1997 Season Football Games
1/1/98 - Cotton Bowl (Dallas) vs. Texas A&M
Check out UCLA's Bowl History and the official site for the Cotton Bowl
| UCLA | 29 |
| A&M | 23 |
McNown, McNown, McNown, McNown, McNown. Thank you Cade. The Texas A&M Aggies came out fighting, shocking the Bruins in the first half. The Bruins came into the game with a nine game winning streak, but hadn't played a game since Nov. 22nd. It showed. The Bruins were completely out of sync in the first half, as the Aggies surged to a 16-0 lead with a few minutes left in the half.
Then Cade McNown took over. McNown connected with McElroy with a 22 yard TD pass with only 2 seconds left in the half! Score now 16-7, and the momentum of the game has shifted in the Bruins' favor. The Bruins came back after halftime, and Cade was Cade. A 41 yard TD pass to Hicks brought the score to 16-14 and was Cade's 24th TD pass of the year, tying the school record held by Troy Aikman. Later McNown smoked two of the best A&M tacklers with a 360-spin and ran for a 20 yard touchdown. McNown was doing everything this day. He even made a 76-yard punt on a quick kick. After another Bruin touchdown brought the score to 27-23, the Bruins went for the 2 pt. conversion. No one was taking this one away from Cade, and he easily fought his way inside the endzone making it 29-23. Later, in a crucial down with 2:50 left, Cade got the first down with a QB sneak. Bruins win. The Pac-10 improves to 5-0 in the post-season.
Cade McNown was named MVP of the game. He finished the game with 239 yards and finishes the season with 3,116 yards. He led this year's team to 10 straight wins in the season. A feat only achieved by the Bruins once before, in 1946. The victory also gave UCLA a 10-win season for only the fifth time in school history - 1946, 1982, 1987, 1988 and 1997.
Today's victory was also the 2nd largest comeback in the Cotton Bowl's 60 year history (Only Notre Dame's Joe Montana led a bigger comeback, 22 points, in the Cotton Bowl).
"There was not a lot said (when they were down 16-0)," said McNown. "I didn't have to give any speeches. Nobody did. Talk is cheap in a situation like that. You knew what we had to do and we did it."
Cade McNown in the huddle after the interception, dropped passes, safety, and down 16-0: "Talk is cheap. Let's just score."
Bob Toledo after accepting the 1998 Cotton Bowl Trophy: "Cade McNown...what more could I say?"
Click here for a great L.A. Times article, "The Kid Becomes a (Heis)Man," on Cade.
11/22 - at u$c (aka suc)
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7 in a row baby!! We own this town! People asked me after the game, "How was the game?" Well, after the great emotional Washington game the week before, I could only respond, "It's just $C." Yup, just $C. Cade owns them. I had to travel down to evil rival territory for this game at the Coliseum. After finally parking in some dark and abandoned parking structure which u$c was using and charging 10 bucks for even though it was practically a town away from the stadium, and after an hour of being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, I finally made my way to the game. As I was walking, I was wondering if this "parking structure" would turn into a chop shop during the game. $C fans tried to throw out feeble taunts with the occasional, "Hey Cade, come over here!" (I was wearing a No. 18 jersey). I would just laugh to myself imagining the defeat we would be handing them in a short while. Anyways, we came into their home and took care of business. The seats practically at the end zone and up pretty high, made for a surreal experience. Yet, it was a great vantage point to see Cade scrambling through the gaps for all that yardage. LOL. UCLA scored first on a pretty long drive. u$c took over and Fox unleashed a bomb in the air. The packed stadium gave out a hushed gasp, and then a deafening cheer as the pass was caught and good for a touchdown. u$c had scored on their 1st play... $C slowed down after that but managed to score two more touchdowns. It looked like it was going to be a shootout. Silly trojan fans jumped up and down and motioned to us with silly taunts that they had learned in their classes that semester. Meanwhile, UCLA countered in the shootout with drives of eight plays and 10 plays to go 80 and 74 yards for two touchdowns. Soon the mass exodus started before the end of the game...all the trojan fans leaving the stadium. Bruin fans cheered, "7 more years! 7 more years!" followed by a "Nah, nah, nah, nah....nah, nah, nah, nah...hey, hey, hey, GOODBYE!"
UCLA earned a share of the Pac-10 Championship. The championship was UCLA's sixth in the last 16 years. No other school has won more Pac-10 titles in that span. Who's the football school in Southern California?
The Cade Factor: Cade McNown was the day's MVP. He beat the Trojans with his arm and his legs and his decision making. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 213 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He netted 66 yards on the ground, including some key first downs, and made all the right decisions. His ability to escape the rush and make decisions on the run was showcased against the Trojans. He is 3-0 versus u$c and could be the first quarterback to win four games in the series. What rivalry?
Check out this hilarious article about the game and the rivalry.
11/15 - vs. Washington
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This was the best football game I have ever been to. UCLA fans answered Toledo's calls to show up at the game. Over 85,697 fans packed the Rose Bowl. It was the largest crowd to see a non-USC game since UCLA made the Rose Bowl its home field in 1982. This was an emotional game. You could feel the energy in the whole stadium. McNown was unbelievable. UCLA faced a third-and-goal from the UW 11 with 30 seconds left and no timeouts in the half. McNown dropped back, but the Huskies' zone defense had everyone covered. So McNown took off, faking past UW linebacker Lester Towns at the 10-yard line, then diving head first into the end zone over Huskies Tony Parrish and Jermaine Smith for a 28-20 halftime lead. The student section went wild when McNown dove in front of a Washington defender right in front of us to give Skip some more room to run. It's one of the best days of my life," said Hicks, who scored four touchdowns and now has 24 on the season, setting a Pac-10 record that was once shared at 23 by UW's Corey Dillon (1996) and USC's Marcus Allen (1981). UCLA's 52 points in the win over Washington were the most by a Pac-10 team against the Huskies in 23 years. And this year's UW defense was one of the best.
Coach Toledo jumped on the podium after the game and thanked the student crowd, which was remaining after the game. The crowd exploded as Cade started walking towards the podium and finished by saying, "See you next week at $C." What a game.
The Cade Factor: McNown completed 16 of 23 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns - 47 yards to Jim McElroy, 60 yards to Danny Farmer and 67 yards to Skip Hicks. He also rushed for 44 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown, giving him 366 yards total offense. His second completion, a seven-yard pass to McElroy, was the 442nd of his career, a new UCLA record. He finished the day with 456. His 366 yards of total offense ranks eighth on UCLA's single-game list (he also ranks fifth with 382 vs. USC last year, sixth with 379 vs. ASU last year and ninth with 363 vs. Tennessee this year).
11/1 - at Stanford
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The Cade Factor: McNown completed 15 of 28 passes for 205 yards and only his fifth interception of the year. His 73-yard pass play to Rodney Lee to set up Skip Hicks' second touchdown was his longest of the year.
10/25 - vs. California
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Homecoming game! Great weather + great company + great team = great game. UCLA came into the game as the nation's No. 1 scoring team with a 43.3-point average. McNown and McElroy were the stars of this game, wowing the crowd with some amazing passes and completions.
The Cade Factor: McNown became UCLA's career passing leader on the second scoring throw to McElroy, surpassing Tom Ramsey's 6,168 yards. McNown, who entered the game ranked fourth in the country in passing efficiency, completed 11-of-20 for 259 yards, increasing his career total to 6,261 yards. Jim McElroy scored on passes of 56 and 58 yards from Cade McNown in the third quarter after running 23 yards for a TD in the second period -- his only rushing attempt of the game.
10/18 - vs. Oregon St.
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Oregon State came into the game ranked 19th nationally in scoring defense, having allowed only 15 per game. Enter the Bruins.
The Cade Factor: McNown became the career total offense leader at UCLA, an accomplishment that might be meaningful to him in the future. Presently, though, he has other, more important things on his mind. "The record means nothing to me now," the junior quarterback said after surpassing Tom Ramsey's mark of 6,255 yards in UCLA's 34-10 victory over Oregon State on Saturday. "Maybe in a few years it will, but not right now." On the afternoon, he completed 11 of 25 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns (he was five of 10 for 130 yards and one score in the second half).
10/11 - at Oregon
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UCLA's Chris Sailer kicked field goals of 32, 40, 35 and 56 yards. The 56 yard field goal in Oregon broke UCLA's record. The kick ties the Autzen Stadium record for longest field goal set by Oregon's Tommy Thompson in 1992.
The Cade Factor: McNown rebounded from his first turnover since the first quarter of the Tennessee contest (a fumble on a broken play that was returned for a TD to give Oregon a 21-10 lead just nine minutes into the game) to rally the Bruins. On the afternoon, he completed 15 of 25 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown and rushed for two others (10 and one yard). His 40-yard strike to Jim McElroy in the third quarter gave the Bruins the lead for good, 27-24. He also had a completion of 50 yards to Rodney Lee. He did throw an interception early in the third quarter, his first since the Tennessee game, to snap a streak of 117 passes without an interception. An impressive statistic.
10/3 - vs. Houston
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The Bruins are making good on their pre-season goal. They are currently averaging a whopping 46 points per game!! "It's not as easy as it looks," McNown said. "We put a lot of work in to look fluid. This is just a tribute to our team, how hard we played and how hard we practice."
The Cade Factor: McNown, playing only the first half, completed 11 of 14 passes for 297 yards, positioning him in 2nd place on UCLA's all-time passing list with 5,544 yards. McNown completed for four touchdowns - 31 and 15 yards to freshman Brian Poli-Dixon, 40 yards to Danny Farmer and 46 yards to Jim McElroy. He led the Bruins to seven scores (six touchdowns) on nine first half possessions and converted five takeaways into four scores (three touchdowns and one field goal). McNown has completed 97 straight passes without being picked off. He has thrown 11 touchdown passes with only 2 interceptions in 138 throws this season. Talk about getting some work done during the off-season!
9/27 - vs. Arizona Wildcats
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Awesome game! I had awesome seats for this one. 50 yard line and only 4 rows of people in front of me. If you haven't gone to a game this year, please go. I'm really, really impressed with this team, especially after seeing them in action up close. Cade McNown is a great leader and the offense has a variety of talented weapons. Farmer and McElroy in receivers and the amazing Skip Hicks.
UCLA entered the game with a 24th ranking after the 66-3 rout over Texas two weeks ago (they had a bye week). This game was very important since UCLA's overall record is 1-2 and 0-1 in the Pac-10. Arizona (1-2, 0-1) knocked the Bruins out of bowl contention after losing 35-17 a year ago.
Not with this year's new offense! Arizona's defense coming into the game was superior. Ranked first in the Pac-10 overall and fifth in the NCAA, giving up only an average of 227.7 yards a game. Well, the Bruins soundly defeated the kitty cats. UCLA jumped to an early 20-0 lead....
I witnessed Skip Hicks tie the UCLA record for most career touchdowns, when he scored his 40th in the first half. I was later lucky enough to see Hicks break the record after 1 minute of play in the half, and increase the record to 42 moments later after two Arizona fumbles.
UCLA is looking good. Go Bruins!!
The Cade Factor: McNown completed 18 of 24 passes for 266 yards. He led UCLA to scores (two touchdowns and two field goals) on its first four possessions of the game and on seven of its first nine. In the second half, he threw the ball just six times, completing five for 97 yards.
9/13 - at Texas
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UCLA goes into the game with a 0-2 record and as 11 point underdogs against the undefeated Longhorns. Think again. Did you know that this game marked the largest margin of victory for the Bruins in 43 years, and Texas' worst loss ever at home? Listen to this: Eleventh-ranked Texas' 63-point loss to UCLA was the most lopsided defeat for a top-25 team since the advent of the AP poll in 1936. He he he. Don't even think of writing off the rout of Texas to turnovers or Longhorn shortcomings. Why? Check out "The Cade Factor."
The Cade Factor: McNown enjoyed a record-setting performance in the victory. His five touchdown passes broke the old mark of four, held by seven players including Tommy Maddox and Troy Aikman, in the first half. He led the Bruins to five touchdowns and one field goal on their first six possessions. By halftime, he had completed 12 of 18 passes for 140 yards and five scores. He finished the game with 202 yards, completing a season-best 65.2 percent of his passes.
9/6 - vs. Tennessee
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The Cade Factor: McNown completed 27 of 43 passes for a career-high 400 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. In the second half, he completed 18 of 25 for 302 yards and one touchdown. His 400 passing yards are the second-most in school history, trailing only Tommy Maddox's 409 versus USC in 1990. He now owns the second, fourth and seventh highest single-game passing totals in school history and is the only Bruin to pass for over 350 three times in his career.
8/30 - at Washington State
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UCLA's season opener. UCLA comes into the game as an unranked and untalked about football program. This game would later become one of the most important of the season. UCLA trailed by 16 points (30-14) at the half but outscored Washington State 20-7 in the final half but lost a chance for a final touchdown when it couldn't score on its final offensive play from one yard out and after a terrible missed call by the officials. ABC Sports accurately pointed out that the Bruins did in fact score a TD on 3rd and goal, yet the officials marked the ball outside of the endzone.
The Cade Factor: McNown rallied the Bruins. During the final 30 minutes of the game, McNown completed 14 of 20 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown (five yards to Danny Farmer). On his final drive of the game, he completed all five of his attempts for 75 yards, including a 28-yard strike to Farmer on third-and-15. He also threw a 50-yard pass to Jim McElroy on the final play of the third quarter to set up a touchdown. He also ran for three first downs on two touchdown drives, converting a third-and-one on the first second-half scoring drive and a fourth-and-two and a third-and-three on the second touchdown drive. On the afternoon, he completed 19 of 34 passes for 257 yards and one touchdown and did not throw an interception.