LOS ANGELES_UCLA proved it could do something besides compile a crazy comeback against Texas A&M. The Bruins also showed they could finish.
That was a persistent problem last season. In each of their first four losses, the Bruins could have tied the score or won the game in the final minute. They went 0 for 4.
A chance to force a second overtime against Texas A&M fizzled when quarterback Josh Rosen's fourth-down pass was knocked away for an incompletion.
An opportunity to end an eight-game losing streak against Stanford crumbled when Rosen was sacked, fumbled and the Cardinal picked up the ball for a touchdown on the game's final play.
Backup quarterback Mike Fafaul, subbing for an injured Rosen, suffered a similarly crushing fate two weeks later against Arizona State when a pass was intercepted on the last play with the Bruins trailing by three points.
Another last-second desperation pass from Fafaul was intercepted to end a six-point loss to Washington State.
Those close-but-no-victory-cigar finishes made what happened Sunday during UCLA's 45-44 triumph over Texas A&M all the more pleasurable. The Bruins got the go-ahead touchdown thanks to a fake spike that triggered a Rosen-to-Jordan Lasley touchdown pass with 43 seconds left before holding Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond a yard short of the spot he needed to reach on fourth down.
"Me and Josh talked about that after the game, to finally be on the other side of one of those," UCLA center Scott Quessenberry said Tuesday. "Last year, it was kind of the same game against (Texas A&M) and this year, just a different outcome. It was great to come out with a win."
Bruins coach Jim Mora said he had coached in other games as wild as UCLA's comeback from a 34-point deficit, mentioning the San Francisco 49ers' rally from 24 points down against the New York Giants in the 2003 NFL playoffs and 49ers receiver Terrell Owens' catch to beat the Green Bay Packers with three seconds left in the 1998 playoffs.
"I've been in a lot of games like this," Mora said. "That's what happens when you survive and get old."
