PASADENA — UCLA couldn’t do much against Oregon in its final few drives last Saturday. Even with a change in scenery and a new opponent in Colorado, the Bruins’ hangover was apparent. Nevertheless, their offense grew productive for the first time in three games and No. 17 UCLA leads 21-13 at the break.
In its first two drives, UCLA’s playcalling was once again conservative and unimaginative. After taking over in the first quarter following a missed field goal by Colorado, the Bruins ran a three-and-out drive whose lowlights featured a run up the gut by redshirt freshman running back Paul Perkins, followed by a 5-yard button hook to freshman Y receiver Thomas Duarte and then a scramble by redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley that placed the Burins just shy of the first down.
The Bruin defense quickly got Hundley and company another shot at building a downfield drive, but once again decided to play it safe, running it up the gut on three straight downs to draw noticeable boos from the Rose Bowl crowd.
That disapproval only grew louder, as the Buffaloes controlled the clock on their next possession, methodically moving the ball downfield during a 10-play, 50-yard drive that ended with an easy 23-yard field goal by Colorado kicker Will Oliver to give the Buffs the early 3-0 lead.
With another run up the middle, this time by redshirt junior running back Jordon James, for a loss of a yard, the crowd had had enough. Boos echoed throughout the Rose Bowl, but were immediately transformed into raucous cheers as the UCLA offense broke out of its shell in the form of a 76-yard bomb from Hundley to sophomore wide receiver Devin Fuller, by far the Bruins’ longest play of the season.
The Buffs didn’t quit, however, and converted two third downs to get within striking distance. Freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau hit start wide receiver Paul Richardson on a perfect 7-yard touchdown pass to the right side to once again give Colorado the advantage.
The Bruins’ response? Two consecutive touchdowns to take a take away all Colorado momentum. The first came on an eight-play, 61-yard drive that ended with Hundley running untouched into the end zone for his fifth rushing touchdown of the season. The second came less than half a football minute later thanks to the efforts of freshman linebacker Cameron Judge, who jarred the ball from the hands of Colorado returner Ryan Severson to give the offense an incredibly short field to work with.
Three plays later, Devin Fuller had his second touchdown reception of the evening and the Bruins led by 11. Oliver knocked through a 47-yarder on Colorado’s next possession, a feat UCLA kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn could not match to close out the half.
After 30 minutes of play, Hundley is 10-of-11 passing for 161 yards and two scores, while freshman linebacker Myles Jack leads all Bruins with six tackles.
Compiled by Andrew Erickson, Bruin Sports senior staff.