PASADENA “”mdash; UCLA, meet winning streak. Winning streak, meet UCLA.
After beating No. 20 Arizona State 29-28 on Saturday, the Bruins have won two games in a row for the first time this season and now control their own destiny as the leaders of the Pac-12 South division.
The Bruins (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12) matched the Sun Devils (6-3, 4-2) step for step in the highly-anticipated matchup and, most importantly, didn’t let the game turn into a shootout like they did last year in Tempe, Ariz.
Senior running back Derrick Coleman led UCLA in rushing on 17 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns, while senior wide receiver Nelson Rosario led the Bruins in the air with 5 receptions for 151 yards, including a 76 yard touchdown. Redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Prince completed 11 of 17 attempts for 196 yards.
UCLA was aided in large part by its special teams unit as redshirt senior receiver Josh Smith had a 78-yard kickoff return to set up a second-quarter field goal and redshirt junior punter Jeff Locke continued his dominance in the punting game, averaging 38.3 yards per attempt.
However, after the Sun Devils took the lead in the fourth quarter with a touchdown and extra point to put the score at 28-23, Smith fumbled the ball on the kickoff return, but the Bruins lucked out as the Sun Devils missed the field goal at the end of their drive.
On UCLA’s ensuing drive, Coleman had a 41-yard carry to bring UCLA to the Arizona State 20-yard line. But after a 7-yard tackle for loss on Prince and an offensive pass interference called on redshirt junior tight end Joseph Fauria, the Bruins found themselves on second down with 32 yards to go. After a rush good for two yards from Prince, Rosario caught a 33-yard pass from Prince to bring UCLA to the Arizona State 6-yard line with a first and goal. Coleman bulldozed his way into the end zone to put UCLA ahead 29-28. The Bruins misfired on their two-point conversion attempt, as Prince couldn’t target Fauria.
On Arizona State’s possession with 0:49 left in the game, the Sun Devils drove to the Bruin 29-yard line. With four seconds to play, Arizona State kicker Alex Garoutte missed the 46-yard field goal short and wide right as the clock ran out, giving UCLA the 29-28 win.