UCLA blows shot at Pac-12 South title with loss to Stanford
All UCLA had to do on Friday to advance to the Pac-12 Championship Game was win.
Instead, it laid an egg.
The eighth-ranked Bruins were destroyed at home, 31-10, by an average Stanford team with five losses. The loss put an end to the UCLA’s chance for a conference championship and closed the book on its chance to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
After jumping out to an early lead on a Brett Hundley touchdown pass, the Cardinal pretty much dominated the game the rest of the way. Stanford used a balanced attack of run and pass and controlled the ball for 37:49 compared to 22:11 for the Bruins.
The Cardinal tied the game at 7-7 via a Remound Wright touchdown run midway through the first quarter. UCLA responded with a 42-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn early in the second. From then on out, it was all Stanford.
Senior quarterback Kevin Hogan threw two touchdown passes late in the first half – a 22-yarder to Michael Rector and a 37-yarder to Devon Cajuste with 37 seconds left in the half – to give the Cardinal a 21-10 halftime lead.
The second half was more of the same. Wright (15 carries, 64 yards, two scores) scored again to cap off Stanford’s first second half drive while the defense put the clamps on UCLA’s sluggish offense.
It was pretty much over at that point. UCLA’s offense did not put up much of a fight and the Cardinal cruised to a 31-10 win.
While Hogan (16-of-19, 234 yards, 2 TDs) had one of his best games of the season, UCLA star quarterback Brett Hundley struggled to establish a rhythm in what could be his final regular season collegiate game. Hundley, who said earlier this week that he will likely forgo his final season to go to the NFL, threw for just 146 yards on 17-of-32 throwing. He was also sacked four times.
Hundley, who entered the season as a Heisman favorite, left the game late in the second half after appearing to hit his hand on a defender’s helmet.
The loss put an end to a five-game winning streak for the Bruins, making it especially disappointing as they dropped to 9-3. They previously ascended to No. 8 in the rankings after destroying Arizona State 62-27 on Sept. 25. Back-to-back losses to Utah and Oregon followed the ASU win. Still, the team managed to rebound and win five straight. A rematch with the Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship looked like a sure thing until the Bruins ran into Stanford – a team used to playing spoiler over the past few seasons.
The Cardinal finished the year with back-to-back road wins over in-state rivals. Friday’s performance followed an impressive win over Cal and improved the team’s record to 7-5 heading into a bowl game.
For more UCLA news, visit BruinSportsReport.com.
For more Stanford news, visit CardinalSportsReport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
