Kevin Craft Stars in a Tale of Two Quarterbacks As UCLA Upsets Tennessee

The UCLA-Tennessee battle to open the Bruins' season at the Rose Bowl was one for the ages.  It was not one for the fainthearted.

The game proved to be a tale of two quarterbacks.  Unbelievable as it might be, it was the same quarterback—juco transfer Kevin Craft.

In the first half Craft looked like Ryan Leaf.  In the second half, he was the spitting image of Joe Montana.

Craft threw four interceptions in the first half.  His last one resulted in an interception and a 61-yard return for a touchdown.  UCLA could have gone in at halftime tied with the Volunteers.  Instead, Tennessee held a 14-7 lead.

Craft and the UCLA offense were completely shut out in the first half.  It was the special teams that blocked a punt and returned it 17 yards for a score.

But in the second half, Craft was nearly perfect, leading the Bruins to 17 points and passing for one of their scores.  It even looked like Craft would pull the game out for the Bruins, hitting tight end Ryan Moya for a touchdown to go up 24-21 with just 27 seconds remaining.

However, Tennessee’s young quarterback, Jonathan Crompton, worked the sidelines and used the clock perfectly to bring the Vols in field goal range with just five seconds left in regulation.

Daniel Lincoln, who had missed two previous field goals, tied the game up from 47 yards out.

But Rick Neuheisel, who is not only charming but must have had some lucky charms stuffed in his pocket, watched as Lincoln hooked a 34-yard attempt in overtime—this after UCLA’s placekicker Kai Forbath hit on his second field goal of the night to put the Bruins ahead 27-24.

And that was how it ended.

When asked about what he said to Craft at halftime to bring about this remarkable transformation, Neuheisel said he told Craft that he had thrown four interceptions in his first game for UCLA some 25 years ago against Georgia.  He reaffirmed to Craft that he was sticking with him, and that settled down the young quarterback.

Oh yes, and then there’s that offensive coordinator UCLA has, Norm Chow.  Well, Chow made a few of his legendary adjustments, as did defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, to pull off the upset and top off an incredible opening weekend of the 2008 college football season.

One other note to totally embarrass the SEC: UCLA lost three of their senior starters in the first half: Kahlil Bell, Marcus Everett (out for the season), and Logan Paulsen (broken foot).  Yet they still came back to knock off an experienced SEC team with a group of young, inexperienced players.  How did they do it? 

Hint: It's the coaching.  Beware, Coach Fulmer.  Your days may be numbered.

BTW, I called this one the other day in my article A Pac-10 Weekend: The Most Excitement in College Football!!

To reiterate: "As the Pac-10 continues its dominance of the Big Ten up at Berkeley, down in Southern California, the UCLA Bruins, the mystery team of the Pac-10, will once again assert Pac-10 dominance over the SEC as they upset the Tennessee Volunteers. ...

"The game will feature weakness against weakness and strength against strength.  That is why I believe the UCLA coaching staff gives the Bruins the winning edge.

"Although the UCLA offensive line is weak, so is the Tennessee defense.  And look for Norm Chow to find mismatches as the game goes on and exploit them.  On the other side of the ball, it is strength against strength.  Here again, look for a strong DeWayne Walker defense to shut down the Tennessee offense."

And that was exactly what happened.