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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (Ticker) -- The Dennis Franchione era is off to a rough start. Cory Paus threw a 53-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter as 15th-ranked UCLA spoiled Franchione's debut for 25th-ranked Alabama by rallying for a 20-17 victory. The first Alabama coach to make his debut in Tuscaloosa in 70 years, Franchione became the fifth coach in school history to lose his initial game. "I was very excited. I was absorbing the stadium and fans," Franchione said. "It is special be here in this stadium, to walk on the turf where so many great coaches have been." Franchione, who came to Alabama after three successful seasons at Texas Christian, watched his new team build a 10-0 lead in the second quarter before the Bruins rallied. Fullback Ed Ieremia-Stansbury scored on a 10-yard run midway through the second quarter and Paus provided the big play, finding Tab Perry with a 53-yard touchdown pass with 9:03 left in the third, giving the Bruins (1-0) a 14-10 lead. "I am extremely proud of this football team," UCLA coach Bob Toledo said. "They came back to a very tough venue with the heat, humidity, fans, and the new coaching staff. To go down 7-0 an come back like they did, I think that showed a lot." It was the second straight season in which UCLA dealt Alabama (0-1) a loss in its season opener. The Bruins quickly ended the Crimson Tide's national title hopes last year with a 35-24 victory in Pasadena. "A game like this comes down to a few plays. And they had the plays," Franchione said. With its offense struggling in the second half, Alabama was booed at times by the home crowd. Trying to rebound from a disastrous 3-8 season, including losing their final five games, the Crimson Tide looked good early in their 2001 debut. Alabama was the recipient of a fortunate bounce that led to the game's first points with 6:06 left in the first quarter. After a high snap nearly eluded Tyler Watts, he gathered the ball and found Antonio Carter wide open down the right sideline for a 78-yard touchdown pass, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Watts, who beat out Andrew Zow for the starting job, was inconsistent thereafter. The junior completed 12-of-22 passes for 204 yards and one interception and added 85 yards on the ground on 14 attempts, gaining most of the those on the Crimson Tide's new option look on offense. Zow replaced Watts in the waning moments of the fourth quarter and completed all three of his passes, including a 71-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Milons with 2:13 remaining. The Crimson Tide extended the lead with 13:49 left in the second quarter, going 61 yards in 10 plays, a march that Neal Little capped with a 30-yard field goal. Alabama also was doing it defensively, holding the Bruins' high-powered offense in check for over the first 20 minutes. But the Bruins began to click, needing just seven plays to go 81 yards. Ieremia-Stansbury busted through the line and scored on a 10-yard run with 8 1/2 minutes left before halftime, pulling UCLA within 10-7. With under a minute left in the half, Franchione was faced with his first critical decision. Alabama had 4th-and-inches inside UCLA territory, but Franchione decided to punt. An aggressive play by the Bruins in the third quarter led to the go-ahead score. Facing a 3rd-and-14, the Bruins went for it all as Paus connected with Perry on a 53-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline, making it 14-10 with 9:03 left in the period. Sophomore safety Thad Walker was caught out of position on the play. Paus struggled for much of the night and completed just 8-of-22 passes for 123 yards. He had some pressure taken off of him by senior DeShaun Foster, who carried 24 times for 110 yards. Moments after the big offensive play, the Bruins received one from their maligned defense that allowed 31.5 points per game last year, the most of any Division I-A school with a non-losing record. Junior cornerback Richard Manning Jr. intercepted Watts inside the Alabama 25. The turnover led to a 30-yard field goal by Chris Griffith, giving UCLA a seven-point lead. Griffith connected again, this time from 45 yards with 83 seconds left in the quarter, giving UCLA a 20-10 advantage. Franchione was faced with another crucial decision with under 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter after his club drove inside the UCLA 5 and faced with a 4th-and-1. Watts ran the option to the left and pitched to Ahmaad Galloway, who was forced out of bounds just shy of the first down, turning the ball over to UCLA and swinging all the momentum to the visitors. "With that time left in the game, I felt that we had a chance to get a touchdown," Franchione said. "Even if we didn't score, we could at least pin them deep in their own end. I think we made the right decision. Unfortunately, it didn't work out." "I think it was huge because they didn't score," Toledo said. "The goal line play was huge, probably the biggest play of the game." Zow attempted to make things interesting with his long touchdown pass to Milons with just over two minutes left. Alabama got the ball back with less than 30 seconds left but could not muster a miracle. Milons had four catches for 124 yards while Antonio Carter had six for 104.
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