TREE WILL AND DETERMINATION

Root of all Tree-vil — Despite getting outplayed and out-toughed all game long, #7 Stanford digs deep to rally in the last two minutes for a game-winning touchdown drive; The Cardinal added another TD after a Sack of Rosen on UCLA’s final desperation play, making the final score a very misleading 22-13, and extending the Trees’ winning streak over the Bruins to 9 (but the “gap” has been closed)

UCLA is “soft” no more.  The tough-as-nails Stanford Cardinal came to the Rose Bowl with super-stud Christian McCaffrey, and the Bruins actually out-physicalled them for 57 minutes.  McCaffrey was held relatively in check all night, and Stanford was unable to get into the end zone for the first 59 and a half minutes of the game.  In the trenches, UCLA battled the Cardinal evenly, actually getting their first Sack against Stanford in the last four games against them.  They also got an Interception by Linebacker Kenny Young, and Tahaan Goodman separated two different Tree Receivers from balls that they caught, the second one resulting in a fumble that UCLA recovered.  The announcers thought that the hit was targeting, but the Referees looked at the replay and ruled that it was legal.  With that said, it was the Bruins who were physically intimidating in this game, proving that the transformation Head Coach Jim Mora was going for has taken root.

You may say that nothing matters but the final score.  Well, that’s true, but this game proved that UCLA can play with a Top Ten team, and will no longer be pushed around.  This is the same Stanford team that just dominated u$c two weeks ago, but against UCLA, they needed a miracle finish to survive.

UCLA took a 7-3 lead in the 1st Quarter on a pass from Josh Rosen to Nate Iese, and kept the lead for the next 2 and a half hours.  Both Defenses outplayed the opposing Offenses, as the teams were held to two Field Goals each until the final minute of the game.  Up 13-9 (a familiar score for Bruin fans) with less than 3 minutes left, the Bruins had to punt the ball away.  As McCaffrey made the fair catch at his own 15, Marcus Rios inadvertently made slight contact with him, drawing a costly 15-yard Interference penalty.  The mistake did not lose the game for UCLA, nor did the dropped passes by Darren Andrews and Ishmael Adams (who also muffed a punt in crunch time, but recovered it).  Both of those Receivers redeemed themselves with crucial catches late in the 4th quarter, but those three mistakes and others add up.  You need to play pretty flawlessly to beat the #7 team in the Nation.

So after the Rios penalty, Stanford started the fateful drive from their 30-yard line, and immediately crossed midfield on a long pass to an inexplicably wide-open Receiver.  Then they completed one over the middle, and then they completed one on the sidelines (pictured at the top of this article).  That one took a remarkable play by the Receiver to haul it down.  No Bruin at fault on that one.  Then from the 19-yard line with 24 seconds left, another covered (by Nate Meadors) Stanford Receiver climbed the ladder to snag a high pass in the end zone, and come down with one foot in the end zone for the game-winning TD.

The Bruins had 24 seconds to get a Field Goal to tie the game at 16, but a long pass to Kenneth Walker III was broken up on a nice Defensive play, and then with 4 seconds left, Rosen was Sacked, and the ball was returned for a meaningless TD as the clock hit zeroes.

Sure it was a heartbreaking loss, but Bruin fans have to take solace in the fact that this is the best we have looked against Stanford in a long time, and the closest we have come to beating them during this unbearable nine-game losing streak.  It looks like the Bruins have turned the corner, and have increased their physicality — physically and mentally — in order to compete with the smash mouth teams like Stanford.  For the first time in years, I now HOPE that we DO get a rematch with them in the Pac-12 Title Game.

Now… speaking of heartbreakers, today was one of my favorite days ever when it comes to photography. The girls were as nice as can be, and so appreciative!  I am honored and humbled by the respect they showed me today.  You will see below — These are some of the best pictures in my whole 12 years of shooting the squad.  Usually I grab whatever candids I can, but today, people were not camera shy, and I got some poses, and eye contact.  You will feel the emotion of them looking right out you.  It’s definitely  different (and perhaps better) than what I am used to.  I hope you enjoy them, and I hope the girls and their families like them too.

First there are about 30 Football Pix, then about 60 Cheer Pix.  Click on them to enlarge/zoom in, especially the horizontal ones.  And feel free to write in and comment on them, and if anyone IN the pix wants the originals, please contact me.  I can take off the website logo (watermark) too if you like.  P.S. –There will be a lot more pics posted from today, throughout the week.  Thank you so much K.P.  I feel like you started the dominoes/chain reaction of kindness.  🙂