UCLAngst...and why

WOW!!!!!! A team with heart! Character! Gamebreakers on both sides of the ball! And yet...


6-0 for the first time in a while after an absolutely thrilling OT win against a team that has given us fits lately is usually great news that would send me into the stratosphere. But not me. Proud UCLA alum that I am (class of '89), I bleed blue and gold and take a great deal of pride having attended a school with such a rich athletic history. But when it comes to UCLA football, I feel...angst. Big-game success? Don't worry, something bad will happen. Great win? it's just a matter of time before we F*** up and drop one to a team we should clock by 21 points. Winning streak? We'll meet up with someone who will end it at the worst possible time. UCLA football is kinda like the Angels-a one-time champion, but mostly teases and the occasional gut-punch loss. Somehow, it translates into a reluctance to fully embrace the program.

Any true Bruin can tell you that angst springs eternal when considering UCLA football. I attended UCLA from '85-'89, and we had stud teams that always screwed their chances. My first year we went to the Rose Bowl and crushed Iowa, and I thought we'd be in at least one more Rose Bowl. But no...even though my last two years coincided with Troy Aikman's two-year reign as the starting QB in Westwood. We went 20-4 in those two years-and lost to USC twice. We had outstanding offense and defense. And we still didn't get it done against those USCumbags. All that talent, and all we got out of it was a friggin' Aloha Bowl and Cotton Bowl. And of course USC, being an inferior team, managed to tarnish the PAC-10 rep by losing to Michigan State and Michigan.

Despite the blown opportunities of the Aikman years, the '98 team is the one that cemented the angst for me. Without question, it was the greatest offensive team UCLA had ever produced, with great players everywhere. The team started out 10-0, but then had to travel to Miami to play a game rescheduled from earlier in the season due to a hurricane. Of course, Miami had started out terribly-when we were supposed to play them-and then began rolling with Edgerrin James leading the way. Unfortunately, UCLA's "D" started out the season playing poorly and then went off the cliff midway through the season, so we went into the game playing our worst defense against a team that was perfectly positioned to exploit that weakness. So although we scored practically at will, and it looked as if we would hold on to play Tennessee in the first BCS championship game, Edgerrin just kicked the crap out of the "defense" and ran for 299 yards in that game. This started UCLA's now-weekly tradition of turning any decent back into a Heisman-worthy candidate. Still, Cade McNown (OK, Chicago fans, shut up-he was incredible at UCLA) drove them down and we just missed a winning TD as time expired. Chance for title gone, 20-game wining streak gone-and UCLA football has never been even remontely the same, and just at the same time as that tool team across town began to wake up from 20 years of mediocrity.

Miami 49, UCLA 45
December 5, 1998

UCLA 7 10 21 7 - 45
Miami 14 7 7 21 - 49

First Quarter
Mia-James 45 run (Crosland kick), 5:40.
UCLA-Farmer 77 pass from McNown (Sailer kick), 4:33.
Mia-Moser 4 pass from Covington (Crosland kick), :10.

Second Quarter
UCLA-Poli-Dixon 7 pass from McNown (Sailer kick), 11:54.
Mia-James 10 run (Crosland kick), 7:00.
UCLA-FG Sailer 21, 1:24.

Third Quarter
UCLA-Farmer 14 pass from McNown (Sailer kick), 13:10.
UCLA-Poli-Dixon 61 pass from McNown (Sailer kick), 11:23.
UCLA-Melsby 59 pass from McNown (Sailer kick), 1:28.
Mia-Davenport 23 run (Crosland kick), :18.

Fourth Quarter
Mia-Moss 71 pass from Covington (Crosland kick), 12:34.
UCLA-McNown 1 run (Sailer kick), 6:54.
Mia-Fulcher 29 pass from Covington (Crosland kick), 6:08.
Mia-James 1 run (Crosland kick) :50.


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-UCLA, Foster 16-79, Lewis 9-38, K.Brown 9-38, McNown 3-2, Price 1-0. Miami, James 39-299, Davenport 9-68, Moss 1-11, Covington 2-(minus 7).
PASSING-UCLA, McNown 26-35-0-513. Miami, Covington 19-28-0-318.

RECEIVING-UCLA, Farmer 6-135, Foster 5-21, Poli-Dixon 4-130, Grieb 4-63, Melsby 3-95, Lewis 1-44, Wilkins 1-12, Neufeld 1-10, Dubravac 1-3. Miami, King 8-124, Moss 4-95, Fulcher 2-45, N.Williams 2-28, James 1-11, Franks 1-11, Moser 1-4.