University of Washington
UCLA
Huskies Stumble On The Road
November 13, 1999 | Football
Nov. 13, 1999
By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Chris Griffith's third field goal of the game, a 22-yarder in overtime, lifted UCLA to a 23-20 upset over No. 23 Washington on Saturday, bouncing the Huskies out of the driver's seat in the Pac-10 race.
Favored by 8 1/2 points, Washington entered the game needing wins over conference doormats UCLA and Washington State to earn its first berth in the Rose Bowl in seven years.
But the Bruins (4-6, 2-5) didn't cooperate, instead rebounding from a three-game losing streak in which they had been outscored 105-14.
Washington coach Rick Neuheisel, a former UCLA quarterback and assistant coach, had said he expected the Bruins to play their best game of the season.
It proved to be an accurate forecast as the Huskies (6-4, 5-2) had their three-game winning streak snapped, leaving the Pac-10 race scrambled as it nears an end.
Joey Strycula intercepted a third-and-15 pass by Marques Tuiasosopo from the UCLA 16-yard line to thwart Washington's overtime opportunity, and Griffith, a freshman, came through four plays later.
The Huskies forced the overtime when freshman John Anderson kicked a school record-tying 56-yard field goal with 2:32 remaining.
The Bruins, playing without injured quarterback Cory Paus, took a 20-17 lead on third-quarter field goals of 35 and 28 yards by Griffith, the second with 2:55 left.
Griffith had an opportunity to extend UCLA's lead to six points, but his 27-yard field goal try was blocked by Toalei Mulitauaopele, giving the Huskies the ball with 6:04 to play.
Held to one first down in the second half to that point, the Huskies moved to the UCLA 39 when the drive stalled, and Anderson then tied Don Martin's 32-year-old school record.
Tuiasosopo, who became the first Division I-A quarterback to rush for more than 200 yards and pass for more than 300 in a game two weeks ago against Stanford, was 12-of-25 for 134 yards and netted just 15 yards rushing.
Ryan McCann, like Paus a redshirt freshman, misfired on his first six passes, but wound up 12-of-23 for 146 yards. Paus dislocated his left clavicle early in the second quarter and didn't return.
Washington drove 56 yards on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead, scoring on a 10-yard run by Tuiasosopo, but the Bruins responded with a 74-yard scoring drive capped by an 8-yard scoring run by DeShaun Foster, who gained 69 yards on 24 carries.
The Bruins went ahead 14-7 early in the second quarter on a 3-yard run by Foster one play after Ricky Manning sacked Tuiasosopo and forced a fumble that Marcus Reese recovered.
Maurice Shaw's 1-yard run with 2:54 left in the second quarter capped an 80-yard Washington drive as the Huskies tied the game. Three plays later, McCann fumbled the snap and Jeremiah Pharms recovered on the UCLA 34, setting up a 50-yard field goal by Anderson with seven seconds left in the half, giving Washington a 17-14 lead.
