UCLA, loser of two games by a combined three points, wasn't about to let another one get away. The Bruins defense made sure of that.
Sharmon Shah ran for 187 yards on a school-record 40 carries, but it was the defense that paved the way for UCLA's first win of the season as the Bruins (1-2) held off a late rally by 17th-ranked Stanford to win 28-25."The defense made a great stand," UCLA coach Terry Donahue said. "They were the highlight of the day."
UCLA forced four turnovers and kept pressure on quarterback Steve Stenstrom all afternoon, sacking him five times. Stenstrom threw for three touchdowns, the last a 30-yarder to Justin Armour with 2:16 remaining. Stenstrom found Tony Cline in the end zone for the 2-point conversion, cutting the lead to 28-25.
Stanford (2-2) had won its last two games on fourth-quarter comebacks, but UCLA was determined to hold on.
"We didn't panic," Bruins quarterback Wayne Cook said. "We weren't scared they were going to come back. We thought we could hold them."
Despite botching an onside kick, the Cardinal stopped the Bruins on their next possession but ran out of time on a final drive as Stenstrom threw three incompletions.
Stenstrom was 22-of-34 for 313 yards with one interception.
"He's very good, and we knew we had to pressure the quarterback a lot to win," safety Marvin Goodwin said. "That was a big key and we were able to do it. I think they know their defense isn't great so they have to be aggressive and outscore opponents."
The Bruins took a 22-10 lead with 3:54 left in the third quarter when a fumble by Stanford freshman Mike Mitchell was recovered by Goodwin and returned 36 yards for a touchdown. Bjorn Merten's extra-point attempt was blocked by Jason Fisk.
Mitchell atoned for his mistake on the next play, when he took a lateral from Greg Comella on the punt return for a 34-yard gain. Stenstrom then connected with freshman Brian Manning on a 36-yard touchdown pass, making it 22-17 with 3:31 left in the period.
Two drives later, the Bruins took over on Stanford's 49. Shah caught a 9-yard pass and carried three times for 23 yards before Wayne Cook hit J.J. Stokes with a 6-yard scoring pass with 12:32 to play. Again, Fisk blocked Merten's kick, but UCLA increased its advantage to 28-17.
Cook was 13-for-22 for 164 yards without an interception. On defense, Miller and Goodwin led the way. Miller had three of the defense's six sacks on Stanford quarterbacks, and Goodwin recovered two fumbles and had an interception.
UCLA kept a lid on Justin Armour, ranked fourth in the nation in receptions. Armour caught 6 passes for 84 yards.
"UCLA had a good scheme versus Armour," Stenstrom said. "They took him out of the game with a lot of double coverage. Overall, their whole scheme was effective."
"The biggest problem, obviously, was our turnovers," Stanford coach Bill Walsh said. "We botched just enough plays to give them a win. We still have a solid, viable team but our youth causes some real inconsistency."
The Cardinal defense, ranked 104th out of 106 Division I-A schools, was unable to stop the Bruins ground game, giving up 259 yards.
Stanford got off to a woeful start, gaining just 9 yards in the first quarter. In a mistake-filled first half, Stenstrom was sacked twice and the Cardinal lost two fumbles, one on a punt return.
Merten gave the Bruins a 6-0 lead in the first period on field goals of 45 and 22 yards.
Shah gained 113 yards on 21 carries in the first half. His 40 carries broke the UCLA record of 39 set by Anthony Edgar in 1979 and tied by Gaston Green in 1987.
UCLA got the ball back on the Stanford 42 after Roberts fumbled and had a first down on the 4, but the Cardinal defense held. On fourth down, Merten kicked a 20-yard field goal with 2 seconds to go in the half.