Bruins match not just any game for Moore, OSU

Beaver quarterback says he has no hard feelings about his time at UCLA

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Oct 18, 2005, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Matt Moore would have you believe this is pretty much just another game.

Yeah, sure it is.

When Oregon State plays unbeaten UCLA in a nationally televised game Saturday in the Rose Bowl, Moore will have more than the usual incentives.

The 6-4, 190-pound junior quarterback spent two years at UCLA, transferring after getting short shrift from Bruin coach Karl Dorrell. On Saturday, Moore will meet up with former teammates and QB rival Drew Olson, whose job Moore once owned.

“Everybody’s been making a big deal about it,” says Moore, a native of Valencia, Calif. “It’s not as big as everybody thinks. It’s going to be fun. I’m going to have a lot of people there, family and friends Ñ probably 50 or 60 of them. All my buddies are loving it. But in the end, it’s just a game. I want us to win to keep on track for meeting the goals we want to achieve as a team.”

Moore was a prep All-American at Valencia’s Hart High. He played in 13 games at UCLA in 2002 under Bob Toledo and in 2003 under Dorrell, starting five, completing 85 of 165 passes for 967 yards and four TDs. Moore began the 2003 season as the starter, then suffered a leg injury and gave way to fellow sophomore Olson. Moore eventually regained the job after he returned, but in his final start, he threw two interceptions against Washington State and was replaced by Olson.

The next week, against Oregon, Moore found himself as the third-string QB. A week later, in the season finale against Southern Cal, he was on the sidelines wearing headsets when he heard offensive coordinator Steve Axman suggest putting Moore in the game. “No, Matt doesn’t need this,” Dorrell told Axman. “Drew needs this for next year.”

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