Pac-10 roundup | Fresno St. outlasts UCLA
Published 11:55 pm Saturday, September 27, 2008
PASADENA, Calif. — Tom Brandstater and his Fresno State teammates created a lasting memory.
“In 20 years, we will be able to remember that we beat UCLA at their house. We beat the mighty Bruins. That is fun,” he said.
Brandstater threw three touchdown passes and Ryan Mathews ran for 166 yards as the No. 25 Bulldogs beat UCLA 36-31 on Saturday.
Mathews scored once on a 49-yard dash and again on a 25-yard reception.
“I was recruited by UCLA — and I’m glad they passed,” he said. “We had a chip on our shoulder all day long and played like it.”
The scrappy Bulldogs (3-1) of the Western Athletic Conference aren’t awed by any team but the school has been frustrated that more big-time football schools don’t schedule them.
“It looks like it will be hard for us to schedule Pac-10 schools in the future,” Mathews said after the win over the Bruins (1-3).
Fresno State coach Pat Hill, who pointed to the throng of red-clad fans in the visiting team’s section of the stands, said, “It was a great effort by our team and a great effort by our fans. I’d say that at least half the stadium was wearing red, so hats off to our fans.”
The Bulldogs fans seemed to make up at least a third of the Rose Bowl crowd of 73,963.
Fresno State now has 14 victories against BCS-conference opponents this decade, tied with Utah for the most by teams from the non-automatic qualifying conferences.
Played in 90-degree heat, it was an entertaining game, with a string of big plays, back-and-forth scoring, and some late drama.
In a game marked by rapid shifts in momentum, the Bulldogs took final control after the Bruins’ Derrick Coleman fumbled at the Fresno State 10 and Wilson Ramos recovered with 8:55 remaining.
With Mathews grinding out yards from there, including a 7-yard gain on fourth-and-1 at the UCLA 26 with 2:53 remaining, the Bulldogs ran out the clock with a 17-play drive that reached the UCLA 4 as time expired.
Brandstater was 21-for-30 for 236 yards, including TDs of 28 yards to Chastin West, 22 to Mathews, and 4 to Bear Pascoe, the final two as the Bulldogs opened a 36-22 lead in the third quarter.
Although they played much better than their past two games, the loss was the third in a row for the Bruins (1-3), who had opened coach Rick Neuheisel’s first year at the helm with an upset of Tennessee.
“I was encouraged by the improvement in our offense,” Neuheisel said. “We saw some light at the end of the tunnel. Kevin Craft played much better, both throwing the ball and using his legs. We’re sitting here at 1-3 and we’re all disappointed with that. But there is improvement.”
Terrence Austin was a standout in the loss, accounting for a UCLA record 298 total yards — 206 on kickoff returns, 44 on punt returns, 29 rushing and 19 receiving.
Other game
California 42, Colorado St. 7: At Berkeley, Calif., Syd’Quan Thompson returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown and the Golden Bears (3-1) also scored on a blocked punt and interception return in a 48-second span of the first quarter while routing the Rams (2-2).
