Bruins Catch Milburn Too Late : UCLA: The Stanford back gets most of his 249 all-purpose yards in the first half.

UCLA held San Diego State’s Marshall Faulk to 118 yards rushing in a victory over the Aztecs Sept. 26 in the Rose Bowl. The Bruins are the only team to keep the Heisman Trophy favorite to under 200 yards this season.

Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, UCLA got a long look at another Heisman wanna-be, Stanford’s Glyn Milburn, but caught too many glimpses from behind as the tailback struck the Bruins from all directions in the Cardinal’s 19-7 victory.

Milburn finished with 249 all-purpose yards, including a 75-yard punt return in the first quarter.

“It was supposed to be a middle return,� Milburn said. “They usually fan pretty wide on their coverage. I saw a seam in between two of the guys and just ran, and they didn’t catch me.�

Teammate John Lynch paved the way for Milburn with a punishing block on Bruin punter Darren Schager.

Milburn had 193 all-purpose yards in the first half against the Bruins. He gained 62 yards in 13 carries, the 75-yard punt return, two kickoff returns for 48 yards and had two catches for eight yards.

The Bruin defense slowed Milburn considerably in the second half with great sideline-to-sideline pursuit. Milburn was held to 30 yards rushing after the half and finished with 92 yards in 23 carries.

“They’re a tough defense,� he said. “They’re tough to run on. They put pressure on us. We knew going in they were going to put pressure on us. Give them credit. They played a great game. It was a close game up until the end.�

But the damage had been done.

Milburn had put in a good night’s work after the first quarter, touching the ball 11 times for 140 all-purpose yards. His punt return with 4:38 left in the quarter staked the Cardinal an early 10-0 lead.

Milburn is only 5 feet 9 and 175 pounds, but his athletic gifts have so far allowed him to avoid career-threatening contact.

Milburn probably didn’t expect to get 23 carries. In fact, he bruised his shoulder on a third-quarter run and left the game briefly.

“I just fell on it wrong,� he said. “I’ll be all right.�

Milburn transferred from the University of Oklahoma to Stanford after the 1988 season. He didn’t leave because of poor grades, heading west with his 3.8 grade-point average.

Milburn could not have imagined then that he would someday be the centerpiece in an offensive scheme coordinated by Bill Walsh, a coach who can squeeze talent from a turnip.

For an all-purpose back like Milburn, Walsh’s arrival this year was a heavenly gift.

Walsh took a look at Milburn and had a flashback to his first coaching stint at Stanford.

“I expect to use Glyn as we used Darrin Nelson in ’77 and ‘78,� Walsh said before the season. We plan on taking advantage of all his abilities.

So far so good. He entered the game averaging 203 all-purpose yards per game, the fourth-best average in the nation.