![]() | |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities ![]()
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |
PALO ALTO, California (Ticker) -- UCLA fell asleep in the first half and now can only dream of a national championship. Chris Lewis threw three touchdown passes in place of injured starter Randy Fasani as No. 22 Stanford handed fifth-ranked UCLA a devastating setback, 38-28. The Bruins (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10) are third in the all-important Bowl Championship Series standings, but they didn't show it in the opening half, allowing four straight touchdowns en route to a 28-7 deficit. They fought within 31-28, but Kerry Carter sealed the win with two minutes remaining, sprinting untouched into the end zone from 27 yards for his second touchdown of the day. In the closing seconds, several players on UCLA's bench had their heads in their hands, knowing they lost any realistic chance at a national title. "It's part of my job to get them to bounce back and play well next week," UCLA coach Bob Toledo said. The Cardinal (5-1, 4-1) committed six of the game's 10 turnovers but still upset a top-five team for the second straight week. Last Saturday, they posted a 49-42 road win over then-No. 5 Oregon. "Our offense has a lot of weapons," Lewis said. "With that in mind and having a good week in practice, we knew we could do some things." Stanford has won three consecutive meetings against teams ranked in the top five, also defeating Texas last year. The latest upset came in front of 64,495 fans -- the largest home attendance for games not against California or Notre Dame since 1992. Lewis also guided Stanford to a victory last week, engineering three fourth-quarter scoring drives en route to a stunning 49-42 win. Saturday's first half was as stunning, with Lewis throwing TD passes of 20 and three yards to Luke Powell and Teyo Johnson, respectively, giving the Cardinal a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. Brian Allen then darted 35 yards for a score and Lewis found Carter from 26 yards for a 28-7 cushion. "There is no question that Chris came out and did an excellent job for us," Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham said. "Not only Chris, but our entire offensive team came out and got us off to a great start, and our defense followed." Despite throwing three interceptions, Lewis completed 20-of-29 passes for 250 yards, leading Stanford to 463 yards of total offense. The Cardinal coughed up the ball three times in each half, but the Bruins were only able to score twice off the turnovers. UCLA began its comeback early in the second half as DeShaun Foster scored from one yard to cap a 15-play drive and make it 31-14. Foster recently became the fastest Bruin to 1,000 career rushing yards but was held to 77 on 21 carries. "Foster is the heart and soul, and when you take away that, it is hard for a team to win," Stanford linebacker Coy Wire said. The Bruins held the Cardinal on the ensuing possession and got within 31-21 when Scott McEwan found Mike Seidman with 53 seconds to play in the third quarter. The teams then traded turnovers before Ryan Wells fumbled at UCLA's 20-yard line. McEwan directed an eight-play, 80-yard drive capped by his 29-yard TD pass to Bryan Fletcher. Lewis immediately threw his third interception, but UCLA failed to get a first down, failing on a 4th-and-6 from its own 43. Three plays later, Carter raced off left tackle for his second touchdown of the game. Carter carried 29 times for 102 yards. McEwan was 15-of-24 for 221 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in place of Cory Paus, who was just 5-of-16 for 105 yards and an interception before leaving with a hand injury.
|