SAN ANTONIO — Though UCLA’s season is now done, the Bruins showed they were anything but in their season finale.
After racing out to a 31-6 lead, Brett Hundley, Eric Kendricks, Paul Perkins and the UCLA football team saved their best for last, and held on for a 40-35 win over Kansas State in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
In what was all but certainly his final game with UCLA, the redshirt junior quarterback finished with three touchdowns and 232 total yards while the Bruin defense forced two turnovers and sacked Kansas State quarterback Jake Waters seven times.
No. 14 UCLA (10-3) got off to a blazing start on both sides of the ball, as the Bruins scored on their first three drives and held Kansas State scoreless in a dominant first quarter. Hundley found the end zone on runs of 10 and 28 yards respectively, with the latter coming off of a zone read on 4th and 3. Junior kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn added a 27-yard field goal on UCLA’s second drive as the Bruins outscored the WIldcats 17-0 in the opening period and outgained them 218-38.
No. 11 Kansas State (9-4) appeared to steal momentum in the second period, forcing consecutive three-and-outs and adding a pair of field goals.
Myles Jack put a stop to that.
The sophomore linebacker intercepted Waters’ pass over the middle and wildly raced up the field for a 41-yard return to give UCLA the ball in Kansas State territory. Perkins added a 32-yard touchdown run a few plays later to put the Bruins back up three scores.
Junior cornerback Marcus Rios strip-sacked Waters on the Wildcats’ penultimate drive of the half to give the Bruins the ball in Kansas State territory once again.
And again UCLA capitalized. Hundley found junior receiver Jordan Payton for a 37-yard catch and run, and hit redshirt junior receiver Devin Lucien in the back of the end zone a play later for a seven-yard touchdown that gave UCLA a 31-6 lead at the break.
Yet, the Wildcats refused to go away. Kansas State converted two fourth downs on a gritty 17-play, 75-yard drive to open up the second half, capped off by a three-yard touchdown pass from Waters to senior receiver Tyler Lockett. Waters found Lockett again on a slant on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt to make it 31-14 with 7:23 to go in the third quarter.
Following a Perkins fumble on the subsequent UCLA drive, Kansas State took over possession at the Bruins’ 21-yard line. Waters powered forward on 4th and 1 for a key conversion inside the red zone, and senior running back DeMarcus Robinson raced to the corner for a two-yard score to cut the Bruins’ lead to 31-21.
Hundley answered.
On a 3rd and 11 at the UCLA 34, the UCLA quarterback pulled of one of his vintage Houdini-esque runs, scrambling 40 yards upfield into Kansas State territory. The run led to a UCLA field goal that would give the Bruins a 34-21 lead as the game entered the fourth quarter.
But after Kansas State responded with a touchdown to trim the UCLA lead to 34-28, UCLA needed to respond once more. This time, Perkins answered the call.
UCLA’s redshirt sophomore tailback burst through the line of scrimmage and sprinted 67 yards untouched all the way to the end zone, putting the Bruins on top 40-28 with less than five minutes left. But after Kansas State came back and scored a touchdown with 1:21 to go, the Bruins needed just one more answer. And they got it from Perkins once again.
As Kansas State made a strange onside kick attempt in which its kicker booted the ball with his back foot, Perkins was there to jump up and snag the ball amid two clashing Wildcat players. UCLA would then run out the clock to capture the Alamo Bowl, its second straight 10-win season and its first bowl game winning streak in 26 years.
Compiled by Jordan Lee and Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
This alum nearly died of a heart attack in the last quarter seeing the lead slip away. Perkins saved the day. Thank you Brett, seniors and see you all next year! GO BRUINS GO!