Oklahoma seals 49-21 win over UCLA
Oklahoma shut down UCLA’s drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, giving the Sooners a 49-21 win over the Bruins.
After UCLA scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, the Sooners and the Bruins each had drive opportunities shut down by defense, solidifying Oklahoma’s victory. With the loss, UCLA falls to 0-2.
Freshman quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson made a strong showing in the loss, though, completing 16 of 26 passes to total 254 passing yards and a touchdown.
Bolu Olorunfunmi rushed for 56 yards in 15 carries while Kazmeir Allen and Martell Irby combined for 83 yards on 10 carries each. Caleb Wilson had four catches for 92 yards while Theo Howard had two receptions for 53 yards and Chase Cota had two catches for 45 yards.
Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray completed 19 of 33 passes for 306 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Murray also rushed for 69 yards and two touchdowns in 10 carries. CeeDee Lamb had seven receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown while Marquise Brown had four catches for 88 yards and one touchdown.
The Bruins will host Fresno State next in the Rose Bowl on Sept. 15, aiming to gain their first win of the season.
UCLA completes 85-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter to trail Sooners 49-21
Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed a touchdown pass to Michael Ezeike on fourth down in the red zone, cutting Oklahoma’s lead to 49-21.
Starting on their own 15-yard line, the Bruins began a nearly four-minute scoring drive late in the fourth quarter with short rushes by Martell Irby.
Thompson-Robinson showed composure in the pocket, completing five of seven passes on the drive, including a 22-yard throw to Christian Pabico.
Despite the successful scoring drive, the Sooners still lead the Bruins by four touchdowns with only a few minutes remaining in the game.
Another Oklahoma touchdown gives Sooners 49-14 lead midway through fourth quarter
Two pass interference penalties on UCLA helped set up Oklahoma’s latest touchdown.
One of the penalties, on safety Adarius Pickett, gave the Sooners a first and goal from the two. Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray ran for a touchdown on the next play to give the Sooners a 49-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
On a brighter note, it appears that UCLA’s 16-game streak of allowing a ballcarrier to gain at least 100 yards will end. Murray leads Oklahoma with 69 yards in 10 carries and could be done for the day.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson shows nice passing touch in leading UCLA to touchdown in fourth quarter
Dorian Thompson-Robinson fired a beautiful 45-yard pass to Theo Howard to give UCLA first and goal from the one.
Two plays later, Bolu Olorunfunmi scored on a two-yard touchdown run to pull the Bruins within 42-14 early in the fourth quarter.
Thompson-Robinson also twice connected with fellow true freshman Chase Cota on the drive, though Cota appeared to be hurt on a tackle.
Thompson-Robinson has completed 11 of 19 passes for 197 yards but is still seeking the first touchdown pass of his career.
Oklahoma pouring it on, up 42-7 early in the fourth quarter
Now it’s getting ugly.
Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to a leaping CeeDee Lamb in the end zone to give the Sooners a 42-7 lead over UCLA early in the fourth quarter.
It appears as if the Bruins will fall to 0-2 for the first time since 2010.
Murray has completed 18 of 32 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. UCLA cornerback Darnay Holmes made the interception in the third quarter.
Oklahoma starting to pile it on, up 35-7 late in third quarter
Oklahoma parlayed CeeDee Lamb’s 66-yard punt return into a quick-strike touchdown that has turned its game against UCLA into a virtual rout.
Kyler Murray’s 10-yard touchdown strike to A.D. Miller gave the Sooners a 35-7 lead late in the third quarter. Oklahoma has scored 35 consecutive points after the Bruins notched the game’s first touchdown.
Oklahoma goes up 28-7 in third quarter with fourth unanswered touchdown
UCLA’s defense was looking good even without outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips, who has been out since the second quarter with an unknown injury.
But on third and 10 from its own 49-yard line, Oklahoma got a big gain when quarterback Kyler Murray connected with CeeDee Lamb for a 25-yard completion.
Running back Marcellus Sutton eventually scored on a 14-yard touchdown run to give the Sooners a 28-7 lead with 7:34 left in third third quarter.
UCLA trails Oklahoma 21-7 at halftime
UCLA could not sustain a strong start against Oklahoma in which it scored the game’s first touchdown, but the Bruins did manage a defensive stop before heading into halftime trailing 21-7.
UCLA defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa’s fourth-down stop of running back Trey Sermon kept the Sooners from adding to their tally of 21 consecutive points.
Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has competed gamely in his first career start, completing six of nine passes for 108 yards. The problem is he’s been sacked five times and continually found himself surrounded by a horde of defenders.
UCLA has also generated little push in its running game, gaining only 25 yards and a lowly 1.0 yards per carry.
Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, operating with far more time in the pocket, has completed 11 of 17 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown. The Sooners’ 250 yards of offense are nearly double UCLA’s total of 133.
UCLA true freshman tailback Kazmeir Allen already has more touches than he did during the Bruins’ opener but has failed to similarly break through. He’s tallied 19 yards on seven carries.
UCLA will need much improved play from its offensive line in the second half to have any chance at a comeback and avoid falling to 0-2 for the first time since 2010.
Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson leaves with leg injury
Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson left Saturday’s game against UCLA after injuring his right leg.
Anderson ran for 10 yards on the final play of the first quarter, then got up slowly. He limped off on his own, and trainers tended to him before he headed to the locker room.
The Sooners led 14-7 when he was injured. Kyler Murray then ran for a 10-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to put the Sooners up 21-7.
Anderson ran for 1,161 yards and 13 touchdowns last season and caught five touchdown passes. He rushed for 19 yards and a touchdown on six carries before the injury.
UCLA gets fourth-down stop late in second quarter
A workmanlike Oklahoma drive featuring first down after first down was stopped by UCLA defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa when he wrapped up Trey Sermon for a loss on fourth and one.
Odighizuwa is coming off a one-game suspension for violating unspecified athletic department rules. UCLA’s run defense has been fairly stout, giving up only 3.8 yards per rush.
Sacks end promising UCLA drive
UCLA picked up a couple of first downs on a drive that generated some momentum before quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was sacked twice.
The Bruins had to punt the ball to Oklahoma.
Thompson-Robinson hung tough in the pocket a couple of times and connected twice with receiver Dymond Lee for first downs.
Oklahoma scores again for 21-7 lead
Oklahoma is getting some separation from UCLA.
Kyler Murray ran for a 10-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, playfully leaping into the end zone to give the Sooners a 21-7 lead.
Murray has run twice for 17 yards. He’s also completed six of 11 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.
UCLA will need better blocking from its offensive line to sustain drives. The Bruins aren’t adequately protecting quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson or providing running lanes.
Oklahoma surges into a 14-7 lead
UCLA’s much maligned run defense stuffed Oklahoma on back-to-back plays, setting up a third and 14.
The Sooners then went to the air and had much better results.
Quarterback Kyler Murray connected with Marquise Brown at the UCLA 40-yard line, where Brown got around Bruins defensive backs Nate Meadors and Adarius Pickett before sprinting into the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown.
The score gave Oklahoma a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter.
Oklahoma responds with quick touchdown to tie score at 7-7
UCLA’s lead was short-lived.
Oklahoma’s Tre Brown returned the kickoff 85 yards to the Bruins’ 12-yard line and it took only three plays for the Sooners to tie the score on Rodney Anderson’s three-yard touchdown run.
It’s 7-7 midway through the first quarter.
UCLA missed a couple of tackles on the long kickoff return.
UCLA strikes first to take a 7-0 lead over Oklahoma
UCLA quickly quieted the Oklahoma crowd with an 80-yard drive that ended with Bolu Olorunfunmi’s three-yard touchdown run that gave the Bruins a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The biggest play came when UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson fired a strike over the middle to tight end Caleb Wilson for a 65-yard gain that put the Bruins deep in Oklahoma territory.
Thompson-Robinson also made a nice nine-yard run on a keeper after faking a handoff to Joshua Kelley. Freshman tailback Kazmeir Allen showed off his speed when he cut outside at the nine-yard line and slipped a tackle. Allen would have scored had he not stepped out of bounds at the three-yard line.
No worries. Olorunfunmi scored on the next play.
UCLA’s defense forces punt on Oklahoma’s first drive
UCLA’s defense held firm after giving up one first down on Oklahoma’s first drive.
The Sooners had a couple of penalties on their drive, outfoxing themselves at one point by trying to run a hurry-up tempo only to be penalized for having too many players in the backfield.
They reached UCLA territory before Kyler Murray’s third-down pass was ruled incomplete. Bruins cornerback Darnay Holmes also had a nice pass breakup with Murray trying to go deep on Oklahoma’s first offensive play.
UCLA will take over at its own 20-yard line after a punt.
A three-and-out start for UCLA
UCLA’s first drive didn’t last long.
Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson overthrew tight end Caleb Wilson by several feet on first down. Joshua Kelley ran for no gain on second down. Thompson-Robinson completed a short pass to Dymond Lee well short of the first down on third and 10.
Oklahoma now takes over at its own 35-yard line.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson starting at quarterback for UCLA
The announcement came via Twitter more than 1½ hours before the opening kickoff.
“QB1 warming up,” UCLA football’s official Twitter site declared Saturday morning with an accompanying video of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson dropping back to fire a pregame pass.
Thompson-Robinson will make his first career college start when the Bruins (0-1) face No. 6 Oklahoma (1-0) at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The true freshman replaced graduate transfer Wilton Speight last weekend during the second quarter of the Bruins’ loss to Cincinnati when Speight suffered a back injury.
Speight did not do much in practice this week and was seen only throwing a few warmup passes during the portion that was open to the media. UCLA coach Chip Kelly called the injury “nothing serious,” indicating that might Speight not be sidelined for an extended period.
Thompson-Robinson was hard on himself after a debut in which he completed 15 of 25 passes for 117 yards but lost a fumble for a safety and misfired on a fourth-down pass. He said he needed to be better in many facets, including having a plan for different coverages that he would face.
He’ll get another chance soon enough.
UCLA vs. Oklahoma: How the Bruins and Sooners match up
UCLA (0-1) at No. 6 Oklahoma (1-0)
Saturday, 10 a.m. PDT, Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. TV: Fox. Radio: 570, 97.3.
Marquee matchup
Oklahoma tailbacks Rodney Anderson and Trey Sermon vs. the UCLA run defense. There’s just one question facing any offensive coordinator who doesn’t opt to run the ball directly into the guts of the Bruins’ defense on almost every play: Why? Despite some overall improvement on defense in the opener, the struggles of UCLA’s injury-depleted inside linebackers were reminiscent of 2017. They can expect plenty of face time with Anderson and Sermon, who combined for 169 yards and three touchdowns last week in only 14 carries.
Getting offensive
UCLA (306 ypg/17 ppg): If quarterback Wilton Speight is unable to play because of a back injury suffered in the opener, his absence would likely lead to freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s first career start. Freshman tailback Kazmeir Allen figures to get more touches after rushing for 103 yards in only five carries in his college debut.
Oklahoma (650 ypg/63 ppg): The Sooners didn’t appear to miss departed Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield in their opener, averaging 10.5 yards per play against Florida Atlantic. Starting quarterback Kyler Murray didn’t have to play past halftime with his team holding a 42-0 lead in what became a 63-14 rout.
Getting defensive
UCLA (304 ypg/26 ppg): It must have been nice for the Bruins not to read about ranking among the nation’s worst defenses for a week. They were still far below average against the run in their opener, however, giving up 194 yards, but yielded only 110 passing yards.
Oklahoma (324 ypg/14 ppg): The Sooners held Florida Atlantic to 324 yards, far below the 498.4 yards the Owls averaged per game in 2017 under coach Lane Kiffin.
Confidence will be key for young Bruins today
Dorian Thompson-Robinson held his hands out, palms down, and repeatedly pushed them toward the Rose Bowl turf. It was the UCLA quarterback’s way of calming his teammates amid the frenzy.
Receiver Christian Pabico had just dropped a pass that would have gone for a long gain, if not a touchdown, last weekend during the third quarter of the Bruins’ taut season opener.
Fans groaned. A Bruins player watching from the sideline placed his hands on his helmet in disbelief.
Thompson-Robinson tenderly placed a hand on Pabico’s helmet while trying to comfort him.
“For me personally, it’s just keeping these guys positive and having a positive outlook on the situation even though it was definitely a disappointing day,” Thompson-Robinson said after his team’s 26-17 loss to Cincinnati.
A few extra dollops of soothing cream could be required Saturday.
The Bruins (0-1) will take the field inside Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium as 30-point underdogs against No. 6 Oklahoma (1-0).
It will be a powerhouse trying to stay in the running for the College Football Playoff versus a team trying to get back to .500 during a season in which Las Vegas oddsmakers picked the Bruins to finish with a losing record.