PASADENA — What started as a slowly falling rockslide against UCLA in its first-half 21-10 deficit to Oregon snowballed into a near-avalanche by half’s end, save for a late second-quarter touchdown drive by the Bruins.
The first rock to fall came midway through the first quarter. Hundley, who never saw the rush coming, was sacked cleanly, the ball jarring loose for a fumble.
The fumble kept bouncing farther and farther behind the line of scrimmage until an Oregon defender recovered it, downs overturning.
Along came the very next play and a 13-yard touchdown run from redshirt junior quarterback Marcus Mariota.
On the following drive, UCLA slowly and methodically moved the ball forward on a 17-play, 83-yard drive, chewing up 7:38 of game time that in the end though seemed more like a teaser of a job well done.
With a third-and-goal at Oregon’s four-yard line, redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley threw the ball behind a wide-open Devin Fuller in the flat, and what should have been a touchdown turned woefully into a two-yard-gain and an ensuing 20-yard field goal.
As if it were a rendition of the saying, “Anything you can do, I can do better,” Oregon went on its own long-drive immediately afterwards: 11 plays, 72 yards, 2:33.
However, the Ducks capitalized for a touchdown, when a third-and-10 play, which UCLA blitzed on, turned into a 21-yard screen-pass touchdown, sophomore running back Thomas Tyner running into the end zone nearly untouched.
The nationally-televised broadcast then reportedly caught coach Jim Mora and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in a heated argument.
UCLA’s next drive had junior kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn miss a 41-yard field goal. Then, Oregon capitalized on its short-field opportunity, driving down the field for another touchdown to make it 21-3, though the PAT was missed.
On UCLA’s last drive of the half, the Bruins’ showed some resistances on the slopes.
In under three minutes, Hundley drove UCLA 84 yards down the field, and on the touchdown-scoring play, ran 16 yards up the seam, diving between two Oregon defenders to score.
That left somewhat of a salvaging taste for UCLA to end the half. The Bruins will begin the second half with the ball.
Compiled by Chris Kalra, Bruin Sports senior staff.