Oct 26, 2002
Pasadena, Calif. - UCLA Freshman Tyler Ebell ran for 160 yards and scoredthe go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter Saturday as UCLA rallied from anearly deficit to beat Stanford 28-18.
Ebell carried 39 times and turned in his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushinggame for the Bruins (5-3, 2-2 Pac-10), who came back after falling behind 15-0in the first 4˝ minutes of the game against the Cardinal (2-5, 1-3).
Nate Fikse kicked field goals of 36, 22, 19, 23 and 44 yards for the Bruins,who won with true freshman quarterback Matt Moore playing for the first time.
Moore, who was slated to redshirt this year, was called on after startingquarterback Cory Paus went out with a season-ending ankle injury and backupDrew Olson separated his right shoulder, both in last weekend's 17-12 loss toCalifornia.
He went 7-of-19 for 142 yards against former high school teammate and Stanford starter Kyle Matter.
Matter was 10-of-22 for 75 yards with one interception.
Ebell, running up the middle, bounced off a tackler, cut toward the rightpylon and raced in to score on an 18-yard run to put the Bruins ahead for thefirst time, 22-18, early in the fourth quarter.
Fikse added a pair of field goals to give UCLA a 10-point lead.
Fikse's 19-yard field goal with 8:13 left in the third quarter cut thedeficit to 18-16.
After falling behind 15-0 in the opening moments of the game, the Bruinsnarrowed the gap to 18-13 by halftime.
Moore threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Mike Seidman early in the secondquarter, and Fikse kicked field goals from 36 and 22 yards.
Sgroi's 42-yard field goal was the Cardinal's only scoring in the secondquarter.
Stanford took advantage of two early UCLA turnovers to take the quick 15-0lead.
After UCLA held Stanford on its first series, Ebell fumbled the punt andAlex Smith recovered for the Cardinal at the UCLA 28.
Six plays later, Kerry Carter scored on a 1-yard run. The snap on the PATwas high, but Sgroi fielded it, scrambled and threw a pass to Will Svitek inthe back of the end zone for the 2-point conversion.
Then center Mike McCloskey snapped the ball wildly between Moore's legs. Theball bounced back 14 yards to the Bruins' 3, where defensive end Julian Jenkinsscooped it up and rumbled into the end zone.
Matter, who redshirted last season, made his second start for Stanfordbecause Chris Lewis hurt his right shoulder in the Cardinal's 16-6 win overArizona last week.
Matter and Moore were teammates at Hart High School in Newhall, about 30miles north of Pasadena.
By KEN PETERS
AP Sports Writer