Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller
UCLA was riding a five-game Pac-10 losing streak. Its starting quarterback, Kevin Prince, was out with an apparent concussion. It gave away five turnovers.
And yet the Bruins beat Washington 24-23, a win that substantially boosts the Bruins bowl hopes.
How about Kevin Craft? The much-maligned senior led the Bruins comeback from a 23-14 third-quarter deficit. He completed 10 of 14 for 159 yards with a 29-yard TD pass to Terrence Austin.
The game ended when safety Rahim Moore intercepted a Jake Locker pass on the Bruins 20-yard line. It was Moore's eighth interception this season, which leads the nation. That was the Huskies only turnover.
The Bruins outgained Washington 455 to 387 but kept killing themselves with mistakes.
Still, UCLA improved to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in conference play. The Bruins will be heavy favorites at Washington State on Saturday. If they prevail, they will need to beat either Arizona State at home on Nov. 21 or win at USC on Nov. 28 to qualify for a bowl game.
As for Washington, it needs to win its final three games -- at Oregon State, Washington State, California -- two qualify for a bowl game. The Huskies have lost five of six since beating USC on Sept. 19.
UCLA was riding a five-game Pac-10 losing streak. Its starting quarterback, Kevin Prince, was out with an apparent concussion. It gave away five turnovers.
And yet the Bruins beat Washington 24-23, a win that substantially boosts the Bruins bowl hopes.
How about Kevin Craft? The much-maligned senior led the Bruins comeback from a 23-14 third-quarter deficit. He completed 10 of 14 for 159 yards with a 29-yard TD pass to Terrence Austin.
The game ended when safety Rahim Moore intercepted a Jake Locker pass on the Bruins 20-yard line. It was Moore's eighth interception this season, which leads the nation. That was the Huskies only turnover.
The Bruins outgained Washington 455 to 387 but kept killing themselves with mistakes.
Still, UCLA improved to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in conference play. The Bruins will be heavy favorites at Washington State on Saturday. If they prevail, they will need to beat either Arizona State at home on Nov. 21 or win at USC on Nov. 28 to qualify for a bowl game.
As for Washington, it needs to win its final three games -- at Oregon State, Washington State, California -- two qualify for a bowl game. The Huskies have lost five of six since beating USC on Sept. 19.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Ted Miller
Miller has been covering college football since 1997, starting with Auburn and then heading West to Washington and the Pac-10. His columns for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer won first place in 2007 APSE Best Writing contest. The Atlanta native and University of Richmond graduate presently lives with his wife in Scottsdale, Ariz.
PAC-10 SCOREBOARD
Saturday, 11/21
Final Arizona State 13 UCLA 23 Final 19 Oregon State 42 Washington State 10 Final 25 California 34 17 Stanford 28 Final/2OT 11 Oregon 44 Arizona 41
