UCLA
Arizona St
No. 15 Bruins Rattle ASU In Come-From-Behind Win
September 30, 2000 | Football
Sept. 30, 2000
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PASADENA, Calif. - UCLA let substantial leads slip away to Arizona State in each of their three previous games.
This time, the Bruins used a second-half comeback to win.
Cory Paus threw two scoring passes to Freddie Mitchell in a 28-point third quarter as the No. 15 Bruins rallied from a three-touchdown deficit to beat the Sun Devils 38-31 on Saturday night.
"Nice comeback, nice comeback by our football team," UCLA coach Bob Toledo said. "We spotted them 21 points. If we hadn't turned it over, it would have been one heck of a football game. As it was, it got pretty exciting at the end."
Arizona State (3-1, 0-1 Pac-10) had won five of the last six games between the teams including the last three, despite trailing by 14, 21 and 17 points at halftime. This time, the Sun Devils were the ones with the big halftime lead that didn't stand up.
"I want to compliment UCLA on the way they came back," Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder said. "They're very talented. The third quarter was like an avalanche, and it was a real tribute to UCLA."
Paus and Mitchell teamed up on an 80-yard pass play with 1:31 left in the third quarter to snap a 28-all tie and put the Bruins (4-1, 1-1) ahead for good.
"I felt like I had to change the momentum of the game," said Mitchell, who caught four passes for 125 yards. "I told Cory to throw me the ball, because I saw the safeties were biting on the runs."
Arizona State's Mike Barth kicked a 49-yard field goal in the opening minute of the fourth period, and UCLA's Chris Griffith kicked a 46-yarder with 7:02 remaining to complete the scoring.
Tom Pace fumbled and Jason Zdenek recovered at the UCLA 33 with 3:31 remaining to snuff out the final Arizona State threat. The Sun Devils got the ball back with 35 seconds left, but were at the UCLA 49 when time expired.
The Bruins played a miserable first half, committing four turnovers and failing on a fake punt to help Arizona State take a 21-0 lead. In addition, they lost leading rusher DeShaun Foster in the second quarter with a broken right hand.
Paus completed 17 of 30 passes for 267 yards. Jermaine Lewis and Akil Harris filled in nicely for Foster, Lewis gained 104 yards on 17 carries and scored one touchdown, and Harris gained 100 yards on 13 carries and scored two TDs.
"We had guys who had to fill in," Toledo said. "Jermaine and Akil both did an outstanding job, and Cory threw the ball real well."
UCLA finally got it going late in the second period, driving 95 yards on seven plays to cut Arizona State's lead to 21-7. Harris, a freshman carrying for just the second time in his career, ran 23 yards to cap the drive.
UCLA scored three touchdowns in the first 10 1/2 minutes of the third period to take its first lead.
Lewis ran 57 yards for a touchdown on the first scrimmage play, and after an exchange of punts, Joe Hunter intercepted a pass by Ryan Kealy at the Arizona State 21, leading to a 7-yard scoring run by Harris.
Paus, playing for the first time since separating his throwing shoulder in the first series of the season-opener, threw an 8-yard TD pass to Mitchell to give UCLA a 28-21 lead. However, Arizona State tied it on the next play when Griffin Goodman, playing in relief of the injured Kealy, threw a 60-yard scoring pass to Richard Williams.
"I felt good right off the bat," Paus said. "I felt my separated shoulder a little bit when I got hit. The run by Jermaine put us back in the ballgame, and Akil ran real hard tonight."
The Bruins drove into Arizona State territory on their first possession, but Foster, who gained 30 yards on nine carries before being injured, fumbled and Alfred Williams recovered, setting up a 69-yard, eight-play drive capped by a 39-yard run by Mike Williams.
That made it five straight games in which UCLA's opponent has scored first.
The Sun Devils made it 14-0 less than two minutes later on a 2-yard pass from Kealy to Richard Williams, completing a 77-yard, five-play march following a punt.
UCLA tried a fake punt on fourth-and-22 early in the second period, but Nate Fikse's pass fell incomplete. The Sun Devils then moved 52 yards on seven plays, scoring on a 5-yard run by Mike Williams on fourth-and-inches.
Toledo said he apologized to the team at halftime for the fake punt, which he admitted was a bad call.
"At the beginning, we were making the plays they weren't," ASU linebacker Adam Archuleta said. "I just don't know what happened after that."
Kealy, who started at quarterback for Arizona State because Jeff Krohn has mononucleosis, left with a sprained right knee early in the third quarter. Kealy, who has had five operations on his knees, completed 13 of 25 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown.
Goodman completed 11-of-23 passes for 166 yards, and Mike Williams gained 97 yards on 10 carries.
By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer
