|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Saturday, Oct. 23 6:30pm ET
Oregon State punishes UCLA by 48 | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) -- The season is all but over for UCLA, but it's just getting good again for the Oregon State Beavers. Jonathan Smith passed for three touchdowns and ran for another Saturday as Oregon State routed UCLA 55-7, its most lopsided victory ever against the Bruins. "We enjoyed this one, and we're going to try to continue this momentum," said Smith, who was 15-of-34 for 261 yards. "To have such a big win in a big way, I think it brings back the confidence, and hopefully it can carry us through the rest of the year. The Beavers (4-3 overall, 1-3 Pac-10) gained renewed hope of ending their NCAA-record streak of 28 straight losing seasons. Oregon State had lost three in a row, but now needs two victories in its last four games for its first winning record since going 6-5 in 1970. "We're going to savor this one, for a couple of days anyway," said Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson. "To beat UCLA here as convincingly as we did, I think says a lot about the program and the direction that we're going." UCLA (3-5, 1-4) sank to last place in the Pac-10 with its second straight horrendous performance. The Bruins had just 210 total yards, a week after gaining 168 in a 17-0 home loss to Cal. It was the Bruins' worst loss since a 53-0 defeat to Southern California to open the 1930 season, and the 55 points were their most allowed since a 61-20 loss to Washington on Nov. 14, 1970. "I'm embarrassed that we didn't play well," said UCLA coach Bob Toledo. "We all need to take a good look in the mirror and reevaluate. We have three games left, and we'll see which direction they want to go." The Beavers' largest previous margin over UCLA was 45-21 in 1968. It also was Oregon State's first home victory over the Bruins since 1989. The Beavers haven't won a game by this many points since a 59-0 win at Hawaii on Nov. 22, 1976. The Beavers, with the nation's No. 2 offense at 489 yards a game, ran up 559 yards against the Bruins, who are ranked 107th nationally in defense at 440 yards a game. Oregon State moved the ball easily and avoided the mistakes that cost them the past three games. The Beavers committed one turnover after giving the ball up 14 times in losses to USC, Washington and Stanford. UCLA quarterback Cory Paus was 7-of-15 for 95 yards and an interception. He is 16-for-43 for 176 yards in his last two games. He was also sacked four times. Bruins wide receiver Danny Farmer, who suffered a strained groin last week, had no catches. Tailback DeShaun Foster did not make the trip because of a sprained right ankle. "I don't want to make excuses, but we are young and we are beat-up right now, and it shows," Toledo said. "I think the kids are practicing hard, but we're just not executing anything. And that's sad." The Beavers made short work of the Bruins' inexperienced five-man secondary, driving 80 yards on their first possession, capped by Ken Simonton's 4-yard touchdown run. Oregon State took a 14-0 lead on Smith's 23-yard pass to Roddy Tompkins with 1:53 left in the first quarter. Oregon State outgained UCLA 166-10 in the quarter. Simonton, the Pac-10's leading rusher at 151 yards a game, left in the second quarter with a cracked rib and finished with 37 yards on eight carries, breaking his school-record string of seven straight 100-yard games. The sophomore is 58 yards short of his second straight 1,000-yard season. Down 21-0 after a 10-yard sneak by Smith, UCLA came back on Paus' 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gabe Crecion with 5:54 left in the first half. Oregon State put the game away with two touchdowns in the next 2:23. Robert Prescott returned the kickoff 50 yards, and on the next play Antonio Battle ran left, shook a tackle and outran everybody for a 50-yard score. UCLA punted, and Smith hit the wide-open Tompkins for a 47-yard TD and a 35-7 lead. After another punt by UCLA, Smith drove the Beavers 53 yards, hitting Imani Percoats with a 10-yard score to make it 42-7 at halftime. Battle, a junior with just 1 yard on four career carries, rushed 16 times for 105 yards. "I knew there was going to be a time during the year, as much as (Simonton) carries the ball, that we wasn't going to be able to play," Erickson said. "He got nicked up with the rib, and Antonio and Eric Mobley (37 yards) came in and played very well." | ALSO SEE College Football Scoreboard UCLA Clubhouse Oregon State Clubhouse College football Top 25 overview
| |||||