Stanford leads UCLA at the half, 14-6
UCLA FOOTBALL
UCLA gets two field goals from Kai Forbath; Stanford gets two touchdowns from Toby Gerhart.
Stanford was expressing its will in a modest way -- and UCLA seemed to be assisting where it could -- as the Cardinal took a 14-6 lead into halftime Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
Stanford's Toby Gerhart rushed for two touchdowns, both at the conclusion of short drives. Gerhart had 69 yards rushing in the first half and the Bruins usually required two or more players to bring him down.
Gerhart's second touchdown run, a one-yard dive off tackle, followed a fumble by UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft. Tom Keiser knocked the ball out of Craft's hands and Chris Owusu recovered at the UCLA 29. Gerhart scored four plays later for a 14-3 lead.
The Bruins, with Stanford's help, moved the ball to the two-yard line with two seconds left in the half. The Cardinal had 33 yards in penalties on the 88-yard drive. Coach Rick Neuheisel chose to kick the field goal and Kai Forbath chipped in a 19-yard attempt.
After exchanging punts and turnovers through much of the first quarter, Stanford got a short field to work on, starting at the UCLA 46. Doug Baldwin went 39 yards on a reverse and Gerhart scored from three yards on the next play for a 7-0 lead with 3:46 left in the first quarter.
The touchdown ended a Stanford scoreless streak in the Rose Bowl at 168 minutes 1 second of game time dating to 2002.
UCLA had another opportunity early in the first quarter, after Brigham Harwell recovered an Anthony Kimble fumble at the Stanford 42. The Bruins reached the 12, but Craft had his pass tipped by Stanford's Pat Maynor and Bo McNally made the interception in the end zone.
Ryan Graves' 20-yard punt return gave UCLA the ball on the Stanford 38. A personal foul by the Cardinal got the Bruins in field-goal range and Forbath hit a 37-yarder to cut Stanford's lead to 7-3.
chris.foster@latimes.com
