2007 UCLA Bruins football team
Encyclopedia
The 2007 UCLA Bruins football team represented UCLA in the college football
2007-2008 season. They played their home games at the Rose Bowl
in Pasadena, California
and were coached by Karl Dorrell
for the regular season. It was Dorrell's fifth, and final season as the UCLA head coach. UCLA's season was marked by numerous injures, particularly at quarterback. Original starting quarterback Ben Olson
injured his knee early in the season and missed over four games. Backup quarterback Patrick Cowan
also suffered a knee injury but returned for two more games before suffering a collapsed lung
against Arizona. Coach Karl Dorrell was fired following the loss in the 77th UCLA-USC rivalry
football game, the final regular season game for the Bruins. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker
became the interim coach for the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl
, in which the Bruins lost to BYU
16-17. The Bruins finished 6-7 overall, 5-4 in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they were tied for fourth place.
as well as California
.
Quarterback Ben Olson
, who began the 2006 season as the starter, again began the season with the starting job.
Jay Norvell
joined the coaching staff as the new offensive coordinator. He replaced Jim Svoboda, who was fired by head coach Dorrell after the offense received much criticism for not performing up to expectations in 2006. Norvell was the offensive coordinator for the Nebraska Cornhuskers
for the previous three years, where they ran the West Coast offense very successfully. Following the 2007 season, Norvell was hired by the University of Oklahome.
DeWayne Walker returned as the defensive coordinator after a fabulously successful 2006 season, in which the Bruins vastly improved their defense. They ranked highly in several national defensive categories, such as rushing defense (9th, and 1st in the Pac-10) and total defense (33rd). Their crowning achievement came when they held the USC Trojan offense to only a touchdown in beating their rivals, 13-9.
led the running game by gaining 195 yards on 19 carries. This individual performance was the 18th best single game rushing performance in Bruin football history, placing Bell right after Freeman McNeil
, who had 197 yards against Stanford in 1979, and right before Gaston Green
, who had 194 yards against Tennessee in 1985.
, and achieving a No. 11 Associated Press
ranking, UCLA stumbled against an injured, winless, and unranked Utah Utes
team, 44-6.
UCLA was completely dominated in all aspects of the game by the 0-2 Utah Utes, losing 44-6. Ben Olson threw three interceptions, and the Utes forced two other turnovers. In addition, the Bruins had 10 penalties for 61 yards. The blowout loss dropped UCLA completely out of the rankings.
UCLA was without its two starting quarterbacks. UCLA starter Ben Olson
went out with a knee injury late in the first quarter, which left freshman walkon redshirt McLeod Bethel-Thompson to lead the Bruins. This was the first appearance for the Irish in the Rose Bowl stadium since the 1925 Rose Bowl
. The Irish were able to capitalize on Bruin offensive mistakes to recover loose balls. This ended one of the worst slumps in Fighting Irish football, and prevented the Irish from equaling their longest losing streak in their history. In the 1960 college football season
, the Irish lost eight straight games. The biggest cheer during the entire game came when the score of the 2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game
was announced. Fighting Irish and Bruins fans, who together are arch-rivals of the Trojans, cheered together.
back to the lineup. The game was played at the Rose Bowl
with 83,494 in attendance.
The game was very close and included several lead changes. DeSean Jackson
had 136 yards and two touchdowns on 9 receptions. Justin Forsett
was held to 76 yards on 25 carries. Cal tight end Craig Stevens also caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Cal entered the fourth quarter with a 21-20 lead, but Cal could not put UCLA away. Cal was stopped on its first two fourth quarter sequences that included 7 of the 8 plays as running plays. After UCLA scored a field goal to take a 23-21 lead and with only around two minutes left on the clock, the Bears went the air. Just outside field goal range, Longshore attempted a third down with 1:33 left on the clock which was intercepted by UCLA cornerback Alterraun Verner
who ran for a 76 yard touchdown putting the score at 30-21 Bruins. On his next drive, Longshore attempted a 4th and 10 he was again intercepted by Keyes. UCLA converted a first down and ran the clock for the victory. Over the next five plays UCLA made a net of 9 yards and a first down to hold onto the ball and win the game 30-21. Longshore finished 232 yards, 3 touchdowns, and three interceptions.
California's defense allowed UCLA to rush for 183 yards (Kahlil Bell rushed for 142 yards) while recording one sack. The team recovered 2 UCLA fumbles, but could not create any points off those turnovers (and one turnover would lead to a Longshore interception).
This game had PAC-10 title implications for both teams. UCLA kick returner Matthew Slater returned
a kickoff for a touchdown, his third of the season, to bring the Bruins to within 24-20 in the third quarter. Osaar Rasshan, in his first start as quarterback, threw an interception in the final minutes of the game, giving the game to Arizona State, as neither team could score in the fourth quarter. Rasshan threw for 181 yards while rushing for 41.
But the game was won by the UCLA defense. Turnovers set up first-half field goals for UCLA, and the Ducks could not move the ball at all. With the win, UCLA became bowl-eligible.
The USC Trojans beat the Bruins, avenging last year's game where the Bruins upset the Trojans, knocking USC out of the BCS Championship Game. USC was in control of the entire game in this year's contest. UCLA's only score of the day came in the final seconds of the first half, when WR Dominique Johnson made an incredible one-handed leaping grab of a fade pass from Pat Cowan.
The rest of the day, UCLA's offense could do nothing against the Trojan defense. UCLA's defense played respectably, but turnovers and the anemic offense doomed the Bruins' chances.
The Bruins ended the regular season at the Los Angeles Coliseum against the USC Trojans, who were led by head coach Pete Carroll
, in the 77th edition of their annual crosstown rivalry
game for possession of the Victory Bell
. In the 2006 season, the Bruins' 13–9 upset of the then-No. 2 Trojans in the final week of the regular season ended the Trojans' hopes for reaching the National Championship game. With both teams ranked going into the season (USC first, UCLA 14th in the AP Poll), there was buzz in Los Angeles that both teams might reach their December 1 game undefeated. UCLA made it as high as 11th in both polls before suffering a 44–6 upset loss at unranked Utah
in week 3 that knocked them out of the top 25. It was the 36th time that a Rose Bowl berth was on the line in the game: A USC victory would guarantee them at least a share of the Pac-10 Conference title and a berth in the 2008 Rose Bowl
Game; UCLA, despite entering the game 6–5 (5–3 in the Pac-10), also entered the game with a chance at the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth if they could defeat the Trojans and Arizona could beat Arizona State in a game later in the day.
During the 2006 contest, UCLA Defensive Coordinator DeWayne Walker
had the Bruins apply aggressive pressure to John David Booty
, limiting the quarterback's ability to drive the passing game while holding the Trojans to 55 yards rushing and an average of only 1.9 yards per carry. USC entered the 2007 game averaging 186.6 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry, significantly higher than the 128 yards rushing per game in 2006.
In the week leading up to the game, a dispute between USC and the Coliseum Commission, the public managers of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, went public. USC threatened to move to the Rose Bowl (home of the UCLA Bruins since 1982) if an agreement could not be reached. USC entered the game as a 20 point favorite.
The Trojans defense dominated the Bruins in a 24–7 victory before a sold-out Coliseum crowd. The Trojans held the Bruins to a season-low 168 yards, sacking quarterback Patrick Cowan four times for 31 yards in losses and held the Bruins to 12 net rushing yards. USC forced four turnovers, recovering three UCLA fumbles and intercepting a pass. The Bruins did not convert any of its 11 third down situations. The Bruins sole score came in a drive in the closing minutes of the first half. USC gained 231 rushing yards and 437 overall. On the ground, running back Joe McKnight rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown, Stafon Johnson ran for 73 yards and senior Chauncey Washington gained 66 yards and scored a touchdown. Booty completed 21 of 36 passes for 206 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The victory assured USC a share of the Pac-10 title. Although Arizona State would defeat Arizona later in the night to become co-champions, the Trojans clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl by virtue of their victory over the Sun Devils the previous week. USC extended its unprecedented streak of Pac-10 titles to six in a row, having already broken the record the previous season with five. Dorrell was fired by UCLA the following Monday by UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. USC's victory, coupled with another week of upsets, led the Trojans to rise to No. 6 in the AP Poll, No. 6 in the Coaches Poll, and No. 7 in the BCS standings.
quarterback Max Hall went 21-35 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Manase Tonga led the rushing with 3 carries for 21 yards. The MVP of the game, Austin Collie had 6 catches for 107 yards and 1 touchdown. For UCLA, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 11-27 for 154 yards and 1 touchdown and interception. The rushing game was led by Chris Markey who ran 27 times for 117 yards. This was the first time the Cougars gave up 100 yards rushing to a single player. Bethel-Thompson's favorite target was Brandon Breazell who caught 4 passes for 44 yards and 1 touchdown. The Bruins struck first with a 22 yard Kai Forbath field goal. A 29 yard field goal by BYU kicker Mitch Payne made it 3-3 after the 1st quarter. In the 2nd, Hall hooked up with Austin Collie for 14 yards and a touchdown to make it 10-3. Forbath then hit a 52 yard field goal to cut the lead to 10-6. With 1:03 left in the 1st half, Hall found Michael Reed for 13 yards and a touchdown. As time expired, Bethel-Thompson hit Breazell to make it 17-13 in favor of BYU at the end of the 2nd quarter. There was no scoring in the 3rd. In the 4th, Forbath made it 17-16 with a 50 yard field goal. BYU punted to UCLA with around 2 minutes left to set up a final drive for the Bruins. Bethel-Thompson, a fourth-string walk-on quarterback, along with Chris Markey drove to the BYU 49. On 3rd and 8 Bethel-Thompson hit Logan Paulsen to get to the BYU 13. That set up a chip-shot 28 yard field goal for Forbath, who already hit 2 50+ yarders. The kick was too low and Manumaleuna blocked it and sealed the game for the Cougars.
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College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
2007-2008 season. They played their home games at the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
and were coached by Karl Dorrell
Karl Dorrell
Karl Dorrell is a football coach, currently an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He was previously the head coach of the UCLA Bruins, the first African American head football coach in the school's history...
for the regular season. It was Dorrell's fifth, and final season as the UCLA head coach. UCLA's season was marked by numerous injures, particularly at quarterback. Original starting quarterback Ben Olson
Ben Olson
Benjamen James Olson is an American football quarterback. He played for the UCLA Bruins football team. He excelled in football at Thousand Oaks High School, earning high school All-American honors in 2001....
injured his knee early in the season and missed over four games. Backup quarterback Patrick Cowan
Patrick Cowan
Patrick Edmund Cowan is a free agent American football quarterback. He was previously the starting quarterback for the UCLA Bruins football team after starter Ben Olson was injured in the middle of the 2006 season. Cowan was a redshirt sophomore...
also suffered a knee injury but returned for two more games before suffering a collapsed lung
Pneumothorax
Pneumothorax is a collection of air or gas in the pleural cavity of the chest between the lung and the chest wall. It may occur spontaneously in people without chronic lung conditions as well as in those with lung disease , and many pneumothoraces occur after physical trauma to the chest, blast...
against Arizona. Coach Karl Dorrell was fired following the loss in the 77th UCLA-USC rivalry
UCLA-USC rivalry
The UCLA–USC rivalry is the American college rivalry between the UCLA Bruins sports teams of the University of California, Los Angeles and the USC Trojans sports teams of the University of Southern California ....
football game, the final regular season game for the Bruins. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker
DeWayne Walker
-External links:* *...
became the interim coach for the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl
2007 Las Vegas Bowl
The 2007 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl was an NCAA-sanctioned Division I post-season college football bowl game between the UCLA Bruins and the Brigham Young University Cougars. The Las Vegas Bowl gets its first choice of bowl-eligible teams from the Mountain West Conference and the fourth/fifth choice ...
, in which the Bruins lost to BYU
2007 BYU Cougars football team
The 2007 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2007 college football season.In this year BYU clinched its second consecutive Mountain West Conference championship title outright after defeating Utah on 24 November...
16-17. The Bruins finished 6-7 overall, 5-4 in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they were tied for fourth place.
Pre-Season
The UCLA Bruins had been ranked highly in the preseason polls, despite their mediocre 7-6 record in 2006, largely because they returned 20 starters in 2007. They had been predicted to finish 3rd in the Pac-10, behind the nation's #1 Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
as well as California
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Ben Olson
Benjamen James Olson is an American football quarterback. He played for the UCLA Bruins football team. He excelled in football at Thousand Oaks High School, earning high school All-American honors in 2001....
, who began the 2006 season as the starter, again began the season with the starting job.
Jay Norvell
Jay Norvell
Jay Norvell is a football coach and former player.He played at the collegiate level at the University of Iowa. He also played linebacker in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears for one season....
joined the coaching staff as the new offensive coordinator. He replaced Jim Svoboda, who was fired by head coach Dorrell after the offense received much criticism for not performing up to expectations in 2006. Norvell was the offensive coordinator for the Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
for the previous three years, where they ran the West Coast offense very successfully. Following the 2007 season, Norvell was hired by the University of Oklahome.
DeWayne Walker returned as the defensive coordinator after a fabulously successful 2006 season, in which the Bruins vastly improved their defense. They ranked highly in several national defensive categories, such as rushing defense (9th, and 1st in the Pac-10) and total defense (33rd). Their crowning achievement came when they held the USC Trojan offense to only a touchdown in beating their rivals, 13-9.
Schedule
Stanford Cardinal
UCLA's offense amassed 700 yards and overwhelmed the Cardinal defense in the second half, as UCLA won handily. The game was Jim Harbaugh's first as Stanford's new head coach. Ben Olson threw 6 touchdown passes and finished 16-29 for 286 yards. Kahlil BellKahlil Bell
Kahlil Bell is an American football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at UCLA.-Personal life:Kahlil was born to his parents Michael and Elizabeth Bell...
led the running game by gaining 195 yards on 19 carries. This individual performance was the 18th best single game rushing performance in Bruin football history, placing Bell right after Freeman McNeil
Freeman McNeil
Freeman McNeil is a former professional American football player who was selected by the New York Jets in the 1st round of the 1981 NFL Draft....
, who had 197 yards against Stanford in 1979, and right before Gaston Green
Gaston Green
Gaston Alfred Green III is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1st round of the 1988 NFL Draft. A 5'10", 189-lb. running back from UCLA, Green played in 5 NFL seasons from 1988 to 1992 for the Rams and Denver Broncos...
, who had 194 yards against Tennessee in 1985.
BYU Cougars
The Bruins avoided an upset in a tough game by beating the Cougars, 27-17. UCLA had control of the game in the first half, but BYU made it close in the third quarter. UCLA's pass defense was shaky, giving up 391 yards, and their own passing attack inconsistent, as Ben Olson completed only 13 of 28 passes for 126 yards.Utah Utes
After starting the season with a couple of wins over Stanford and BYUBYU
-Education:* Brigham Young University, a university located in Provo, Utah, USA administered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.**BYU Salt Lake Center, a satellite center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...
, and achieving a No. 11 Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
ranking, UCLA stumbled against an injured, winless, and unranked Utah Utes
Utah Utes
The Utah Utes are the athletics teams of the University of Utah. They are named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the "Runnin' Utes"; the women's basketball team, formerly known as the "Lady Utes," now prefers to be referred to as the "Utes"; and the...
team, 44-6.
UCLA was completely dominated in all aspects of the game by the 0-2 Utah Utes, losing 44-6. Ben Olson threw three interceptions, and the Utes forced two other turnovers. In addition, the Bruins had 10 penalties for 61 yards. The blowout loss dropped UCLA completely out of the rankings.
Washington Huskies
UCLA was able to bounce back from their embarrassing loss to Utah by beating Washington. The Bruins had a rather slow first half with a score of 10-10 at halftime. After the break the Bruins managed to gain momentum and outscore the Huskies to win the game. The statistics were in heavy favor of the Bruins with the total offensive yards being 537-340 for the Bruins and Huskies respectively. Chris Markey rushed for 193 yards, including a touchdown run of 73 yards and another long run for 66 yards. Safety Dennis Keyes added a 60 yard interception return for a touchdown, and Matt Slater ran back a kickoff 85 yards for another touchdown.Oregon State Beavers
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Ben Olson
Benjamen James Olson is an American football quarterback. He played for the UCLA Bruins football team. He excelled in football at Thousand Oaks High School, earning high school All-American honors in 2001....
went out with a knee injury late in the first quarter, which left freshman walkon redshirt McLeod Bethel-Thompson to lead the Bruins. This was the first appearance for the Irish in the Rose Bowl stadium since the 1925 Rose Bowl
1925 Rose Bowl
The 1925 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game. It was the 11th Rose Bowl Game. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated Stanford University, 27-10. The game featured two legendary coaches, Knute Rockne of Notre Dame, and Glenn "Pop" Warner in his first year at Stanford. The game also featured...
. The Irish were able to capitalize on Bruin offensive mistakes to recover loose balls. This ended one of the worst slumps in Fighting Irish football, and prevented the Irish from equaling their longest losing streak in their history. In the 1960 college football season
1960 college football season
The 1960 college football season marked the last time that the University of Minnesota was a national champion on the gridiron. Murray Warmath's Minnesota Gophers were not in the Top 20 in preseason polling, but received the AP Trophy at the end of the regular season...
, the Irish lost eight straight games. The biggest cheer during the entire game came when the score of the 2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game
2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game
The 2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game was a college football game held on October 6, 2007, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. In a remarkable upset, the visiting Stanford Cardinal won 24–23. Southern California was favored by 41 points over Stanford,...
was announced. Fighting Irish and Bruins fans, who together are arch-rivals of the Trojans, cheered together.
California Golden Bears
With both teams suffering surprising upsets at home in their previous games, both Cal and UCLA came into their Rose Bowl tilt looking to restore their reputation and Pac-10 title hopes. Cal had been ranked #2 in the nation and briefly had a chance to be #1, but they had lost to Oregon State. Despite out of conference losses to Notre Dame and Utah, UCLA remained undefeated in the conference at 4-0 and controlled their Pac-10 destiny. Cal had suffered only the loss from last week and were returning Nate LongshoreNate Longshore
Nate Longshore is an arena football quarterback for the San Jose Sabercats of the Arena Football League. He played collegiately at California, where he was a three year starter and led the Golden Bears to a share of the Pac-10 title in 2006.-High school:Longshore graduated from Canyon High School...
back to the lineup. The game was played at the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
with 83,494 in attendance.
The game was very close and included several lead changes. DeSean Jackson
DeSean Jackson
Going to the 2008 NFL Draft Jackson was considered one of the top ten wide receivers available in a draft class littered with talented wide outs. The only knock on Jackson was his small frame, being measured at 5'9¾ " and just over 170 pounds. During the pre-draft period, Hall of Fame wide receiver...
had 136 yards and two touchdowns on 9 receptions. Justin Forsett
Justin Forsett
Justin Forsett is an American football running back and punt returner for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at California.-Early years:Forsett was born in Lakeland, Florida...
was held to 76 yards on 25 carries. Cal tight end Craig Stevens also caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Cal entered the fourth quarter with a 21-20 lead, but Cal could not put UCLA away. Cal was stopped on its first two fourth quarter sequences that included 7 of the 8 plays as running plays. After UCLA scored a field goal to take a 23-21 lead and with only around two minutes left on the clock, the Bears went the air. Just outside field goal range, Longshore attempted a third down with 1:33 left on the clock which was intercepted by UCLA cornerback Alterraun Verner
Alterraun Verner
Alterraun Ennis Verner is an American football cornerback. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles. Verner was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the 2010 NFL Draft...
who ran for a 76 yard touchdown putting the score at 30-21 Bruins. On his next drive, Longshore attempted a 4th and 10 he was again intercepted by Keyes. UCLA converted a first down and ran the clock for the victory. Over the next five plays UCLA made a net of 9 yards and a first down to hold onto the ball and win the game 30-21. Longshore finished 232 yards, 3 touchdowns, and three interceptions.
California's defense allowed UCLA to rush for 183 yards (Kahlil Bell rushed for 142 yards) while recording one sack. The team recovered 2 UCLA fumbles, but could not create any points off those turnovers (and one turnover would lead to a Longshore interception).
Washington State Cougars
UCLA continued their unpredictable season by losing to underdog Washington St., who had not won a Pac-10 game until this one. The Cougars rolled up 545 yards of total offense to UCLA's 267 yards. After the Washington State loss, UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero addressed UCLA's inconsistent football performances for the first time, stating "I will be very interested to see how we finish the season. And you can use that." Many took this as a hint that Dorrell's job may be in serious jeopardy..Arizona Wildcats
The Bruins suffered their fourth loss of the year to Arizona, and talk about coach Karl Dorrell's job security continues to increase. UCLA rallied in the fourth quarter to come within a touchdown but the Arizona lead was too much to overcome. Quarterback Pat Cowan suffered a concussion and a collapsed lung that knocked him out of the game, and Osaar Rasshan came in to lead the Bruins to 13 points. Rasshan had been the third-string quarterback last year, then converted to a wide receiver this year, but quickly converted back to a quarterback in the past few weeks as UCLA suffered injuries to the quarterback position.Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State had been undefeated, and ranked as high as number #6 before losing #5 Oregon, a game which would prove to be one of the factors in the Sun Devils being tied with USC for the PAC-10 title, and the Trojans getting the Rose Bowl berth, and the Sun Devils being knocked out of a BCS berth.This game had PAC-10 title implications for both teams. UCLA kick returner Matthew Slater returned
a kickoff for a touchdown, his third of the season, to bring the Bruins to within 24-20 in the third quarter. Osaar Rasshan, in his first start as quarterback, threw an interception in the final minutes of the game, giving the game to Arizona State, as neither team could score in the fourth quarter. Rasshan threw for 181 yards while rushing for 41.
Oregon Ducks
The Bruins managed to knock off a top-10 team by shutting out the Oregon Ducks, who were without QB Dennis Dixon. The Ducks went through three quarterbacks, none of which were effective against the UCLA defense. On UCLA's side, Osaar Rasshan started the game, but original starting QB Ben Olson came in for the second half.But the game was won by the UCLA defense. Turnovers set up first-half field goals for UCLA, and the Ducks could not move the ball at all. With the win, UCLA became bowl-eligible.
USC Trojans
The rest of the day, UCLA's offense could do nothing against the Trojan defense. UCLA's defense played respectably, but turnovers and the anemic offense doomed the Bruins' chances.
The Bruins ended the regular season at the Los Angeles Coliseum against the USC Trojans, who were led by head coach Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll
Peter Clay Carroll is the head coach and executive Vice-President of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He is a former head coach of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the University of Southern California Trojans football team.-Early life:Carroll attended Redwood High...
, in the 77th edition of their annual crosstown rivalry
UCLA-USC rivalry
The UCLA–USC rivalry is the American college rivalry between the UCLA Bruins sports teams of the University of California, Los Angeles and the USC Trojans sports teams of the University of Southern California ....
game for possession of the Victory Bell
Victory Bell (USC-UCLA)
The Victory Bell is an annual trophy given to either the University of Southern California or the University of California, Los Angeles. The winner of the annual USC-UCLA rivalry football contest keeps the bell for the next year, and paints it the school's color: "True Blue" for UCLA, or cardinal...
. In the 2006 season, the Bruins' 13–9 upset of the then-No. 2 Trojans in the final week of the regular season ended the Trojans' hopes for reaching the National Championship game. With both teams ranked going into the season (USC first, UCLA 14th in the AP Poll), there was buzz in Los Angeles that both teams might reach their December 1 game undefeated. UCLA made it as high as 11th in both polls before suffering a 44–6 upset loss at unranked Utah
2007 Utah Utes football team
The 2007 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2007-2008. The team was coached by 3rd year head football coach Kyle Whittingham...
in week 3 that knocked them out of the top 25. It was the 36th time that a Rose Bowl berth was on the line in the game: A USC victory would guarantee them at least a share of the Pac-10 Conference title and a berth in the 2008 Rose Bowl
2008 Rose Bowl
The 2008 Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi, the 94th Rose Bowl Game, played on January 1, 2008 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, was a college football bowl game. The contest was televised on ABC, the 20th straight year the network aired the Rose Bowl, starting at 4:30pm EST...
Game; UCLA, despite entering the game 6–5 (5–3 in the Pac-10), also entered the game with a chance at the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth if they could defeat the Trojans and Arizona could beat Arizona State in a game later in the day.
During the 2006 contest, UCLA Defensive Coordinator DeWayne Walker
DeWayne Walker
-External links:* *...
had the Bruins apply aggressive pressure to John David Booty
John David Booty
John David Booty is an American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He last played for the Houston Texans until being cut on September 4, 2010. He played college football at USC.Booty has also been a member of the Tennessee Titans...
, limiting the quarterback's ability to drive the passing game while holding the Trojans to 55 yards rushing and an average of only 1.9 yards per carry. USC entered the 2007 game averaging 186.6 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry, significantly higher than the 128 yards rushing per game in 2006.
The Trojans defense dominated the Bruins in a 24–7 victory before a sold-out Coliseum crowd. The Trojans held the Bruins to a season-low 168 yards, sacking quarterback Patrick Cowan four times for 31 yards in losses and held the Bruins to 12 net rushing yards. USC forced four turnovers, recovering three UCLA fumbles and intercepting a pass. The Bruins did not convert any of its 11 third down situations. The Bruins sole score came in a drive in the closing minutes of the first half. USC gained 231 rushing yards and 437 overall. On the ground, running back Joe McKnight rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown, Stafon Johnson ran for 73 yards and senior Chauncey Washington gained 66 yards and scored a touchdown. Booty completed 21 of 36 passes for 206 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The victory assured USC a share of the Pac-10 title. Although Arizona State would defeat Arizona later in the night to become co-champions, the Trojans clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl by virtue of their victory over the Sun Devils the previous week. USC extended its unprecedented streak of Pac-10 titles to six in a row, having already broken the record the previous season with five. Dorrell was fired by UCLA the following Monday by UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. USC's victory, coupled with another week of upsets, led the Trojans to rise to No. 6 in the AP Poll, No. 6 in the Coaches Poll, and No. 7 in the BCS standings.
Las Vegas Bowl
Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a last second field goal by UCLA as BYU hung on to beat the Bruins 17-16. BYUBYU
-Education:* Brigham Young University, a university located in Provo, Utah, USA administered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.**BYU Salt Lake Center, a satellite center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...
quarterback Max Hall went 21-35 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Manase Tonga led the rushing with 3 carries for 21 yards. The MVP of the game, Austin Collie had 6 catches for 107 yards and 1 touchdown. For UCLA, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 11-27 for 154 yards and 1 touchdown and interception. The rushing game was led by Chris Markey who ran 27 times for 117 yards. This was the first time the Cougars gave up 100 yards rushing to a single player. Bethel-Thompson's favorite target was Brandon Breazell who caught 4 passes for 44 yards and 1 touchdown. The Bruins struck first with a 22 yard Kai Forbath field goal. A 29 yard field goal by BYU kicker Mitch Payne made it 3-3 after the 1st quarter. In the 2nd, Hall hooked up with Austin Collie for 14 yards and a touchdown to make it 10-3. Forbath then hit a 52 yard field goal to cut the lead to 10-6. With 1:03 left in the 1st half, Hall found Michael Reed for 13 yards and a touchdown. As time expired, Bethel-Thompson hit Breazell to make it 17-13 in favor of BYU at the end of the 2nd quarter. There was no scoring in the 3rd. In the 4th, Forbath made it 17-16 with a 50 yard field goal. BYU punted to UCLA with around 2 minutes left to set up a final drive for the Bruins. Bethel-Thompson, a fourth-string walk-on quarterback, along with Chris Markey drove to the BYU 49. On 3rd and 8 Bethel-Thompson hit Logan Paulsen to get to the BYU 13. That set up a chip-shot 28 yard field goal for Forbath, who already hit 2 50+ yarders. The kick was too low and Manumaleuna blocked it and sealed the game for the Cougars.
Depth chart
| Christian Taylor | >- | John Hale | Brigham Harwell | Kevin Brown | >- | Jess Ward | Chase Moline |
{| style="w>dth:100%"
|+
| align="left" |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! SE
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| Marcus Everett
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| Gavin Ketchum
|}
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
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! LT !! LG
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
!! C
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
!! RG
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
!! RT
|-
| Micah Kia
| Aleksey Lanis
Coaching staff
- Karl DorrellKarl DorrellKarl Dorrell is a football coach, currently an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He was previously the head coach of the UCLA Bruins, the first African American head football coach in the school's history...
- Head Coach - 5th year - Jay Norvell - Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
- DeWayne Walker - Defensive Coordinator / Cornerbacks