UCLA falls to Washington State, 27-21

UCLA running back Nate Starks tries to get away from Washington State safety Shalom Luani during the first half of a game on Oct. 15.

(Young Kwak / Associated Press)

This time, Josh Rosen couldn’t even attempt to save UCLA.

The Bruins’ star quarterback did not step on the field against Washington State in Pullman on Saturday night, and watched as his team fell, 27-21, to the Cougars (4-2, 3-0 in Pac-12). UCLA (3-4, 1-3) was led by backup quarterback Mike Fafaul, and by the time he had the offense in rhythm Washington State had a firm grip on the game.

Fafaul, after heating up in the second half, completed 24 of 40 passes and threw for 258 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Darren Andrews was his favorite target on the night, and finished with eight catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Washington State’s pass-happy offense was led by Luke Falk, who completed 24 of 48 passes for 261 yards.

Rosen was in full uniform during warmups, and even threw a few short passes. But he is still working back from shoulder and leg injuries sustained against Arizona State, and looked on as Fafaul trudged through the first half. UCLA’s rushing attack didn’t provide much help, gaining 16 yards on 17 carries through two quarters. Fafaul, in turn, completed six of 12 first-half passes as Washington State built a two-score lead.

The Cougars’ first score came on a 36-yard field goal from Erik Powell, who had missed all five of his attempts coming into the game. Washington State then drove 91 yards on 18 plays, and the methodical drive was punctuated with a one-yard touchdown run by Gerard Wicks.

UCLA seemed just as lifeless at the start of the second half, but a head-scratching Washington State turnover got the Bruins back in the game. After Fafaul threw an interception, Falk dropped a slick ball while dropping back to pass. UCLA defensive lineman Jacob Tuioti-Mariner recovered the fumble at the Cougars’ 25-yard line, and Fafaul found Darren Andrews for a 22-yard touchdown three plays later.

It was the first touchdown of Fafaul’s career, but more importantly cut Washington State’s lead to three points.

But the Cougars quickly answered, going 61 yards on seven plays for another one-yard touchdown run by Wicks. On Washington State’s next possession, Jamal Morrow ran for a three-yard touchdown to push the Cougars’ lead to 24-7.

The Bruins eventually pulled within a score when Fafaul found Andrews for a four-yard touchdown. The Cougars started the game’s decisive possession wth 3:17 on the clock, and UCLA needed a stop to have any shot at completing a comeback. The Bruins got that stop, but Jordan Lasley fumbled away their comeback bid on the first play of the next possession.

The refs initially ruled Lasley down by contact, but a replay review showed that he lost the ball before his knee hit the grass.

The call was overturned, a steady rain continued to come down, and UCLA was officially handed its second consecutive loss when Fafaul tossed a game-sealing interception into the Pullman night.

After UCLA regained possession after forcing a three and out, Jordan Lasley fumbled on the first play of the Bruins’ drive.

Washington State immediately recovered the ball, but the refs determined that Lasley was down by contact. After a review, they overturned that call and granted the ball to the Cougars.

UCLA has one timeout, there is 2:27 on the fourth-quarter cloc, and it seems that its third turnover of the game may finally do it in.

UCLA forced a three and out, and will get the ball with nearly three minutes on the clock. The Bruins trail 27-21, and have spent the whole game trying to claw back.

Washington State took over with 3:17 on the clock. The Cougars threw an incomplete pass on first down, and then Jacob Tuioti-Mariner sacked WSU quarterback Luke Falk on second down.

The Bruins quickly called a timeout, and Matt Dickerson tackled Falk from behind on the next down. UCLA called its second timeout as the Washington State punt unit jogged onto the field.

It’s not too late for UCLA. Not yet, at least.

Mike Fafaul found Darren Andrews for a four-yard touchdown to pull the Bruins within one score at 27-21. There is 3:17 left on the fourth-quarter clock, and UCLA has all three of its timeouts.

Fafaul hit Eldridge Massington for 22 yards, and then found him for a five-yard gain to set up fourth and three.

On fourth down, Fafaul danced through the pocket, hit Darren Andrews in the flat and Andrews ran 30 yards down to the Washington State four-yard line. A play later, Fafaul hit Andrews in the end zone for the second time in the game.

Andrews now eight catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

After Washington State drainied six minutes and 29 seconds off the fourth-quarter clock, kicker Erik Powell stretched his team’s lead to 27-14 with a 36-yard field goal.

Washington State started the drive with a first down from Luke Falk’s leg, and then another from the quarterback’s arm.

Falk found River Cracraft for 18 yards on third and long, and the game clock dipped below 10 minutes. The Cougars then picked up two more first downs as the game clock passed the seven-minute mark, and set up in the UCLA red zone with the game well in hand.

The drive stalled there, but Powell came on to hit his second 36-yard make of the game.

Mike Fafaul repeatedly worked the ball to Jordan Lasley on UCLA’s best drive of the game, and it ended with the quarterback finding Lasley for a five-yard touchdown.

UCLA now trails Washington State, 24-14, with 11:37 left in the game. The scoring drive went 75 yards in 15 plays, and lasted 4:58.

Clinging to faint comeback hopes, Fafaul completed a six-yard pass to Nate Iese on third and one. That was the last play of the third quarter, and Fafaul found Iese for 10 yards on the first play of the fourth.

Soso Jamabo ran for 12 yards on the next play, but then Nate Starks lost two yards to set up second and 12. After throwing an incomplete deep ball intended for Kenneth Walker III, Fafaul hit Lasley for 17 yards at the Washington State 23-yard line.

The offense then moved five yards backward, but a 10-yard holding penalty gave them a much-needed first down. The Bruins faced third and 10 two plays later, and Fafaul again found Lasley for a first down at the seven-yard line.

Two plays after that, Lasley snuck behind the Washington State secondary and caught the critical score.

UCLA’s chances for a comeback are quickly slipping in Pullman with Washington State now leading the Bruins, 24-7, after a three-yard rushing touchdown by Jamal Morrow.

The Cougars quickly answered UCLA’s first touchdown of the game, but the Bruins couldn’t punch back. Another suspect punt from Austin Kent — this one 23 yards — started the Cougars’ drive on their own 43-yard line.

Two Luke Falk passes moved Washington State into UCLA territory, and the Cougars then picked up a first down on fourth and three. Washington State then faced a third and 11, and Fabian Moreau was called for pass interference.

That gave the Cougars an automatic first down on the Bruins’ 10-yard line, and UCLA nearly caught another break when the Washington State snap rolled on the ground. But running back James Williams scooped the ball up, and turned the botched play into an eight-yard gain.

One play later, Morrow bounced into the end zone to stretch Washington State’s lead to 17 points.

UCLA scored its first touchdown of the game, and Washington State didn’t take long to respond with one of its own.

The drive went for 61 yards in seven plays, and lasted just two minutes 54 seconds. It ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Gerard Wicks, and the Cougars leading 17-7 with 7:39 left in the third quarter.

Washington State got things going when Falk found River Cracraft for 21 yards, and then Falk scrambled eight yards down to UCLA’s 37-yard line.

Falk then found Tavares Martin Jr. for 24 yards, and Martin had to leap over Randall Goforth to make an impressive sideline grab. Gerard Wicks rumbled eight yards down to the five on the next down, and then a defensive holding penalty on Goforth set up first and goal on the two.

Wicks took the handoff two downs later, and fell into the end zone for his second score of the game.

UCLA made the most of a costly Washington State turnover, and now trails 10-7 after Mike Fafaul’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Darren Andrews.

Andrews has five catches for 80 yards in the game, and has been about the only positive aspect of the Bruins’ offense throughout.

UCLA caught a big break after Fafaul’s interception, as Washington State quarterback Luke Falk dropped the slick ball while dropping back to pass. It was recovered by Bruins defensive lineman Jacob Tuioti-Mariner at the Cougars’ 25-yard line, gifting the Bruins a short trek to the end zone.

On third and seven, Fafaul rolled to his left and hit Andrews for his first career touchdown pass. The play, much more importantly, gave UCLA life when it seemed all but lifeless.

Just as the UCLA offense had a bit of traction on its first drive of the second half, Mike Fafaul had a pass intercepted by Washington State cornerback Marcellus Pippins.

The Cougars lead the Bruins, 10-0, with 12:01 left in the third quarter and ake over on their own 31-yard line.

After forcing Washington State to punt on its first possession of the second half, the UCLA offense went to work on its own 33-yard line.

The Bruins nearly gave the ball right back, and faced a third down and five after Nate Starks lost his footing on a rush. But Fafaul found Darren Andrews — who has been his favorite receiver throughout the night — for a crossing route to move the chains.

Fafaul then targeted Andrews on the next down, but he underthrew the deep pass and Pippins came away with the interception.

With Josh Rosen looking on from the sideline, the UCLA offense could get nothing going in the first half against Washington State.

The Bruins trail the Cougars, 10-0, after two quarters. Here are some notable stats from the first half.

UCLA

-Mike Fafaul, Rosen’s replacement under center, completed six of 12 passes for 84 yards.

-UCLA once again found no rhythm on the ground. Bolu Olorunfunmi led the Bruins with nine first-half rushing yards. But it took him seven carries to get those yards.

-Darren Andrews was UCLA’s leading receiver in the half, catching three passes for 52 yards.

-In total, the Bruins gained just 100 yards on 29 plays. UCLA was one for six on third down, and ran for 16 yards on 17 attempts.

Washington State

-Cougars quarterback Luke Falk completed 17 of 29 passes for 137 yards in the first half. He also threw an interception, which didn’t lead to any points.

-Jamal Morrow was Washington State’s most efficient rusher in the first two quarter, going for 40 yards on five carries. Gerard Wicks ran for the Cougars’ only score from one yard out. That was his sixth rushing touchdown of the season.

-Gabe Marks led Washington State with four first-half catches for 32 yards. River Cracraft hauled in three for 28 yards, and Tavares Martin Jr. caught three for 27.

-In total, the Cougars gained 182 yards on 41 plays in the first half. They were also four for nine on third down, and picked up 13 first down to UCLA’s seven.

Washington State methodically drove 91 yards on 18 plays, and finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run from Gerard Wicks.

It was Wicks’ sixth rushing touchdown of the season, and pushed the Cougars’ lead over UCLA to 10-0 with 4:15 left in the first half.

Washington State quickly moved up to midfield, and then Falk found Gabe Marks for nine yards to move into UCLA territory. The Cougars’ fourth first down of the drive came a down later, and the fifth came on an out route to River Cracraft.

On the next play, Falk hit Marks on a screen and he ran 12 yards to move the chains once again. To that point, Falk had completed all six of his attempts on the drive. He continued that with another completion to Cracraft, which set up second and short inside the UCLA 10-yard line.

The Cougars went nowhere on their next two downs, but Mike Leach kept his offense on the field for fourth and three. Falk completed a short slant to Marks to pick up the first, and then Jamal Morrow ran to within inches of the goal line on second down.

A replay review confirmed that Morrow fell just short of scoring, but Wicks took care of that one down later.

Austin Kent’s third punt of the game was much better than the first, but it still wasn’t good for UCLA.

That’s because the Bruins were still punting the ball away, which they’ve done on three of four possessions so far against Washington State. The fourth possession ended with a Kenneth Walker III fumble. The offense, led by backup quarterback Mike Fafaul with Josh Rosen looking on from the sideline, has been unable to find a rhythm in Pullman’s rainy conditions.

Fafaul got UCLA into a rhythm at the end of the first quarter, and the offense rolled into Washington State territory at the start of the second.

Two positive runs by Bolu Olorunfunmi — the first for five yards, and the second for seven — showed positive signs for an otherwise listless Bruins run game. But UCLA faced a third and 11 after Fafaul fumbled a snap, and threw the ball away after rolling to his left.

With the rain thickening and Washington State digging deeper into UCLA territory, Bruins linebacker Jayon Brown intercepted Cougars quarterback Luke Falk in the end zone.

Washington State leads, 3-0, as the Bruins have possession at the start of the second quarter. UCLA, led by backup quarterback Mike Fafaul, was not able to move the ball with much effectiveness in the first 15 minutes.

Before Falk’s interception, another bad punt by Austin Kent gave the Cougars favorable field position, this time starting them on their own 48-yard line.

Takkarist McKinley sacked Falk for a five-yard loss on first down, but then Falk hit Kyle Sweet for a first down at the Bruins’ 37-yard line. Jamal Morrow took a Falk shovel pass 13 yards one play later, and then a false start penalty set up first and 15 just inside the red zone.

The Cougars ran twice for 10 yards, and then another false start penalty forced them into third and 10. Falk threw a pass to the fringe of the end zone, and Brown came away with a crucial interception.

Washington State took advantage of a shrot field against UCLA’s defense, and then took an early 3-0 lead on a 36-yard field goal from Erik Powell.

An awful punt allowed Washington State to start its second drive of the game on UCLA’s 42-yard line. On the first play, a roughing the passer penalty on Jacob Tuioti-Mariner moved the Cougars 15 yards down to the 27.

Washington State then faced third and four on the doorstep of the end zone, and Falk took a shot to the front-right corner of the end zone. River Cracraft initially made the catch, but didn’t control the ball while falling to the ground.

The Cougars challenged the call, but a replay review confirmed the ruling on the field. That led Washington State to go for it on fourth and short, and Falk completed a seven-yard slant to Gabe Marks to move the chains.

Washington State trotted out the field-goal unit three plays later. Powell had missed all five of his field goal attempts before this one, but the lefty knocked it through to nudge his team ahead.

Kenneth Walker III fumbled away UCLA’s first possession of the game, and then Mike Fafaul faced third and 15 on the second.

Fafaul, filling in for the injured Josh Rosen, got nowhere near the first-down marker. That led to the Bruins’ first punt of the game, and Austin Kent’s kick fluttered through the air before bouncing back into UCLA territory.

While Kent got an earful from Bruins Coach Jim Mora on the sideline, the Cougars offense set up on the UCLA 42-yard line.

Josh Rosen, who is working back from leg and shoulder injuries sustained at Arizona State last week, did not start against Washington State in Pullman.

Mike Fafaul, Rosen’s backup, led the offense onto the field for the first drive. Rosen was dressed and on the field for warmups, but didn’t do much as Fafaul worked with the first-team offense.

UCLA star quarterback Josh Rosen is nursing shoulder and leg injuries, and it is still not clear if he will play against Washington State in Pullman on Saturday night.

The Bruins and Cougars kick off at 7:30 p.m. Throughout the week, UCLA Coach Jim Mora resorted to the stock answer that Rosen will play if he is ready. If Rosen does not go, he will be replaced by backup quarterback Mike Fafaul.

Early indication in Pullman was that Rosen is not readying himself to play.

Then Rosen was more engaged in pregame warmups, and is in full uniform at Martin Stadium.

When the Bruins’ quarterbacks started to warm up, Fafaul took reps while Rosen watched. Rosen then threw a couple of passes to wide receiver Jordan Lasley.

When the offense started to prepare for the game as a whole, Fafaul took first-team reps.

Stay tuned.

((Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

What’s worse than going to Pullman, Wash.?

Coming back knowing you’re probably headed for another mid-tier bowl.

That’s the potential reality facing UCLA, which needs to beat Washington State to have any hope of winning the Pac-12’s South Division.

The Bruins already need Arizona State to lose two more games, because the Sun Devils hold the tiebreaker after winning the head-to-head matchup.

But that’s the least of UCLA’s worries with quarterback Josh Rosen’s status uncertain and the Bruins’ running game stalled.

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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

One component of UCLA’s ground game isn’t broken.

He rolled onto campus with a steady rumble at 6:25 a.m. Wednesday, just as a hint of blue began to infuse itself into the black early morning sky.

Keith Preyer was moving the ball — and every other piece of equipment the UCLA football team needed. He’s been trucking the Bruins in his 18-wheeler for the past eight years, to games home and away.

“He’s never not made it,” said Brendan Burger, UCLA’s equipment manager.

That includes the roughly 5,100-mile round trip from Westwood to Charlottesville, Va., for a game against Virginia, an overheated engine that forced a three-hour delay on a 114-degree Arizona day on the way to College Station, Texas, or the faulty tail lights that required a mechanic in Salt Lake City.

Preyer’s journey this week is perhaps the most treacherous he’ll face all season.

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(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

UCLA changed its offense this season with intentions of accentuating quarterback Josh Rosen’s strengths while reliably running the ball.

Going one for two in those departments has led to a .500 record.

The Bruins are 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-12 Conference halfway through the regular season, Rosen’s passing success largely offset by a ground game that has chugged along in first gear in the rare moments when it’s been able to shift out of neutral.

Heading into what’s essentially a must-win game against Washington State on Saturday night at Martin Stadium, UCLA Coach Jim Mora isn’t reversing course when it comes to the new offense.

“I think it’s the best thing for our quarterback,” Mora said earlier this week. “When we get the running game going, I think you’ll see us turn into a really dynamic team.”

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