Stanford holds on for 49-42 victory over UCLA
UCLA had the Rose Bowl rocking--literally—after tight end Caleb Wilson made a nifty cutback move on a 66-yard catch that gave the Bruins a first down at the Stanford 19-yard line while needing a touchdown to tie the score.
But Wilton Speight was sacked twice, including on a fourth-down play, and the Cardinal took over. UCLA made a quick defensive stop, getting the ball back at its own 21-yard line with 1:03 left in the game.
Wilson made a catch on first down and fumbled the ball but Stanford was called for targeting, giving the Bruins a first down at the Stanford 45-yard line.
But UCLA was called for holding and could not pick up a first down, Speight’s fourth-down pass falling incomplete before Stanford ran out the final 30 seconds on a 49-42 victory.
UCLA finished its first season under coach Chip Kelly 3-9, its worst record since going 3-7-1 in 1989.
Stanford improved to 7-4 and 5-3, with its rivalry game against California up next week.
Stanford goes back ahead, 49-42, with 8:19 left in the game
UCLA’s defense came up with every big play it needed in the fourth quarter last week against USC.
This week, not so much.
The Bruins allowed Stanford receiver Osiris St. Brown to get behind the secondary on a 52-yard touchdown catch, giving the Cardinal a 49-42 lead with 8:19 left after Bryce Love ran for the two-point conversion.
Stanford needed only three plays to go 75 yards on the drive.
UCLA takes a 42-41 lead with 9:27 left in game
UCLA just drove 90 yards for the go-ahead score, a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Wilton Speight giving the Bruins a 42-41 lead with 9:27 left in the game.
The Bruins tried a two-point conversion, but Speight’s pass fell incomplete.
Speight has completed 23 of 34 passes for 323 yards with an interception. He’s also lost a fumble, but his touchdown run extended UCLA’s run of 15 unanswered points after falling behind 41-27.
UCLA gets nine quick points and trails 41-36 late in third quarter
Things did not look good for UCLA after another drive ended with a Wilton Speight turnover, this time an interception that gave Stanford the ball at its own three-yard line.
But Bruins defensive lineman Martin Andus made the best out of a bad situation, running untouched into the backfield and slamming Cardinal tailback Bryce Love to the ground for a safety.
Darnay Holmes then returned the kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to pull the Bruins within 41-36 late in the third quarter.
UCLA was penalized for an excessive celebration and will have to kick off from its own 20-yard line.
Stanford scores again, takes a 41-27 lead late in third quarter
A controversial fumble call on UCLA quarterback Wilton Speight gave the ball back to Stanford, and the Cardinal capitalized.
Stanford receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside hauled in his third touchdown catch of the game, this one on a two-yarder, to give the Cardinal a 41-27 lead late in the third quarter.
Speight’s arm appeared to be moving forward on a pass when the ball slipped out of his hand, but officials ruled it a fumble, giving the Cardinal the ball at UCLA’s 21-yard line.
UCLA pulls into 27-27 tie with Stanford early in third quarter
UCLA made a strong opening statement to start the third quarter.
The Bruins drove 75 yards in only nine plays, with Martell Irby running for a 12-yard touchdown to tie the score at 27-27 early in the third quarter.
Wilton Speight completed three of five passes for 56 yards on the drive, including a 25-yard connection to tight end Devin Asiasi on fourth and five.
Stanford answers with touchdown to go ahead 34-27 midway through third quarter
UCLA nemesis J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is up to his old tricks.
The Stanford receiver who caught the game-winning touchdown here in 2016 burned the Bruins again with a leaping 23-yard touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone to give the Cardinal a 34-27 lead midway through the third quarter.
Arcega-Whiteside has five catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
Stanford takes a 27-20 lead into halftime
It was a pretty wild momentum swing near the end of the first half.
UCLA’s Joshua Kelley was credited with a one-yard touchdown run with 37 seconds left in the second quarter after a lengthy review, and it seemed like the Bruins would go into halftime with some bounce in their step.
But Stanford’s Cameron Scarlett returned the kickoff 77 yards and UCLA was called for two pass interference penalties, giving the Cardinal the ball at the Bruins’ two-yard line.
UCLA forced an incompletion and the Cardinal kicked a 20-yard field goal, giving Stanford a 27-20 halftime lead.
Kelley has 56 yards to Stanford counterpart Bryce Love’s 49 yards, but Cardinal quarterback K.J. Costello has passed for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
Stanford takes a 24-13 lead late in second quarter
Stanford receivers dropped two consecutive passes, setting up a third and 10 for the Cardinal.
Trent Irwin made sure not to sustain the trend, catching a 37-yard touchdown pass from K.J. Costello on a play in which he was running alongside receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, who blocked two UCLA defensive backs out of the way.
Stanford has a 24-13 lead late in the second quarter.
Joshua Kelley’s touchdown run pulls UCLA to within 17-13 midway through second quarter
UCLA’s sputtering offense put together its best drive of the game, going 75 yards in nine plays to score a touchdown that brought the Bruins within 17-13 against Stanford midway through the second quarter.
Receiver Theo Howard took a short pass while running in motion in front of quarterback Wilton Speight and ran 21 yards to the Stanford 12-yard line. On the next play, tailback Joshua Kelley ran into the end zone for the Bruins’ first touchdown of the game.
Bryce Love touchdown gives Stanford a 17-6 lead early in second quarter
Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello, who struggled early, has found his rhythm.
He completed all three passes on the Cardinal’s seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with tailback Bryce Love falling into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown to give Stanford a 17-6 lead early in the second quarter.
Costello has completed 10 of 15 passes for 123 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His best pass on the most recent drive was a 33-yard strike over the middle to tight end Colby Parkinson, which gave the Cardinal the ball at UCLA’s two-yard line.
Love has run nine times for 47 yards.
J.J. Molson’s second field goal draws UCLA to within 10-6 at end of first quarter
UCLA finally got its offense going, using a 23-yard run from Joshua Kelley to kick-start a drive that went 57 yards and ended in J.J. Molson’s 35-yard field goal on the final play of the first quarter that pulled the Bruins to within 10-6.
Molson has made both of his field goal attempts in this game.
UCLA quarterback Wilton Speight has been mostly out of rhythm, however, completing only two of seven passes for 28 yards. The Bruins tried to run on third and long but Kelley was stopped well short of the first down.
Stanford takes a 10-3 lead over UCLA late in first quarter
UCLA’s continued offensive struggles and a good punt return from Trent Irwin put Stanford in good position on its last drive.
The Cardinal took over at the Bruins’ 37-yard line after Irwin’s 22-yard return and picked up one first down before UCLA defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa missed a sack on third down but helped keep a scrambling Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello from picking up the first down.
Jet Toner’s 30-yard field goal gave Stanford a 10-3 lead late in the first quarter.
Stanford takes a 7-3 lead over UCLA midway through first quarter
Stanford finally called a running play, on its third drive, but it was a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback K.J. Costello to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside that gave the Cardinal a 7-3 lead over UCLA midway through the first quarter.
Arcega-Whiteside, a longtime Bruins nemesis after making the game-winning touchdown catch in 2016 at the Rose Bowl, made a leaping grab in the end zone between two defenders.
UCLA defensive back Jay Shaw helped sustain the drive when he was called for defensive holding on a third-down pass, giving the Cardinal a first down.
UCLA takes a 3-0 lead over Stanford in first quarter after interception
UCLA safety Adarius Pickett made the first big play in his final college game, reading quarterback K.J. Costello on third down and stepping in front of his pass for an interception.
Pickett returned the ball 22 yards to the Stanford 23-yard line. The Bruins then tried an odd formation on first down, with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson running behind center for the snap and pitching the ball to quarterback Wilton Speight, who rolled out and threw an incomplete pass intended for Christian Pabico.
UCLA couldn’t move the ball and had to settle for J.J. Molson’s 38-yard field goal that gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Can Bruins finish season strong against Stanford?
It might be a bit much to consider UCLA’s game against Stanford on Saturday a referendum on the Bruins’ season, but it certainly could go a long way toward giving players more tangible validation of the team’s rebuilding efforts under coach Chip Kelly.
The Bruins will return the bulk of their team in 2019, so there should be considerable carryover from the improvement they have made late in the season.
Beating USC and Stanford in back-to-back weeks could provide some inspiration for the Bruins’ offseason workouts. It also could remove the terrible taste that’s been lingering for more than a decade with the Cardinal having won the last 10 games in the series.
UCLA graduate transfer Wilton Speight is trying to become the first Bruins quarterback to beat Stanford since Kevin Craft completed a seven-yard pass to tight end Cory Harkey with 10 seconds left in 2008 at the Rose Bowl, nudging the Bruins to a 23-20 victory.
UCLA is about to find out if it can break the Stanford hex.
Bruins say they have plenty to play for in season finale against Stanford
UCLA could be on the verge of a catchy new cheer: the 4-8 clap.
A victory over Stanford on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl wouldn’t do much to salvage the Bruins’ final record, but it would provide further evidence of the possibility of eventual salvation under coach Chip Kelly as his first season comes to a close.
The Bruins, 3-8 overall and 3-5 in the Pac-12, already dispatched their archrival, USC. Now they get a chance to beat the team that’s been a giant sequoia blocking their path to supremacy in the Pac-12 over the last decade.
Stanford (6-4, 4-3) has won 10 consecutive games in the series, including a soul-crushing triumph in the final minute at the Rose Bowl in 2016 after it appeared that Jim Mora’s efforts to remake the Bruins in the image of the Cardinal just might work out.
Bruins vs. Cardinal: How UCLA and Stanford match up
UCLA (3-8, 3-5) vs. Stanford (6-4, 4-3)
Saturday, noon, Rose Bowl. TV: Pac-12 Networks. Radio: 570, 97.3.
Marquee matchup
Stanford tailback Bryce Love versus the UCLA run defense. The Bruins jammed their interior defense with extra players last week against USC in an effort to stop the run and it paid off handsomely. The Trojans were held to 112 rushing yards and had to try to win the game behind a freshman quarterback. Expect a similar approach this week against a Stanford run game, which hasn’t been nearly as dangerous as anticipated, ranking next-to-last in the Pac-12 Conference with 108.2 yards per game. Love was touted as a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate but has averaged only 72.5 yards in the eight games he’s played, after being hampered by injuries.