BOULDER, Colo. — UCLA had some trouble against Colorado after jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, but outlasted the Buffaloes through two overtime periods to win 40-37.
A 92-yard touchdown run on UCLA’s first official play of the game pointed to an easy win for the Bruins, but it was anything but. Colorado outscored UCLA 14-7 in the second quarter and nearly scored again if not for a late penalty forcing the clock to run out while the Buffaloes were on UCLA’s four-yard line.
UCLA went into halftime with a 24-14 lead.
The Bruins’ second-quarter struggles spilled over into the third quarter. While UCLA held Colorado scoreless in the quarter, it didn’t score itself until the 1:22 mark despite facing the nation’s ninth-worst defense in terms of points allowed per game.
Colorado continued to chip away at UCLA’s lead in the fourth quarter, turning a fourth down attempt into a 38-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 31-21, UCLA.
After forcing a UCLA three-and-out, Colorado then drove 64 yards to score another touchdown. The Buffaloes then trailed just 31-28.
Colorado forced UCLA into another three-and-out to get possession back but redshirt sophomore cornerback Marcus Rios bailed UCLA out for the second straight week with an interception.
Redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley looked off all day, overthrowing several open receivers and not connecting consistently with receivers on shorter routes. He finished with 200 yards passing, 1 touchdown and 110 rushing yards.
Redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins added 180 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Daily Bruin Sports senior staff.