UCLA throttles Illini
By: Loren Tate
Tuesday, January 03, 1984
PASADENA, Calif. - With a boisterous one-third of the 103, 217 fan turnout displaying bright orange and the majestic Rose Bowl resounding with their "I-L-L, I-N-I" cheers, their favorites laid an egg here Monday afternoon.
UCLA's 6-4-1 Bruins, in the perfect psychological position - at home and unheralded- leaped on grievous UI mistakes and capitalized on a vulnerable spot in the secondary to victimize the Illini, 45-9.
Drifting off into the nearby San Gabriel mountains went the Illini's 10-game win streak, a No. 4 rating that surely would have improved and their historical 3-0 Rose Bowl record.
Extended were UCLA coach Terry Donahue's perfect Rose Bowl record as a player, assistant coach and head coach (4-0, Mike White's winless coaching record (0-7) against UCLA, and the PAC-10's recent dominance which has knotted the series at 19-19 (since 1947) with a 13-for-15 streak. It took 37 years but Monday's result was full payback for the 45-14 UI triumph that started this West-Midwest series.
"Our highlight was when the scoreboard went off late in the fourth quarter," quipped UI coach Mike White.
"Seriously, it was a very thorough defeat by a very, very good football team," he went on. "It takes some of the luster off what we accomplished previously, and I can tell you it wasn't a very pleasant experience. We have no excuses. I wouldn't change anything about our preparation."
The UI's getaway was as mysteriously hapless as in this season's opening 28-18 loss at Missouri, and ultimately as embarassing as the 70-21 debacle at Michigan two years ago.
White made an early departure from his quest for pass-run balance when, after Dwight Beverly and Thomas Rooks rushed for 12 yards on the first two plays, the Illini attempted to run just four more timesin the remaining 32 scrimmage efforts in the first half. IT was 28-3 by that time, and the Illini had just become as distressingly one-dimensional as they were in White's first three years.
The final audit showed the Illini with six turnovers, and the five QB sacks left the UI's running game with zero yards, a Rose Bowl record.
All-America safety Don Rogers, walk-on quarterback Rick Neuheisel and a bevy of dazzling UCLA receivers were the culprits. Neuheisel, who threw for an NCAA record of 25-of-27 in the narrow win over Washington, strung together 10 completions in the first half and fired a Rose Bowl record-tying four TD passes, three at the expense of UI freshman cornerback Keith Tyler.
A tight, apparently nervous Illini club had two turnovers in the first three minutes, dropped three well-delivered passes in the first quarter and drew a major penalty on a 19-yard completion to Tim Brewster. Still, Illinois pulled within 7-3 as the second quarter got under way. Then the roof REALLY caved in.
The warning signals went up on Jack Trudeau's first pass of the game. He underthrew Dave Williams on a deep route and Rogers stepped in for the first of his two steals. The Illini got it right back when LaGrange's Luke Sewall deflected a Bruin field goal attempt, but Craig Swoope picked up the bounding football near the goal line and fumbled it right back to UCLA's Steve Gezma on the Illini 14.
UCLA scored in four plays, Neuheisel lofting a soft 3-yarder to tight end Paul Bergmann in the end zone.
Dropped passes by Randy Grant, Dave Williams and Thomas Rooks marked the next three Illini possessions, and it became clear the Midwesterners weren't sharp. Then, an interference call against Rogers carried Illinois to midfield and short bullets to Williams and Brewster set up Chris White's 41-yard field goal in the second minute of the second quarter.
That's when UCLA took over completely. The Bruins traveled 80 yards in seven plays, UI defensive end Mike Johnson getting caught inside on a 23-yard reverse by flanker Karl Dorrell, and tailback Kevin Nelson popping free for a 28-yard off-tackle TD run when the Illini's man-to-man secondary was caught out of position.
The 14-3 score didn't look overpowering when Dwayne Pugh returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards, but Trudeau passed high and directly into the hands of Rogers, who rumbled 44 yards down the sideline. On second down from the 15, Dorrell isolated himself on Taylor and outran him for Neuheisel's TD pitch.
Just 5 1/2 minutes later Neuheisel struck again, flanker Mike Young speeding past Taylor for a 53-yard rainbow. That sent UCLA into the locker room with a 28-3 lead and the game in the bag.
But the Bruins weren't done. They sacked Trudeau for minus-14 to stack up Illinois' initial possession of the third quarter, then marched 97 yards following a booming Chris Sigourney punt (he averaged 43.6 on seven boots.)
Young beat Taylor for a 44-yard reception, then Dorrell outsped the New Jersey rookie for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
Trudeau threw right back into another interception, this by Joe Gasser on the ground, and John Lee converted the turnover into three additional UCLA points with a 29-yard field goal.
Finally, in the early moments of the fourth quarter, with the score 38-3, the Illini reached the UCLA end zone. Trudeau completed six aerials in teh 61-yard march, the last a 5-yarder to Rooks.
UCLA retaliated one last time before the subs entered, Bergmann stopping behind the UI secondary to grab a 27-yard looper and fullback Bryan Wiley ramming the last eight yards to create the ultimate 45-9 audit.
"The first quarter," said White, "set the tempo for the game. We had some penalties and some drops and we got behind. UCLA became very aggressive defensively and we lost our balance. They shook us out of our game plan. It was a pretty helpless feeling as the points began to mount up."