No. 23 Bruins Travel To Face Cowboys In Oklahoma
Meeting will be the first-ever on the gridiron between UCLA and Oklahoma State.
Sept. 9, 2002
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GAME # 2 - No. 23 UCLA (1-0) travels to Stillwater, OK Saturday, Sept. 14 for its first game ever against Oklahoma State (1-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m PST (6:00 p.m. local). The game will be televised live on a national basis by Fox Sports Net.. Fox Sports Radio AM 1150 and the Bruin Radio Network broadcasts all games except when there is a conflict with a Los Angeles Dodger game. The Oklahoma State contest will be broadcast on Fox Sports Radio AM 1150 and the Bruin Radio Network with Chris Roberts and Matt Stevens in the booth.
LAST WEEK - UCLA rallied from a 13-7 fourth-quarter deficit to defeat No. 19 Colorado State, 30-19 at the Rose Bowl. It was UCLA's eighth straight regular-season victory over a non-conference foe and the Bruins' ninth win over a ranked opponent in 14 tries.
The Bruins trailed 10-0 early in the second quarter, thanks to a 35-yard field goal and a 15-yard touchdown drive set up by a 55-yard punt return. UCLA produced a four-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in Junior Taylor's 49-yard touchdown run on a reverse. It was the first time Taylor had touched the ball in his career and was the first offensive touchdown by a Bruin true freshman since the 1998 USC game, when DeShaun Foster scored four times.
UCLA still trailed 13-7 early in the fourth quarter when it took over on its own 48-yard line with 14:42 remaining in the game. With true freshman quarterback Drew Olson playing the second of his two series and redshirt freshman Wendell Mathis in the backfield, UCLA moved to the 28-yard line with Mathis gaining 15 yards on three carries. Olson then completed passes on two of the next three plays (nine yards to Manuel White and 15 to Tab Perry) to put the ball at the five-yard line. Akil Harris then scored a one-yard touchdown following his four-yard run to give the Bruins a 14-13 lead.
On Colorado State's second play of its ensuing possession, Ricky Manning's hit on Cecil Sapp after a reception forced a fumble that Rusty Williams recovered at the Ram 16-yard line. White raced into the end zone on UCLA's next play to give the Bruins a 21-13 lead with 8:48 remaining.
CSU then drove 80 yards for a touchdown to close to within two points, 21-19, with 1:32 remaining. On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, Brandon Chillar forced a fumble and Ben Emanuel picked it up and ran 89 yards for two points to give UCLA a 23-19 lead.
The Bruins then recovered an onside kick attempt (Mike Seidman). On the next play, Akil Harris broke a 35-yard run to the Ram16-yard line and three plays later, White scored his second 16-yard touchdown of the game to give UCLA a 30-19 lead with 1:01 remaining.
On the night, the Bruins ran for 215 yards and passed for 166. Harris led the team with 94 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries. White added 52 yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts and also made four receptions. Quarterback Cory Paus completed 12 of 23 passes, including nine of his final 13, for 142 yards and led three of the Bruins' four scoring drives. Olson completed two of three passes for 24 yards and produced one scoring drive on his two possessions. White and Craig Bragg each made four receptions and Mike Seidman added three catches.
Defensively, the Bruins held Colorado State to just 3.7 yards per play and 277 total offensive yards. Only one of the Rams' four scoring drives (two touchdowns and two field goals) was longer than 25 yards.
Brandon Chillar led the Bruins with 10 tackles, made an interception and forced the fumble on the Rams' two-point conversion attempt. Marcus Reese, making the first start of his career, made nine tackles while Ben Emanuel made six tackles and scored the first defensive conversion in school history with his 89-yard return.
Ricky Manning Jr., Spencer Havner, playing his first game and making his first start, and Ryan Boschetti, playing his first game, each made five tackles. In addition, Manning made the big hit of the night, forcing a fumble with the Bruins leading by just one point that led to the second of UCLA's three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Rusty Williams, starting for the first time since the 2000 USC game, forced the bad throw that resulted in Chillar's interception and recovered the fumble caused by Manning that set up UCLA's second fourth-quarter score.
UCLA IN THE RANKINGS - Associated Press: Pre-season, NR; Sept. 1, NR; Sept. 8, No. 23; USA Today/ESPN: Pre-season, NR; Sept. 1, NR; Sept. 8, NR (27).
BRUIN HEAD COACH BOB TOLEDO - The Bruin head coach owns a record of 43-27 (28-20 in Pac-10 play) and a winning percentage of .614 during his six-plus years on the job. The 20-game winning streak in 1997-98 was the longest in school history, twice as long as the previous streak (10, set in 1946 and tied in 1954-55). His teams have won two Pac-10 titles (1997, 1998) and have qualified to play in a bowl game in four of the past five seasons.
Toledo is only the second coach in school history to win 10 regular-season games (Bert LaBrucherie in 1946) and only the second coach in school history to win 10 total games in back-to-back seasons (Terry Donahue in 1987-88).
Toledo's 43 wins put him in fourth place on UCLA's career victory list. Under Toledo, UCLA is 33-8 when it scores at least 30 points and 16-1 when it scores at least 40. UCLA is 29-6 when leading at the half and has won 10 times after trailing at the half and four when tied at the half. The Bruins are 3-1 in overtime games. When ranked, the Bruins sport a 30-11 record under Toledo and are 15-5 when ranked in the Top 10.
Under Toledo, UCLA is 16-12 versus ranked teams. It has won nine of the last 14 and is 15-7 in the last 22 games versus Top 25 teams.
DID YOU KNOW? -
The 2002 season is UCLA's 21st in the Rose Bowl. Since moving to Pasadena for the 1982 season, the Bruins are 84-35-2 on its home field.
UCLA has won 15 of its last 22 games versus ranked opponents dating back to a 1997 win at #11 Texas and has posted a 23-5 record in regular season games played in the Rose Bowl since that win over the Longhorns.
UCLA has won eight straight non-conference regular-season games dating back to 1999 (following a loss at Ohio State, the Bruins have defeated Fresno State in 1999, Alabama, Fresno State and Michigan in 2000, Alabama, Kansas and Ohio State in 2001 and Colorado State in 2002).
The Bruins have now won six straight season-openers on their home field -- five against ranked opponents (1994 - No. 13 Tennessee; 1995 - No. 12 Miami; 1998 - No. 23 Texas; 1999 - Boise State; 2000 - No. 3 Alabama; 2002 - No. 19 Colorado State).
Sixteen Bruins made their varsity debut versus Colorado State, including eight true freshmen J.D. Groves, Marcedes Lewis, Justin London, Glenn Ohaeri, Drew Olson, Jarrad Page, Junior Taylor, Wesley Walker; six redshirt freshmen Tyler Ebell, Jason Harrison, Spencer Havner, Wendell Mathis, Mike McCloskey and James Jessen; and two juniors Ryan Boschetti and David Tautofi.
The eight true freshmen are the most to play in a single game since at least 1980.UCLA had eight true freshmen earn letters in 1994.
UCLA's nine bowl wins in the last 20 years rank No. 1 (tied) in the Pac-10. Only six schools (Florida State, Tennessee, Penn State, Alabama, Miami, Michigan) have won more bowl games in that span.
The Bruins own a record of 55-24-5 in season openers. Coach Bob Toledo is now 5-2 in season-opening games, including a five-game winning streak.
During the last 20 years, UCLA has been ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25 on 11 occasions. No other school in the Pac-10 has been ranked more than 10 times.
In the last 20 seasons (1982-2001), UCLA has more Top 10 rankings (seven) than any other Pac-10 school. In fact, only six schools (Florida State, Nebraska, Florida, Miami, Michigan, Tennessee) have been ranked in the AP Top 10 more often than UCLA during this period.
The Bruins finished the 2001 season with a 7-4 mark. It was the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Bruins concluded the regular season qualified to play in a bowl game.
Several Bruins are listed on the pre-season watch lists of the major awards - Mike Saffer, OT and Rodney Leisle, DT - Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award; Ricky Manning, Jr., CB and Matt Ware, FS - Jim Thorpe Award; Nate Fikse, P - Ray Guy Award.
Senior cornerback Ricky Manning has a chance this season to become only the seventh Bruin since 1964 to be named a three-time first-team all-conference player. The others - Vaughn Parker, OL 1991-92-93; Terry Tumey, DL 1985-86-87; Kenny Easley, DB 1977-78-79; Manu Tuiasosopo, DL 1976-77-78; Jerry Robinson, LB 1976-77-78; Gary Beban, QB 1965-66-67.
Starting Streaks - Ricky Manning has started in 33 straight games to lead the team. Next is offensive left tackle Bryce Bohlander with 26 straight starts followed by offensive right tackle Mike Saffer and defensive tackle Rodney Leisle with 24 each. Saffer has started 31 times in his career. Three Bruins on the 2002 roster are the sons of former Bruin football players - TE Blane Kezirian (dad, Ed played offensive line in 1972-73 for coach Pepper Rodgers and posted a 17-5 record); WR/H Garrett Lepisto (dad, Vic played defensive end in 1964-66-67 for coaches Bill Barnes and Tommy Prothro); QB John Sciarra (dad, John played 1972-75 and quarterbacked the Bruins to a win over No. 1 Ohio State in the 1976 Rose Bowl game).
UCLA had six players selected in the 2002 NFL Draft, ranking seventh (tied) nationally among all schools in that category. (LB Robert Thomas/Rams, RB DeShaun Foster/Panthers, DB Marques Anderson/Packers, DL Kenyon Coleman/Raiders, TE Bryan Fletcher/Bears, LS Jeff Grau/Redskins).
THE DEFENSE
RICKY MANNING- True senior corner Ricky Manning Jr., a candidate for All-America honors and the Thorpe Award, earned first-team All-Pac-10 acclaim for the second straight season last year, in the vote of league coaches. He is a 2002 first-team pre-season All-America selection by Football News and a second-team choice by Street & Smith's and Lindy's. Manning has the opportunity to become only the seventh Bruin since 1964 to earn first-team All-League honors three times. He has started in each of the last 33 games (longest starting streak on the team) after making his first career start against Fresno State in 1999.
In the season-opening win over Colorado State, he was credited with five tackles, including four solos. His fourth-quarter tackle on Cecil Sapp after a reception caused a fumble that UCLA recovered at the Ram 16-yard line with a 14-13 lead. UCLA scored on the next play to build a 21-13 lead.
On the year, he was second on the team with his three interceptions and totaled 36 tackles, including two for losses, to rank sixth (tied) on the team in that category.
In 2001, he ranked fifth on the team with 65 tackles. His four interceptions led the team, as did his 14 pass defenses. As a freshman in 1999, he led the Bruins with 10 tackles for loss and ranked fourth on the team with 53 tackles.
RODNEY LEISLE - Redshirt junior tackle Rodney Leisle had an outstanding season last year. A pre-season second-team All-America choice in 2002, he has also been named to the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award Watch Lists. In the win over Colorado State, Leisle started his 24th straight game and helped hold the Rams to just 277 yards (3.7 average). He was credited with four tackles.
In 2001, Leisle ranked second among linemen and tied for sixth on the team with 36 stops. Leisle, a second-team All-Pac-10 selection by the league's coaches and a first-team all-conference pick by The Sporting News, ranked fourth on the team with two sacks and tied for sixth with five tackles for losses.
Leisle started all 12 games in 2000 and ranked first among the linemen with 36 tackles. He earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors and was named a Freshman All-American by The Sporting News.
MARCUS REESE - True senior linebacker Marcus Reese, who has been a major contributor the last two seasons, made his first career start against Colorado State. He was very productive, making nine tackles (seven solos), one shy of his career high (10 vs. Washington in 2000) and one shy of the team high for the game.
Despite not starting in 2000 or 2001, he made 68 tackles during those two years.
Also a big contributor on special teams during his career, Reese blocked a pair of punts last season which each produced a touchdown. On the year, he ranked ninth on the squad with 34 tackles, including four for loss.
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UCLA at Oklahoma State-Sept 14th..4pm(Fox sports net)
