STANFORD, Calif. “”mdash; After 30 minutes of play at Stanford Stadium, Stanford is three points closer to a Rose Bowl berth as the Cardinal holds a 17-14 in lead at halftime of the Pac-12 Championship Game.
UCLA drew first blood on its first drive as redshirt senior running back Johnathan Franklin broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run.
Stanford answered on its next drive with a two-yard run from sophomore quarterback Kevin Hogan. UCLA quickly regained the lead when redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley ran for 53 yards in a span of five plays, the last five of which put him in the end zone.
UCLA’s defense then forced a Stanford punt and the Bruins looked prime to open a two-score lead but Hundley threw a careless interception to Stanford junior safety Ed Reynolds who returned it for 80 yards. Cardinal senior running back Stepfan Taylor punched it in from a yard out on the next play to even the score again.
After surrendering an alarming 221 rushing yards to No. 8 Stanford just six days ago, No. 17 UCLA held the Cardinal to 96 yards on the ground in the first half. Offensively, UCLA also outgained Stanford 266-189 in total yards.
Compiled by Sam Strong, Bruin Sports senior staff