PASADENA—A minute and a half into the second quarter of UCLA’s Pac-12 home opener, the Bruins had already lit up the scoreboard for 17 points, the total they finished with in Berkeley last October.
Rarely looking back in 30 minutes filled with 325 yards of total offense, the Bruins lead the Golden Bears 24-10 at the break.
In its first drive of the game, UCLA marched down the field quickly thanks to a 43-yard completion from redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley to sophomore wide receiver Jordan Payton. UCLA was stymied inside Cal’s 10-yard line, however, and settled for a 24-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn to bring the score to 3-0.
After Cal traded UCLA in a two-for-one on three-and-out drives, Hundley found himself in tune with sophomore wide receiver Devin Fuller on a six-play 59-yard touchdown drive with just minutes remaining in the first quarter. The quarterback hit the speedy Fuller for a 13-yard gain and connected with him again seconds later on a short pass to the right hash that resulted in an 18-yard touchdown, Fuller’s second of the season.
The next drive proved equally successful for the Bruins, who ate nearly five minutes of clock on an 11-play, 77-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run from redshirt freshman running back Paul Perkins.
Cal scored first on a 51-yard field goal by kicker Vincenzo D’Amato. On their next drive, the most effective player for the Bears’ offense was UCLA senior defensive end Cassius Marsh, who granted Cal 25 yards on two offside flags and an unsportsmanlike conduct call after the second play. Marsh, who swung at Cal offensive guard Jordan Rigsbee, was ejected from the game.
Two plays later, Cal cut the UCLA lead to just seven points after a six-yard touchdown run from redshirt sophomore running back Daniel Lasco.
The Bruins responded with an eight-play 73-yard drive in under two minutes to once again widen the margin to two touchdowns. Freshman Y receiver Thomas Duarte, who finished the half with two catches for 45 yards, hauled in a 27-yard pass from Hundley to score his first career touchdown with just 40 seconds remaining in the half.
Hundley finished the half with just four incompletions, going 21-25 for 263 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Sophomore safety Randall Goforth leads all tacklers with six.