UCLA defensive players, from left to right, Bo Calvert (#33), Gary Smith III (#58) and Darius Muasau (#53) will have to be ready to play against a good Arizona offense on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
The UCLA Bruins came into Tempe, Arizona last Saturday night needing a victory and they did not disappoint, holding on for a 50-36 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Bruins played the game without star running back Zach Charbonnet, the third leading rusher in the nation, who missed the game to due to an unknown injury.
The Bruins were led by quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns. Thompson-Robinson rushed for 120 yards and passed for 169 yards, completing 13 of 20 passes. Even without Charbonnet, the Bruins rushed for 402 yards, the most by UCLA since 2010.
Wide receiver Kazmeir Allen switched to running back for most of the evening and ended up with 137 yards rushing, including a 75-yard touchdown, and added 63 receiving yards for the Bruins for an even 200 yards in offense for the night. Running back Keegan Jones scored two touchdowns and gained 98 yards rushing, while running back Colson Yankoff had 48 yards rushing and one touchdown.
The Bruins led 42-18 with less than a minute to go in the third quarter when the Sun Devils went on an 18-0 run to cut the lead to 42-36 with 6:24 remaining in the game. The Bruins took back control of the game with a 7 play, 74-yard drive that culminated in a one-yard touchdown plunge by Yankoff.
The victory improved the Bruins record to 8-1 for the season. The Sun Devils fell to 3-6 for the season. The Bruins need to win all three remaining games on their schedule to have a shot at getting into the Pac-12 conference championship game on December 2nd in Las Vegas. The Bruins are ranked No. 9 in the nation in the AP top 25 poll and No. 12 in the CFP (College Football Playoff) poll.
The Bruins offensive juggernaut is averaging 508.4 yards per game, which is 5th in the nation. They are averaging 40.8 points per game on offense, which is 8th in the nation. They have scored at least 30 points in every game this season. They will need the offense to show up again this weekend when they battle the Arizona Wildcats at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on Fox.
The Wildcats also have a prolific offense, led by quarterback Jayden de Laura and one of the best receiving corps in the nation. The Wildcats are ranked 21st in the nation on offense. The game should be full of fireworks and action when these two potent offenses clash on Saturday Night.
reach Steve Finley email: sports@culvercityobserver.com
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