BYU leads 7-0 as the quarter starts, and has the ball at the UCLA 10 yard line.
– BYU wide receiver Austin Collie and UCLA corner Alterruan Verner have battled all day. Collie just tallied his first TD, when he beat Verner on a short cut route. The score capped a 13-play, 86-yard drive. BYU is up 14-0.
– On his first kick-return of the day, Terrence Austin runs 38 yards to set up UCLA with nice field position.
– UCLA tackle Micah Kia got beat badly by BYU’s Jan Jorgensen. Jorgensen gets a clean hit on Kevin Craft’s blind-side, Craft fumbles. On the very next play Max Hall finds Austin Collie for a 37 yard score. That battle between Verner and Collie? Collie is dominating right now.
– Another UCLA turnover, but that’s not the worst of it. Runningback Raymond Carter took a sharp hit to his right knee- the same knee he injured as a freshman. That injury (ACL tear) forced him to miss an entire season. The play was another option run, Carter was hit after he caught a pitch from Craft. Fullback Trevor Theriot had already blocked a BYU linebacker when Carter was hit.
– Hall is having a field day. He just threw his fourth touchdown pass, and we’re only 20 minutes into the game. BYU 28, UCLA 0.
– All the UCLA medical personnel are huddled around Carter.
– A third straight fumble lost for UCLA. This time it came on the kick-off return, Terrence Austin lost it at the 23-yard line. All three fumbles have come in UCLA’s half of the field.
– Hall hits Unga for his fifth touchdown. BYU 35, UCLA 0.
– Raymond Carter is riding the stationary bike.
– A great UCLA return from fullback Trevor Theriot, 39 yards. Theriot is a guy who does all the little things right.
– Kevin Craft scrambles right and finds Terrence Austin for a 29-yard completion on third down and long. Craft is confident outside of the pocket, and it showed on that completion.
– We’ve entered what-else-can-go-wrong territory. BYU blocked a UCLA kick. The Cougars get a lot of push from that unit, but Kai Forbath’s kick looked to be a little lower to the ground than normal. That has to bring back bad memories of the Bruins’ 17-16 loss against BYU at the Las Vegas Bowl.
– UCLA has made a lot of mistakes (three fumbles, blocked kick), and BYU has done every thing right. It was one of the most dominant quarters of college football I have ever seen. BYU scored 35 points, and probably possessed the ball 80% of the time. Max Hall had five touchdown passes- in the second quarter alone.
– Kevin Craft took a huge hit on the last play of the half, and after the buzzer sounded Rick Neuheisel walked over to the BYU sideline to discuss the play with an official. He didn’t look pleased.