PASADENA — Not all homecomings are sweet.
Former Santa Monica High School star and current Oregon State starting quarterback Ryan Katz, playing his first collegiate game back home in Southern California, had his return spoiled by a last-second field goal by UCLA’s Kai Forbath on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
The 17-14 victory was bitter, but Katz tried his best to see the sweet.
“It’s big to come back home and play at the Rose Bowl, but it would have meant more if we had a better result,” he said. “I really wanted to win that game.”
Katz, a redshirt sophomore in his first season as a starter, finished the night 18 for 26 for 164 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to beat UCLA for the third consecutive meeting.
The game was in Katz’ hands late, with Oregon State taking possession with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter, the score tied at 14-14. Beavers’ Head Coach Mike Riley called three straight passing plays, but Oregon State was stopped at its own 35 yard line, forced to punt.
“That was frustrating,” Riley said of the scenario. “I thought we had a chance to move the ball there.”
From there, things got interesting.
UCLA began at its own 17 with 48 seconds left to play. With 4 seconds left in the game, UCLA quarterback Richard Brehaut dropped back and completed a pass to wide receiver Randall Carroll at Oregon State’s 35 yard line, where the receiver ran out of bounds. Initially it appeared that time had expired, sending the game into overtime. UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel successfully challenged the ruling on the field, giving the Bruins’ Forbath a last-ditch opportunity to win it with a field goal.
The kick was good and Katz and his Beavers were sent to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10. UCLA improved to 4-5 and 2-4 in conference.
“They controlled the game pretty well,” Katz said. “We didn’t make enough plays.”
daniela@www.smdp.com
