UCLA vs. Cal: Top five games include overtime thrillers

With USC and UCLA playing their final season in the Pac-12, The Times is revisiting the top five games in the history of each series. This week: Bruins vs. the Bears.

UCLA quarterback Rick Neuheisel during the closing moments of UCLA’s 45-9 win over Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl game.

(Associated Press)

Rick Neuheisel covered up two fourth-quarter fumbled snaps with two late touchdown drives to help UCLA maintain its longest winning streak in the rivalry. The Bruins trailed 16-7 in the fourth quarter but scored two touchdowns in the final 5 minutes and 37 seconds to win their 12th consecutive game over the Bears, part of an 18-game, head-to-head winning streak. Neuheisel sparked the comeback with a 32-yard pass to Karl Dorrell, then converted a fourth-and-two play on the following drive with a 25-yard pass to tight end Paul Bergmann. Frank Cephous scored the go-ahead touchdown on an eight-yard run with 2:12 remaining.

The Bruins recovered from an 0-3-1 start to a conference championship, winning seven of their last eight games and a Rose Bowl matchup against No. 4 Illinois.

Wayne Cook’s first season as UCLA’s starting quarterback got off to an inauspicious start. He helped the Bruins come back from an 11-point halftime deficit, but couldn’t tie the score when he missed J.J. Stokes on a two-point conversion attempt with 3:01 remaining. After the Bruins forced a Cal punt, Cook drove the Bruins into field-goal position with a chance to win, but threw an interception from the Cal 28-yard line with 15 seconds left. UCLA fell to 0-2 for the first time since 1971 with a one-point loss to No. 8 Nebraska the following week, but rallied for a share of the conference championship and a Rose Bowl berth against Wisconsin.

UCLA Sports

UCLA seniors are eager to beat Cal during their final game at the Rose Bowl

UCLA coach Chip Kelly says the 13 redshirt seniors and 21 seniors on the Bruins’ roster have made a significant impact on the program.

Nov. 22, 2023

The Bears had four turnovers against UCLA — more than the number of points their anemic offense scored in a game against Fresno State that season — but it was a final Bruin turnover that squashed UCLA’s comeback attempt. UCLA quarterback Cory Paus led a 14-point comeback in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but threw the final interception to Jemeel Powell in the third overtime. Paus led two touchdown drives in the final nine minutes, capitalizing on two Cal turnovers. The Bears entered the game averaging just 13.8 points through five games but exploded for their highest-scoring game of the season.

California quarterback Aaron Rodgers passes against Oregon during a 2005 game.

(Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)

UCLA’s special teams lived up to their name by delivering a touchdown on a blocked field-goal attempt and the game-winning kick in overtime. Justin Medlock’s 41-yard kick in overtime, combined with a 50-yard attempt by Cal that went off the upright, propelled the Bruins past future Super Bowl champion Aaron Rodgers. The eventual NFL most valuable player forced overtime with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Burl Toler and a successful two-point conversion with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. Rodgers was in position to tie the score because UCLA had botched an extra-point attempt during the fourth quarter that would have put the Bruins up by nine.

Maurice Jones-Drew scored five touchdowns to power the Bruins to a fourth-quarter comeback win over the previously unbeaten Bears. Cal led by 12 points with 12:55 remaining after a field goal from Tom Schneider, but Jones-Drew and the Bruins scored the game’s final 19 points. The star running back caught the go-ahead score with 1:35 remaining on a 28-yard pass from Drew Olson, then tied his UCLA single-game record with a fifth touchdown as time expired. Jones-Drew had 299 all-purpose yards, including an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter.