Just how they Drew it up
PASADENA, Calif. – California coach Jeff Tedford knew Maurice Drew could give the Golden Bears fits, and UCLA’s elusive runner did just that.
Drew scored five touchdowns, including an 81-yard punt return, and caught a 28-yard pass for the go-ahead score with 1 minute, 35 seconds remaining to lift the No. 20 Bruins to a wild 47-40 victory over No. 10 Cal in Saturday’s match of unbeatens.
After giving the Bruins (5-0, 2-0 Pacific-10 Conference) a 41-40 lead with his catch-and-run play, the Bruins’ stocky 5-foot-8, 205-pound tailback/punt returner added his third rushing TD on a 2-yard run as time expired.
“We let Maurice Drew get loose too many times,” Tedford said after the Bears (5-1, 2-1) lost for the first time in 13 regular-season games. “He runs the ball very well. He’s a good receiver out of the backfield. He’s a great kick returner.
“In open space with people spread out, the guy is very, very difficult to tackle.”
Drew accounted for 299 yards – 162 on three punt returns, 65 on 15 carries, 52 on a pair of receptions, and 20 on a kickoff return. The five TDs tied the UCLA record he set last year against Washington.
“He’s just one of those guys that, when the ball is in his hands, he makes plays,” said Karl Dorrell, off to the best start in his three seasons as the Bruins’ coach. “He wants to perform for (his teammates). He has incredible ability.”
After UCLA came from behind to win with a late TD for the second week in row, Drew said his teammates deserved a lot of credit for his big numbers.
“It isn’t just me. The blocking up front for me and down the field on punts is there for me,” the Bruins’ junior said. “Every time I get the ball, there’s a hole somewhere.”
The Bruins did block particularly well for Drew on his two long punt returns, setting up a wall that allowed him to sprint most of the way untouched.
A week after they scored in the waning minutes to pull out a 21-17 win over lightly regarded Washington, they came back from a 40-28 deficit early in the fourth quarter to beat the highly ranked Bears.
“We were lucky,” Drew said.
On the go-ahead TD, he caught a swing pass from Drew Olson in the right flat and outraced defenders down the sideline and into the end zone. Olson, who had taken the Bruins 75 yards down to the TD, was sacked on the try for a two-point conversion.
UCLA sealed the win when Trey Brown intercepted a Joe Ayoob pass at the Cal 23 with 1:19 remaining, then Drew finished the scoring.
The loss cost the Bears their best start in 55 years, dating to when Cal began 9-0 in 1950.
Olson went 17 of 33 for 225 yards and two TDs, and he scored on a quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter.
Justin Forsett rushed for 153 yards and a TD for Cal, and Marshawn Lynch carried 22 times for 135 yards and also scored a TD.
Ayoob completed 18 of 35 for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. DeSean Jackson had 10 catches for 128 yards and one score.