UCLA Cruises By Colorado, 44-20, Thanks To Huge Second Half, Three Charbonnet TDs
PASADENA (CBSLA) - The UCLA Bruins solidified their bowl game eligibility with a huge victory over the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday evening.
The 44-20 victory came on the back of a 34-point second half, and three touchdowns from running back Zach Charbonnet.
The Bruins defense, shaky in the first half, shutout the CU offense in the second half, making countless big stops and forcing one turnover in the process.
It was UCLA's first win at the Rose Bowl since they upset LSU in Week 2 of the 2021 season.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for 257 yards and was 18-for-27 in completions, despite throwing one first half interception. He finished the game with 356 total yards of offense.
The Bruins scored five rushing touchdowns on Saturday evening. While Charbonnet had three of those scores, Thompson-Robinson led the team in rushing yards with 99, adding his own touchdown. The other rushing score came from Brittain Brown in the second quarter.
Kyle Philips was the team's leading receiver with 88 yards on eight catches. Tight end Greg Dulcich added 87 yards on three catches, his longest play was 55 yards.
UCLA gathered 502 yards of total offense, 245 of which came on the ground, while 257 were through the air.
Despite the lopsided victory, the Bruins' defense still allowed 359 yards to the Buffaloes, including 193 yards rushing.
Notably missing from the Buffalo's defense were stud linebacker Nate Landman, named to the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award, and junior cornerback Mekhi Blackmon.
UCLA heads into their biggest rivalry game of the season on November 20, when they head across town to take on the USC Trojans. USC's game against University of California, Berkeley was cancelled today due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the CAL football team. On the season, USC is 3-4.
With the win, UCLA is now 6-4, and officially eligible for bowl game play. This is the first bowl game berth that the Bruins have earned since Chip Kelly took over the helm of head coach in 2018.
This is the second big win in as many days for the UCLA Bruins, who's No.2 ranked men's basketball team took down No. 4 Villanova in men's basketball on Friday evening in overtime, 86-77.
FIRST QUARTER
CU jumped to an early lead with a 1-yard rushing touchdown from junior running back Alex Fontenot with 4:53 left in the quarter.
UCLA's answer was stopped short when a 51-yard pass was overturned by a holding penalty.
The quarter ended with a UCLA turnover, as CU safety Mark Perry, Los Angeles local, picked off DTR with 1:15 left in the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
With the ball to start the second quarter, CU took a deep shot to La'Vontae Shenault, brother of CU Alum and NFL receiver LaViska Shenault, who dropped the pass with no one in front of him.
UCLA's next drive ended on a successful fourth-and-eight conversion turned touchdown that was again overturned by penalty, this time for illegal touching after a player ran out-of-bounds.
Colorado's placekicker Cole Becker nailed a 23-yard field goal to give the Buffs a 10-0 lead.
The Bruins answered promptly on the back of a 37-yard pass from DTR to Kyle Philips, setting them up for a one-yard Brittain Brown rushing touchdown with 7:56 left in the quarter.
On the next drive, Jarek Broussard, redshirt sophomore running back for the Buffs, bounced around the trenches for a 48-yard rush that set up another touchdown from Fontenot, this time for two yards, capping off the 75-yard drive.
DTR and the Bruins attempted to respond with a 55-yard pass to tight-end Greg Dulcich, setting them up in scoring position, but the drive ended with a 47-yard missed field goal.
CU scored again with 0:57 left in the second quarter with a 40-yard field goal from Becker. The highlight of the drive was a 42-yard pass from Colorado quarterback Brendon Lewis to Daniel Arias III. The ball bounced off of a diving-Arias' fingers before he was able to secure it before hitting the turf.
Nicholas Barr-Mira, UCLA placekicker earned redemption by nailing a 41-yard field goal to end the first half. Those three points began the 37 straight points that UCLA would score to finish the game.
THIRD QUARTER
Another huge reception from Greg Dulcich (31-yards) set up a two-yard Charbonnet touchdown with 11:33 left in the third quarter, but Barr-Mira would miss the extra point.
Five minutes later, DTR ran a QB-keep for a 23-yard score, untouched on his way to the end zone.
Colorado missed a 43-yard field goal shortly after, leading to another Charbonnet rushing touchdown with :30 seconds left in the third quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
CU's first drive of the quarter ended when a fourth-down conversion was stuffed by UCLA senior cornerback Jay Shaw.
The next UCLA drive resulted in what other than a three-yard TD from Zach Charbonnet, bringing his season total to eight.
Less than two minutes later a Colorado punt turned into a massive 82-yard return from Kyle Philips, who busted out some fancy footwork and blazing speed as he flew by the Buffaloes on his way to the biggest play of the game.
