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Friday, December 13, 2002
Bruins rip Tide
Associated Press
BOX SCORE
PASADENA, Calif. -- UCLA made No. 3 Alabama's first trip to
the Rose Bowl in nearly 55 years an experience to forget.
|  | | UCLA's DeShaun Foster scores the first of three TDs on the day. |
DeShaun Foster gained 187 yards on a school record-tying 42
carries and scored three touchdowns, and UCLA's much-maligned
defense held Alabama in check Saturday as the Bruins upset the
Crimson Tide 35-24.
Foster, a junior hampered by a sprained ankle most of last
season, when he gained only 375 yards and averaged just 3.4 yards
per carry, scored on a pair of 1-yard plunges in the first half and
an 8-yard run late in the third quarter.
UCLA won convincingly despite the fact that quarterback Cory
Paus separated his throwing shoulder on the game's first play. Ryan
McCann stepped in and did an admirable job, completing 14 of 24
passes for 194 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
The Crimson Tide took a 24-21 lead early in the third period
when Reggie Myles intercepted a pass by McCann and returned it 91
yards for a touchdown.
However the Bruins needed only three plays to go back on top,
scoring when McCann lofted a 46-yard touchdown pass to Freddie
Mitchell, a junior who hadn't caught a TD pass since his freshman
year.
Jason Zdenek then recovered a fumble by Freddie Milons at the
Alabama 48, setting up Foster's third touchdown run with 1:50 to
play in the third period, making it 35-24.
The Crimson Tide didn't come close to scoring after that.
Running behind a veteran offensive line, the 6-foot-1, 217-pound
Foster chewed up an Alabama defense that allowed an average of only
74.5 yards rushing last season.
The Bruins, meanwhile, had one of the nation's poorest defenses
a year ago, allowing 444.6 yards to rank 107th -- better than only
seven Division I-A teams.
The game started horribly for the Bruins, who are trying to
rebound from a 4-7 season.
First, Paus separated his shoulder, although he remained in the
game for two more plays before UCLA punted.
Milons, one of the nation's most dangerous kick returners, then
returned the punt 71 yards for a touchdown to put the Crimson Tide
on top 7-0 after only 75 seconds had elapsed.
Bruins coach Bob Toledo had vowed to kick the ball away from
Milons, but Nate Fikse's punt was right to him.
However, UCLA bounced back impressively, as McCann, a rangy
left-handed sophomore, guided the Bruins to three straight scoring
drives.
UCLA used up over nine minutes of play on a 64-yard, 18-play
march capped by Foster's 1-yard scoring run - one of three
fourth-down plays the Bruins converted on the drive.
Mitchell then threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to fellow wide
receiver Brian Poli-Dixon, who made a stretching catch at the back
of the end zone, and Foster scored on another 1-yard run to make it
21-7.
Perhaps stunned at that stage, the Crimson Tide got a 1-yard
touchdown run from Ahmaad Galloway and a 38-yard field goal from
Neal Thomas to cut UCLA's lead to 21-17 at halftime.
Alabama quarterbacks Andrew Zow and Tyler Watts were both
ineffective, and the Crimson Tide were unable to run the ball with
any success. Zow was 8-of-23 for 92 yards, and Watts, who relieved
Zow late in the third quarter, was 3-of-7 for 27 yards.
Alabama finished with 265 yards in total offense to 396 for the
Bruins.
Many in the crowd of 76,640 wore Alabama red, nullifying UCLA's
homefield advantage to some degree. The Crimson Tide sold their
allotment of 17,000 tickets, and it appeared they had many more
fans than that on hand.
Alabama was playing in Pasadena for the first time since Jan. 1,
1946, when the Tide beat Southern California 34-14 in the last Rose
Bowl game that wasn't a matchup of Pac-10 and Big Ten teams.
The only previous game between the teams was in the 1976 Liberty
Bowl, when the Crimson Tide beat the Bruins 36-6, and Alabama was
playing for the first time in California since beating USC 21-20 at
the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1977.
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| | AUDIO/VIDEO |
 Freddie Mitchell scores with this 31-yard bomb to Brian Poli-Dixon.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ryan McCann throws a 46-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Michell.
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Reggie Myles intercepts a pass by Ryan McCann and runs 91 yards for the TD.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 DeShaun Foster lets the nation know that the Bruins are contenders.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Kenyon Coleman says the Bruins made a statement on Saturday.
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