No. 19 UCLA Makes a Game of It, 20-17 : College football: Merten kicks two 35-yard field goals in the fourth quarter to lift heavily favored Bruins over Oregon State.

Bjorn Merten kicked two 35-yard field goals in the fourth quarter to give 19th-ranked UCLA a 20-17 come-from-behind victory over Oregon State on Saturday.

A 45-yard pass from Wayne Cook to Kevin Jordan set up the winning kick, which came with 8:57 left in the game.

Brooke Knight of Oregon State missed a 32-yard field goal with 4:22 to play that would have tied the score.

The Bruins (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) were 20-point favorites but trailed 17-14 entering the final period after the Beavers (3-5, 1-4) scored two touchdowns in the third quarter.

Oregon State’s option offense went 78 yards in 14 plays, using up 6 1/2 minutes in the process, before John Young scored on a one-yard run to give Beavers a 10-7 lead with 6:51 left in the period.

UCLA regained the lead on its next possession, going 80 yards in 12 plays. Cook threw 9 yards to J.J. Stokes for the score to put the Bruins ahead 14-10 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

But the Beavers scored again quickly, redshirt freshman quarterback Rahim Muhammad tossing a late pitch to Cameron Reynolds on a 43-yard touchdown play that put Oregon State ahead 17-14 with 2:37 left in the period.

Muhammad’s fumble, recovered by UCLA’s Jamir Miller, set up Merten’s first 35-yarder that tied the score 17-17 with 13:57 remaining.

Cook’s first-down bomb to Jordan moved the ball from the UCLA 36 to the Oregon State 19 to set up the game-winning field goal.

The Beavers moved from their own 20 to the Bruins’ 15 the next time they had the ball, Muhammad going 32 yards on an option keeper for the big play of the drive. But on fourth-and-three, Oregon State decided to go for the field goal and Knight’s attempt was off to the left.

Skip Hicks got UCLA’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run with 4:35 left in the first period. UCLA drove to the Beavers’ 18 early in the second quarter but Cook fumbled a handoff attempt. Dennis Edwards of Oregon State picked up the ball and rambled 55 yards to the UCLA 9.

The Beavers couldn’t get the touchdown and settled for Knight’s 21-yard field goal that made it 7-3 at halftime.

Stokes caught eight passes for 86 yards. His scoring catch gave him 20 touchdown receptions for his career, tying the school record. He has 17 this season.

Oregon State rushed for 338 yards, 219 in the second half. It was the most yards given up by UCLA on the ground since 1990.