to ““ or, so it seemed, capable of ““ doing.
“(The fumble) was pivotal, giving them the 14-0 lead,” coach Rick Neuheisel said. “In this offense, you have to find a way to stay patient. But it also requires that the game stay in balance, and the game got out of balance.”
Forced into a position where it needed to counterpunch, the UCLA offense was unable to get itself up off the ropes. Franklin ““ coming off three consecutive huge performances ““ carried the ball just 13 times for 54 yards, 31 of which came on one second-quarter run. A week after rushing for over 180 yards, junior Derrick Coleman touched the ball just twice.
Prince completed just 13 of 31 passes for 99 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He was also sacked four times before being removed for sophomore backup Richard Brehaut late in the fourth quarter.
A Cal defense that had been gashed by Nevada’s pistol offense earlier in the season proved unyielding against a Bruin squad that it had two weeks to prepare for.
“They were ready for us,” Prince said. “They did a great job of adjusting to the things we wanted to take advantage of.”
Cal was coldly efficient in the red zone in the first half, scoring touchdowns all four times it got inside the UCLA 20. After Vereen’s two touchdowns, the Bears got a pair of second-quarter scores to build a 28-0 lead heading into halftime. Cal quarterback Kevin Riley fit the ball in to a tightly-covered Keenan Allen from 10 yards out for a touchdown and added a 1-yard touchdown run of his own soon thereafter.
Vereen had 25 carries for 151 yards, giving him 404 rushing yards in three career games against UCLA. While Cal no longer features Jahvid Best to pair with Vereen, they did have Isi Sofele, who ran for 80 yards of his own. Much of the Bears’ running success came when they were able to break outside and get to the second and third levels of the UCLA defense.
“They were winning everything coming off the edges, and that’s something we’ve got to fix,” Carter said. “We can’t let them come around us like that.”
It seemed to be a different UCLA team that emerged from the halftime locker room. The Bruins put together a successful drive that concluded with Prince finding Christian Ramirez in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass. After finally snatching some measure of momentum, the Bruins then got the ball back with a chance to cut into the lead even further. But Prince and Randall Carroll weren’t on the same page on a passing route, and Cal’s Darian Hagan came away with an interception.
“I was fired up about the way we came out in the second half with the opening drive, going down and getting the touchdown,” Neuheisel said. “Defense gave us some chances. But we were not efficient in the throwing game.”
The UCLA defense did prove effective in the final two quarters, keeping Vereen in check and surrendering only a 48-yard touchdown run on a reverse to wide receiver Marvin Jones that finished up the scoring. Whatever energy UCLA was able to muster after halftime, however, was overshadowed by the lifelessness of its opening round.
“In the second half, we came out ready to win a game,” Franklin said.
But the Bruins were two quarters too late. By that time, the punches had been thrown and UCLA’s bell had officially been rung.