UCLA Escapes San Diego State : Bruins Win, 28-25, on Sneak by Johnson With 2:39 Left

SAN DIEGO —  For those who regularly ignore the annual warning statements from UCLA football Coach Terry Donahue, listen carefully.

If he says the sky is falling, believe him this time. His Bruins truly are struggling.

UCLA needed a one-yard touchdown by quarterback Bret Johnson with 2:39 left Saturday night to earn a 28-25 comeback victory over San Diego State before 31,639 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The escape against the Aztecs (0-2) came one week after the Bruins were upset in their opener by Tennessee, 24-6. This game was supposed to provide an opportunity for the 20th-ranked Bruins (1-1) to regain some confidence before their game Saturday against No. 2 Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Instead the Bruins came within a desperation touchdown drive of losing to the Aztecs for the first time in the history of the 13-game series.

Only the poise of Johnson and running of tailback Brian Brown stood between the Bruins and their first 0-2 start in 18 years. Johnson completed two passes for 35 yards in the drive and Brown rushed for 16 yards in six carries.

“Say what you will, but our football team had a chance to fold in the fourth quarter,” Donahue said. “We had a redshirt freshman at quarterback, and we went down and scored. That was the most encouraging thing of the whole day for me.”

Johnson’s touchdown came a little more than four minutes after running back Darrin Wagner’s 31-yard touchdown run had given the Aztecs a 25-21 lead. The touchdown capped a nine-play, 57-yard drive.

“It was just a quarterback sneak, not much to it,” said Johnson, who was 15 of 27 for 262 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. “The way their defense was set up, there was nobody over the center. They wanted their linebacker to dive over and stop us. I got my body and my shoulders low and went right in.”

But while the comeback was encouraging to Donahue, the game again pointed out what Donahue has been contending about this Bruin team for weeks.

“I’ve said all along that this team is not as strong as others I’ve had in the past,” Donahue said. “Last year (against San Diego State) we were up, 31-0, at the half with Troy Aikman at quarterback. This year’s team is different. It’s still growing; it’s still trying to develop its own spirit, its own personality.”

If there were any question that some other UCLA team would show up other than the one that lost to Tennessee the week before, it was dispelled early.

All it took was a 73-yard run for a touchdown on a fake punt by senior nickel back John Wesselman to give the Aztecs a 7-0 lead with 3:49 left in the first quarter.

“We were looking for a first down,” San Diego State Coach Al Luginbill said, “but John broke it for us and set the momentum for the ballgame.”

It was the first time since this 67-year-old series was resumed in 1984 that San Diego State led in a game. The run was a warning that this game would be closer to UCLA’s 18-15 victory in 1984 than the lopsided UCLA victories of the next four years.

In the early going, the Bruins looked like anything but the top 20 team they are. They struggled to take a 14-10 halftime lead against a San Diego State team that had lost, 52-36, at Air Force on Sept. 2.

This also was the same Aztec program, although not the same team, that the Bruins had beaten the past three years by a combined score of 151-34. But regardless of whatever improvement the Aztecs showed this time, the Bruins demonstrated that many of their problems were of their own doing.

They again had difficulty defensively. They were outgained, 437-425. They yielded 234 yards to the Aztecs in the first half; that was as many as the Bruins gave up to the Aztecs in their entire 59-6 victory in the Rose Bowl last year. And unlike past years, when they were able to physically overmatch the Aztecs on both lines, San Diego State held its own up front.

“We knew going in we could compete with these guys,” Aztec quarterback Dan McGwire said. “We’re physical, and it showed tonight.”

This was a much more brazen Aztec team than the Bruins were used to playing. Luginbill, in only his second game as a major college head coach, was not afraid to gamble on big plays.

“I’m proud of these kids and tonight everybody saw why,” Luginbill said. “I see it in practice every day.”

The Bruins appeared ready to exert their traditional dominance of the Aztecs midway through the first quarter, starting a long drive that took them deep into San Diego State territory. But the drive ended abruptly with an interception, and the Aztecs then turned to a touch of trickery.

UCLA had moved to the Aztec 27 when Johnson attempted to complete a pass to Brown. But the ball was high and Brown could only tip it over his head and into the hands of San Diego State cornerback Clark Moses at the Aztec 17.

Moses returned the ball five yards to the San Diego State 22. The drive stalled after three plays netted five yards, and the Aztecs went into punt formation. But instead of snapping the ball to punter Joe Santos, the ball was snapped to the short man, Wesselman.

Wesselman, a senior from West Torrance High School, took the snap and dashed around the right side untouched. He eluded Shawn Wills, who had been set up as the return man, at the UCLA 45 and then outraced strong safety Mark McGill to the end zone for the touchdown.

The Bruins wasted little time responding. They went on their longest drive of the game, moving 79 yards in eight plays to tie the score, 7-7, on a 38-yard pass to flanker Scott Miller from Johnson with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Bruins went ahead, 14-7, on their next possession. This time they went 71 yards in 10 plays, the drive ending on a one-yard dive by freshman tailback Kevin Williams.

The touchdown drive put the Bruins ahead for the first time, but it had a price. Wills suffered a sprained right ankle midway through the drive and did not return. Wills, who led the Bruins with 62 yards in 11 carries against Tennessee, had 29 yards in four carries against the Aztecs. His departure left Brown to carry the rushing load.

Brown finished with 99 yards in 32 carries.

The Aztecs tried their second gamble on the next series. Faced with a fourth-and-one at the UCLA 21, the Aztecs not only elected to go for a first down rather than attempt would have been a 38-yard field goal, they tried to gain the yardage through the air.

McGwire attempted a pass to Jimmy Raye near the left front of the end zone, but Matt Darby stepped in to make the interception and end the threat.

But the Bruins could do nothing with that bit of good fortune and the Aztecs took over at their 40 with 2:56 left in the half after a 52-yard punt by Kirk Maggio.

The Aztecs went into their two-minute offense, driving for a fourth-and-one to the UCLA nine with 10 seconds left. The Aztecs used their last time out to set up for a 26-yard field goal by Andy Trakas that cut the lead to 14-10.

The Bruins had a chance in the third quarter to again go ahead by a touchdown, but Alfredo Velasco’s 42-yard field goal attempt with 10:54 left was low and was blocked at the line by lineman Brad Burton.

The third quarter ended scoreless, but that was only because the clock ran out two plays before the Bruins could add their third touchdown.

But like most else in the game, this did not come easy for the Bruins. They needed two tries from less than a yard away before Williams finally went around the left side for his second touchdown and a 21-10 lead at 14:18.

The first attempt ended with fullback Maury Toy being stopped as he attempted to crash the middle of the line. The second was successful but only because of the persistence of Williams, a freshman from Spring, Tex. He tried the left side, and when he found no opening, he kept sliding farther outside, eventually getting past two Aztec defenders and into the end zone.

But the Aztecs would not go away. They drove 74 yards in 10 plays on their next possession, ending when Wagner slipped around the right side for a one-yard touchdown run with 11:24 to play.

The gambler in Luginbill came out again on the conversion, but not before a momentary mix-up. Luginbill apparently wanted to try for a two-point conversion but before the team could get the word, Trakas attempted a conversion kick while McGwire was running on the field and the Aztecs were penalized for too many men on the field. But the penalty turned out to be the break the Aztecs needed.

That gave them a second chance to get McGwire on the field. And this time he completed the two-point pass to Raye in the end zone. That brought the Aztecs to 21-18.

But safety Morey Paul and Wagner would combine a few minutes later to give them more than that.

On the third play after Wagner’s touchdown, Paul intercepted the second Johnson pass of the game at the San Diego State 47.

At first, it appeared as if the Aztecs would not benefit; a holding penalty and sack forced them into a third-and-31 at their 27. But McGwire connected on a 30-yard pass to wide receiver Dennis Arey on third down. And then another Aztec gamble paid off when McGwire rushed for a first down on a fourth-and-one to keep the drive alive at the UCLA 42.

Three plays later, Wagner dashed down the right side for his second touchdown--a 31-yarder that included a move that left free safety Eric Turner on his rump.

That gave the Aztecs a 25-21 lead and forced the final Bruin rally.