McNown Overcomes Illness, Leads UCLA over Oregon in OT

After the press caught up with the UCLA coach, who had just witnessed his No. 2 Bruins pull out a 41-38 victory over No. 11 Oregon on Saturday, what words of wisdom did Toledo have to share? "Wow, that should be worth two wins."

If nothing else, the victory should have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that UCLA deserves to be the second-ranked team in the country.

Oregon scored 24 consecutive points to take a 31-24 lead early in the fourth quarter. UCLA tied it up following a 2-yard touchdown run by Jermaine Lewis with 10:13 to go, then went ahead 38-31 on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Cade McNown to Danny Farmer with 2:36 remaining in the contest.

The Ducks pulled within one when Akili Smith hit Damon Griffin from two yards out with just 22 seconds to play and Nathan Villegas tied it with the extra point. Back came UCLA, as McNown threw a 53-yard pass to backup quarterback Drew Bennett, who was in the game at wide receiver. The completion set up a 21-yard field goal attempt for kicker Chris Sailer, but Sailer missed the kick on the final play of the game.

Oregon had possession first in overtime. Brendon Ayanbadejo sacked Smith on the first two plays for 12 yards in losses before Ryan Roques picked off the Ducks quarterback on a fourth down desperation pass. The Bruins took over at the Oregon 25, and Keith Brown ran for 13 yards on two plays to set up a 24-yard field-goal try by Sailer. This time, the Bruin kicker captitalized, and UCLA had survived a tough challenge from a game Oregon squad.

"I wish I could have ended it the first time," Sailer told reporters after the game. "I'm just glad the team gave us another chance and the coach had the confidence in me to give me another chance."

"This team's special. We know we have an opportunity here. For me to let that slip away would have been a big blow. No one got down on me, they went in there, took care of business in overtime."

UCLA extended its school-record winning streak to 15 games, currently the longest in the NCAA.

BOTH VIRGINIA SCHOOLS UPSET - Tough weekend for the Virginia schools. No. 25 Georgia Tech upset the seventh ranked Virginia Cavaliers 41-38 after Virginia's game-tying 54-yard field goal attempt sailed about two feet under the crossbar. Georgia Tech wideout Dez White set a school record with 243 yards on six catches, with touchdowns of 69, 35 and 54 yards.

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