The 2000s were largely a down period for UCLA football, except for a brief oasis in 2005 when QB Drew Olson, master of the late comeback, led the Bruins to an unexpected 10-win season.
A three-year starter in Westwood, Olson and the team took some time to get going, finishing 6-7 and 6-6 in his sophomore and junior years respectively, before going 10-2 with a Sun Bowl victory his senior year.
Olson left UCLA with the second-most passing yards, completions and touchdowns in school history, though it didn’t translate into pro success as he bounced around between the NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals, the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers in 2007 before retiring from football.