UCLA has sealed its first victory of the season when Keisean Lucier-South returned a fumble after a sack for a 38-yard touchdown with 5:58 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bruins have an insurmountable 37-7 lead with a handful of minutes left in the game.
Cal was attempting a pass when Odua Isibor was about to sack Brandon McIlwain. Isibor stripped the ball from McIlwain and Lucier-South was able to scoop it on the move and rambled to the end zone.
UCLA just might get its first victory of the Chip Kelly era.
And it would largely be thanks to Joshua Kelley. The tailback just ran for his third touchdown of the game on third and goal from California’s one-yard line, to give the Bruins a 27-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Kelley has been quite productive, with 154 yards rushing in 28 carries.
UCLA responded to California’s lengthy drive with one of its own to restore its two-score lead.
Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson made both of the big plays on the 68-yard drive, completing a 24-yard pass to Theo Howard and scrambling for a 15-yard gain to the Golden Bears’ one-yard line.
Tailback Joshua Kelley ran it in from there to give UCLA a 20-7 lead late in the third quarter.
California sustained its first lengthy drive of the game, taking the opening kickoff of the second half 75 yards for a touchdown that pulled the Golden Bears to within 13-7 with 8:38 left in the third quarter.
Cal quarterback Brandon McIlwain completed all five passes he threw on the drive and Patrick Laird ran for 23 yards, including a one-yard touchdown.
The breaks might be starting to go UCLA’s way.
The Bruins took a 13-0 lead over California into halftime on Saturday at California Memorial Stadium after the Golden Bears’ 32-yard field goal attempt with a few seconds left in the second quarter bounced off the right upright.
UCLA coach Chip Kelly called back-to-back timeouts in an attempt to ice kicker Greg Thomas. The second timeout prompted some heavy booing from Cal fans. But it worked.
UCLA got more points but left some on the field.
The Bruins took a 13-0 lead over California late in the second quarter after J.J. Molson’s second field goal, this one from 29 yards.
But UCLA oddly went away from Joshua Kelley after getting a first down at Cal’s 16-yard line, just like the Bruins went away from Kelley on their previous drive that ended in a field goal.
UCLA was in perfect position to take a two-touchdown lead, with a second and goal from the Cal one-yard line, but had to settle for J.J. Molson’s 25-yard field goal that gave the Bruins a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.
The Bruins brought in three tight ends on the second down and handed off to receiver Michael Ezeike, who was brought down for a two-yard loss while trying to run outside. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was then brought down for a five-yard loss on third down, bringing in Molson.
Thompson-Robinson completed a nice 46-yard pass to tight end Caleb Wilson on the drive and has completed all eight of his passes so far for 92 yards. But he appeared to have some miscommunication, twice trying to hand off to no one.
UCLA forced the game’s first turnover when cornerback Darnay Holmes knocked the ball out of Cal tailback Patrick Laird’s grasp and Bruins safety Adarius Pickett recovered.
UCLA then put together an impressive drive while playing with a quicker pace than it has for most of the season, the Bruins scoring the game’s first points on Joshua Kelley’s five-yard touchdown run.
The big play on the drive came when quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s third-down pass deflected off the hands of receiver Michael Ezeike and into the hands of tight end Caleb Wilson at the Golden Bears’ five-yard line.
It appears as if UCLA will be shorthanded on Saturday as it attempts to beat California for its first victory of the season.
Tailback Soso Jamabo, receiver Kyle Philips, linebacker Jaelan Phillips and offensive tackle Justin Murphy did not dress for warmups, indicating that they won’t play against the Golden Bears.
Murphy had been the only one of the bunch to appear at practice this week, though he wore a yellow non-contact jersey and was working off to the side with the strength and conditioning staff during the portion of practice open to the media.