The UCLA-San Diego State rivalry - if it could be called that - mercifully is over. Marshall Faulk's problems, however, get bigger every game.
J.J. Stokes had touchdown catches of 36, 16 and 50 yards among his five receptions for 164 yards and UCLA held Faulk to just 53 yards as it routed San Diego State 52-13 Thursday night."There's no excuse for the way we played," said Faulk, who had his lowest output since gaining 39 yards in his debut against Long Beach State in 1991.
SDSU had three early turnovers and trailed 24-0 at halftime. Although Tim Gutierrez threw for 350 yards, the Aztecs had only 30 net yards rushing.
"When things were going bad at the beginning, we just tried to put it in the back of our heads," said Faulk, the two-time national rushing leader and 1992 Heisman runnerup. "But things just kept going bad. I don't know what's the reason, but they did."
UCLA linebacker Donnie Edwards thinks he knows the reason. He told Mark Alesia of the Los Angeles Daily News, "He's playing Pac-10 football now. He's playing against UCLA - Pac-10 players. It's not the WAC."
Faulk has been held under 100 yards in two straight games for the first time in his career, and his Heisman chances shrink each game.
"I don't care about the Heisman. What you saw happen with our team is more important to me than winning the trophy," Faulk said.
"We said that if they were going to beat us, they were going to beat us throwing it and not running it," UCLA coach Terry Donahue said. "We shut them down in the run and made them throw it. We got some big plays on them and consequently blew the game open."
Faulk carried 19 times and scored on a 3-yard run 3:44 into the third quarter. He didn't carry the ball in the fourth.
"I'm concerned about our ability to run the football," SDSU coach Al Luginbill said. "That's not a secret."
UCLA held Faulk to 79 yards in 1991 and 118 last year.
"I don't feel right now that they're able to get him the running lanes and the daylight that he's had the couple years past," Donahue said.
Thursday's game was the last of a 10-year contract, during which UCLA outscored the Aztecs 400-153. The Bruins (2-2) improved to 16-0-1 against San Diego State (3-2). The tie was in 1924.
The series resumed in 1984 after a 50-year hiatus. "I'm glad this series is over because even though we won all 10 games, we had nothing to gain and everything to lose," Donahue said.
Luginbill called the loss "embarrassing and humiliating. For whatever reason, we don't think we can beat those people. So we do what it takes to not be competitive. It's a shame."
Stokes caught four passes from Wayne Cook for 114 yards in the first half, including the 36-yard touchdown score seven plays into the game.
He had a 48-yard reception early in the second quarter that set up the 16-yard TD for a 21-0 lead, and the 50-yarder came with 8:52 left in the third quarter for a 31-7 lead.
Stokes turned down the hometown Aztecs out of high school because they wanted to make him a tight end.
"I'm not a tight end," Stokes said. "I want to catch the ball, I want to celebrate, I want to do all that."
Gutierrez was intercepted twice and lost a fumble in the first half, leading to 10 points by the Bruins.
Cook completed 11 of 16 passes for 223 yards and three scores.
Daron Washington scored on runs of 5 and 14 yards, James Milliner had a 44-yard TD run in the fourth and Avery Anderson caught a 3-yard TD pass from backup quarterback Rob Walker with 4:05 to play. Bjorn Merten kicked a 34-yard field goal with 5:26 left in the first half.
The Bruin attack was almost perfectly balanced - 269 yards rushing and 252 passing. For the third straight week a different back gained more than a 100 yards. Reserve James Milliner gained 109 yards on just eight carries. Starting tailback Sharmon Shah left the game in the first quarter with an injury.
Gutierrez was 30-for-47 and threw a 5-yard TD pass to Darnay Scott early in the fourth quarter. Scott caught eight passes for 148.
"We needed to win a game by a lot of points," Cook said. "These close games are driving everybody crazy. The first three games were decided by six points total, so it was nice to blow a team out and sit back and watch in the fourth quarter."