Near the start of the fourth quarter, UCLA’s redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley rolled to his right on third and 10 after getting flushed out of the pocket.
He brushed off Cal’s pass rush before slinging the ball 18 yards to redshirt senior receiver Joseph Fauria for a first down.
Three plays later, Hundley was intercepted on a tipped ball by Cal linebacker Michael Lowe. It was his third of four interceptions on the night.
One step forward, two steps back ““ this pretty much summed up the night for Hundley and the Bruins.
“We were rolling pretty good there in the first half,” said UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone.
“But we were down twice inside the 20 and we turned it over. I’m not saying it’s the difference in the game but it changes the whole makeup of the game. All of the things you can’t have as an offense ““ sacks, turnovers and penalties ““ we had our fair share of tonight.”
Fair share may be an understatement. UCLA had six total turnovers, 12 penalties and gave up five sacks, all of which were season highs.
“That’s football,” coach Jim Mora said. “You get into an environment where you’re competing your butt off, and you’re playing against a good team, it’s a part of the game. You don’t like it. It’s not a fun part of the game, but you just do the best to avoid it and keep working through it.”
Trying Fuller
After redshirt freshman wide receiver Devin Lucien was lost for the season with a broken clavicle last week, the UCLA coaching staff had to look for a way to replace the spark Lucien provided.
They went to their highly touted freshman Devin Fuller and asked him to move from quarterback to wide receiver.
Fuller was planning on redshirting this season to grow more as a passer, but he showed promise on the scout team as a receiver and running back in spot minutes.
Fuller, who was recruited by dozens of programs, agreed to make the move.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, the experiment did not turn out as well as expected. Fuller didn’t catch a ball on the night and had a drop on a backwards swing pass that was recovered by Cal and ruled a fumble.
“It’s a learning process for me,” Fuller said. “The move will be fine.”
Marsh stepping up
In UCLA’s 37-6 victory over Houston three weeks ago, redshirt senior defensive end Datone Jones caught his first career receiving touchdown.
Fellow defensive lineman Cassius Marsh decided to join the party on UCLA’s first drive. Marsh lined up as a fullback and he caught a 4-yard touchdown on play action from Hundley.
“(Datone’s) got one and I have one now too,” Marsh said. “That was fun. That was a good experience for me.”
Marsh also had one of his best games of the season on the defensive side of the ball, as he had six tackles and a fumble recovery.
“I don’t care what I do on the field, I want to win every game,” Marsh said. “(Losing) hurts and right now, I’m hurting.”