UCLA 46, No. 18 Washington 16



UCLA 46, No. 18 Washington 16
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Rodney Leisle returned from a first-half suspension to score on a fumble recovery and intercept a pass as UCLA rallied to beat No. 18 Washington 46-16 Saturday.
The 6-foot-3, 294-pound tackle was suspended for the half for punching a San Diego State player in the stomach last week.
The senior star made an impact on his very first play, after Washington's Roc Alexander took the second-half kickoff to his own 7 instead of downing the ball in the end zone.
UCLA defensive end Dave Ball knocked the ball out of quarterback Cody Pickett's hand at the goal line, and Leisle pounced on it for the TD, slicing Washington's lead to 16-14.
Manuel White, who had 19 carries for 83 yards, put the Bruins ahead with a 1-yard run in the third quarter.
White went off right tackle for the go-ahead score and caught a 2-point conversion pass from Olson, capping a 5 1/2-minute drive in which UCLA (3-2, 1-0 Pac-10) went 14 plays in 91 yards.
The Huskies (3-2, 1-1) advanced inside the red zone following White's go-ahead TD, but Pickett's short pass over the middle bounced off the shoulder pads of fullback Zach Tuiasosopo and into the waiting arms of Leisle at the UCLA 12.
Tyler Ebell and Maurice Drew also had short touchdown runs and Jarrad Page scored on a 24-yard interception return for UCLA. The Bruins ended Washington's three-game losing streak with their fourth straight Rose Bowl victory over the Huskies.
Bruins quarterback Drew Olson was 16-for-24 for 258 yards and had a 1-yard TD run. Craig Bragg caught eight passes for 142 yards.
UCLA had 127 yards in penalties, after being penalized for 113 last week in its victory over San Diego State.
The Huskies had outscored opponents 79-20 in the second half and 27-0 in the fourth quarter. But UCLA outscored them 39-0 in the second half and 24-0 in the fourth quarter.
Washington scored on its first three possessions and built a 16-7 halftime lead.
The unranked Bruins converted the turnover into a 39-yard field goal by Chris Kluwe, capping an 11-play, 66-yard drive with 12:13 remaining. Page sealed the victory just eight seconds later with his 24-yard interception return and Olson ran in from 1 yard with 3 1/2 minutes to play.
Pickett completed 26 of 42 passed for 281 yards and was intercepted twice. He completed 12 of his first 15 passes -- six of them to Williams, who exploited a 7-inch height advantage against 5-9 cornerback Matt Clark -- while Matt Ware, the Bruins' 6-3 cornerback, remained on the other side. Williams finished with 10 catches for 105 yards.
After the second of Even Knudson's three field goals increased Washington's lead to 13-0 early in the second quarter, UCLA drove 72 yards in five plays and narrowed the gap to 13-7 with 9:12 left in the half. Bragg keyed the drive with a diving 41-yard reception at the Washington 10 after beating Jimmy Newell on a post pattern.
Two plays later, Ebell went around left end from the 7 to score his first touchdown of the season. It was the third of 10 carries in the game for the sophomore tailback, who rushed for 50 yards after running the ball just three times last week.
On Monday, Ebell brought his father into a closed-door meeting with first-year head coach Karl Dorrell in an attempt to get his role on the team more defined. Dorrell referred to Ebell's lack of playing time as an oversight. In last year's 34-24 win at Washington, Ebell had three 1-yard touchdown runs among his 102 total rushing yards.