BERKELEY — Through two quarters of play, the only ones stopping the UCLA offense are the Bruins themselves, as Cal has converted twice off of two UCLA first-half turnovers, with UCLA leading 24-14 at the break.
The two high-flying offenses were grounded to begin the game however, as both squads were forced to punt on their opening drives.
Following Cal’s second punt of the day, UCLA once again moved the ball into Bear territory.
Redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley, 19-25 for 234 yards and two scores, converted a fourth-and-1 to keep the drive going, while sophomore linebacker Myles Jack added 18 yards on the ground over the next two plays to move UCLA into the red zone.
On third-and-6, Hundley found Paul Perkins open in the flat on a designed screen. The redshirt sophomore running back bounced the play outside and ran it in from 16 yards out to give the Bruins an early 7-0 lead with 3:33 to go in the first quarter.
After failing to pressure opposing quarterbacks consistently for much of the season, the UCLA defense has regularly bothered Jared Goff so far today. On Cal’s second and third drives, the Bears were able to advance into UCLA territory, only to be stymied each time by a suddenly energized Bruins pass rush that frequently collapsed the pocket and brought Goff down.
Cal’s sputtering offense caught a break on UCLA’s next drive, as Hundley fumbled the ball at the end of a run inside UCLA’s 40-yard line. Linebacker Hardy Nickerson picked up the fumble and returned it 27 yards to give the Bears the ball at the Bruins 18-yard line.
Four plays later, Cal got its first points of the game on a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Daniel Lasco, knotting the score at 7-7 with 12:00 remaining in the second quarter.
Following a Cal squib kick that set up the UCLA offense with its best starting field position of the day at the UCLA 37, the Bruins once again advanced the ball into Bears territory, marching down to the California 20-yard line.
The drive stalled, however, when Hundley overthrew junior receiver Devin Fuller in the flat on third down. Junior kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn put UCLA back in the lead with a 37-yard field goal on the next play to make it 10-7 Bruins with 9:44 to go in the second quarter.
A costly chop block negated a 38-yard pass from Goff to receiver Trevor Davis that would’ve set the Bears up deep in Bruins territory on Cal’s next drive, which ended in a punt.
Cal received a reprieve, as UCLA once again turned the ball over deep in its own territory. Perkins was stripped by Nickerson, giving the Bears the ball at the Bruins’ 20.
The Bears took advantage of the Bruins’ misfortune for the second time, as backup quarterback Luke Rubenzer found Chris Harper in the corner of the end zone for a one-handed touchdown catch. The junior receiver’s highlight-reel grab gave Cal it’s first lead of the day at 14-10 with 5:46 to go in the first half.
On UCLA’s second-to-last drive of the half, Perkins converted a key fourth down, slithering his way for 12 yards on the ground to the Cal 22. Three plays later, redshirt senior running back Jordon James put the Bruins back up front by carrying several Cal defenders on his back for an 11-yard touchdown run, giving UCLA a 17-14 lead.
The Bruins defense forced the Bears to punt for the fourth time of the half, giving UCLA the ball at its own 5-yard line with 1:17 to play. UCLA reached Cal’s 49-yard line before Hundley hit Perkins on a perfectly timed screen pass to beat the blitz. The sophomore running back took it the rest of the way down the right sideline for his second receiving touchdown of the day, giving UCLA its 24-14 lead at the break.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.