Bruins roar past Owls, 30-21
You could call it a meaningless exhibition if you wanted. Tuesday’s EagleBank Bowl is one of 34 postseason college football games scheduled this holiday season and only one — the BCS national championship — has anything more than bragging rights at stake.
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But one look at the UCLA sideline as the final seconds ticked away at RFK Stadium told a different story. For the first time since 2006 the Bruins finished with a winning record. For the first time since 2005 the program earned a bowl victory. There’s nothing meaningless about those accomplishments.
The 30-21 comeback win over Temple in the second annual EagleBank Bowl is just a small step for a team that has long stood in the shadows of rival USC — in both the Los Angeles area and the Pac-10. But it’s a start for coach Rick Neuheisel as he tries to put UCLA back on the national map.
The Bruins (7-6) overcame a 21-7 deficit late in the first half with 23 unanswered points as they pulled away from upset-minded Temple. A 2-yard interception return for a touchdown by UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers put the Bruins ahead for the first time with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the fourth quarter. UCLA added a two-point conversion and then two points more on the next possession when the Owls snapped a punt out of their own end zone for a safety.
It was a brutal finish to what had been a fine season for Temple (9-4). The Owls hadn’t had a winning season since 1990 and hadn’t played in a bowl game since 1979. Just four years ago the program was so inept it was kicked out of the Big East Conference after an 0-11 season. Temple fell one win shy of tying the program’s single-season record.
“We’ve been through a lot together and we built this program up from a one-win season to this,” said Temple senior defensive back Dominique Harris, a Washington, D.C. native and H.D. Woodson High graduate. “We wish we won it, but at the end of the day we had a successful season.”
Temple freshman Bernard Pierce had 12 carries for 58 yards in the first half with a rushing touchdown. He also caught three passes for 33 yards. But the Owls’ offense suffered when Pierce left the game with three minutes to go in the half with a nagging shoulder injury. Temple had 241 yards of total offense in first half and just 41 in the second half with four first downs.
