Bruins Don’t Streak Out

The salutes that thundered down from the seats to the floor of the Rose Bowl on Saturday afternoon came as the accompaniment to the performance on the field.

The new UCLA Eight Clap.

This version sounded so different, unlike any of the seven consecutive wins over USC that had come before, so convincing was No. 8 for the Bruins, the 34-17 victory before 88,080.

It was also the 20th victory in a row for third-ranked UCLA (10-0, 8-0 in Pacific 10 Conference) and kept the Bruins in the national championship hunt with one game to go against Miami at the Orange Bowl on Dec. 5.

DeShaun Foster ran for three touchdowns and caught another and amped-up linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo had four sacks in the best game of his career. This version meant 16 more seniors will leave without having lost to the Trojans.

“Usually, it’s a close game down to the wire,” said one of them, safety Larry Atkins. “This one is sweeter because we were able to dominate them most of the game, or the whole game.”

He was right the second time.

USC (7-4, 5-3) led after Adam Abrams’ 36-yard field goal on its first possession, but never again. Foster, playing despite strep throat that left him feeling sick and drained, caught a four-yard scoring pass from Cade McNown on the ensuing drive. He hurdled the middle of the line from a yard out for another touchdown about 4 1/2 minutes later.

That was about it for the Trojans. They got as close as 14-10 when Carson Palmer hit Antoine Harris with a four-yard toss early in the second period, then got ditched for good.

Foster burst around left end for a 65-yard run, most of the damage on his day that included 109 yards in 15 carries.

Chris Sailer converted field goals from 38 and 26 yards, running his streak to nine makes in a row.

It was already 27-10, with the help of four lost Trojan fumbles, far out of reach for USC even with the entire second half still ahead.

“It made it extra neat,” Ayanbadejo said.

That it was so convincing.

“That’s definitely one of the nice things to be able to say about it,” senior center Shawn Stuart said.

Especially given what had come before. The previous seven victories in what was already the longest winning streak for either team in the history of the rivalry were by an average of 5.7 points. The difference in two of them were by seven points, and one of those, in 1996, took double overtime. The margin in ’94 was 12, but only after the Bruins trailed by nine at halftime and held only a five-point edge earlier in the fourth quarter.

So what transpired on a warm Saturday, in the 68th meeting, was different. Even though it was the same.

“God, eight years,” USC tailback Chad Morton said after his 120 yards in 19 carries went to waste. “I mean, we’ve got to stop this streak before it gets ridiculous, like Notre Dame was or something.”

That was a stretch of 13 games without a win, a span that included one tie. Welcome to what has become the encouraging news for the Trojans. That they’ve done a lot worse than this eight-game skid to UCLA.

Of course, they were not going to escape the Rose Bowl without being reminded of said streak. During a timeout with 2:54 remaining, the chant of “Eight more years!” gained momentum, Ayanbadejo nodding in affirmation as he lined up to prepare for the resumption of play. That was from the fans.

Then it was from the players. When McNown ran for 23 yards on what turned out to be the final play, he jumped into the arms of Andy Meyers, his standout guard. McNown, the first quarterback to win four games in the series, tossed the ball into the air, then walked to the sideline to share a bear hug with offensive coordinator Al Borges.

“We were like, ‘We did it,’ ” Meyers said. “We beat them eight straight.”

Not only that, but they did it with even more joy than usual, if that’s possible, so upset were the Bruins at supposed trash talking from USC quarterback Carson Palmer. That no one could say where they heard or read the comments didn’t seem to matter, or that they might not have come from anywhere but the mind of an imaginative Bruin searching for extra motivation.

All UCLA knows is that Palmer had ripped them and Trojan Coach Paul Hackett had ripped them. And that’s all there was to it.

“We practiced so hard,” said Ayanbadejo, already stripped down to the waist by the time he left the field, the jersey wrapped around his waist. “They were the ones talking smack the whole week. They played the game in the paper, they played the game on TV. And we played it on the field.”

Said Atkins, who had one of the fumble recoveries and an interception: “We heard some quotes earlier in the week where he [Palmer] was bad-mouthing us. He really doesn’t know what it’s about, this SC-UCLA game. I think we showed him.”

They were apparently unable to tell him afterward, the field turning into a sea of blue and gold.

“They just walked off,” cornerback Marques Anderson, who caused two of the fumbles, said of the Trojans. “I only got to shake a few guys’ hands. They were walking so fast.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Streakin’

UCLA’s winning streaks overall, in the Pacific 10 and at home:

20 GAMES

1997

1. Texas: 66-3

2. Arizona: 40-27

3. Houston: 66-10

4. Oregon: 39-31

5. Oregon State: 34-10

6. California: 35-17

7. Stanford: 27-7

8. Washington: 52-28

9. USC: 31-24

10. Texas A&M;: *29-23

* Cotton Bowl

1998

11. Texas: 49-31

12. Houston: 42-24

13. Washington State: 49-17

14. Arizona: 52-28

15. Oregon: 41-38 (OT)

16. California: 28-16

17. Stanford: 28-24

18. Oregon State: 41-34

19. Washington: 36-24

20. USC: 34-17

15 IN PACIFIC 10

1997

1. Arizona: 40-27

2. Oregon: 39-31

3. Oregon State: 34-10

4. California: 35-17

5. Stanford: 27-7

6. Washington: 52-28

7. USC: 31-24

1998

8. Washington State: 49-17

9. Arizona: 52-28

10. Oregon: 41-38 (OT)

11. California: 28-16

12. Stanford: 28-24

13. Oregon State: 41-34

14. Washington: 36-24

15. USC: 34-17

10 AT HOME

1997

1. Arizona: 40-27

2. Houston: 66-10

3. Oregon State: 34-10

4. California: 35-17

5. Washington: 52-28

1998

6. Texas: 49-31

7. Washington State: 49-17

8. Oregon: 41-38 (OT)

9. Stanford: 28-24

10. USC: 34-17

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

RIVALRY SATURDAY

A LOOK AT SOME OF THE TRADITIONAL GAMES AROUND THE NATION:

FLORIDA STATE 23, FLORIDA 12

The fifth-ranked Seminoles scored the final 17 points to keep their national title hopes alive. Page 7

STANFORD 10, CALIFORNIA 3

Todd Husak threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Troy Walters and the Cardinal defense made it hold up. Page 8

ALABAMA 31, AUBURN 17

Shaun Alexander scored three touchdowns to complete a turnaround from 4-7 to 7-4 for the Crimson Tide. Page 7

YALE 9, HARVARD 7

Yale kicker Mike Murawczyk turned from goat to hero when his 27-yard field goal provided the difference. Page 9