UCLA football sends Nevada packing in season opener

PASADENA — With his team down 51-20 midway through the fourth quarter, University of Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo faked a handoff and then sprinted full-tilt to the right sideline, hurdling over his team’s bench and slamming his body into the ground after just a 4-yard gain.

Fajardo showed his command and toughness at the helm of Nevada’s offense on Saturday night, passing for 164 yards and rushing for 106 yards more to single-handedly score 12 of the Wolf Pack’s 20 points.

It was a pack of UCLA Bruins, however, that managed to outduel and outlast the junior quarterback, overwhelming the Nevada defense to earn a 58-20 victory.

Countless parties made their presence known in No. 21 UCLA’s offensive attack Saturday evening, but no performance was more forceful than that of running back Jordon James. A season after the redshirt junior netted just 215 yards on the ground, James finished the first game of the 2013 season with 21 rushes for 155 yards and a 26-yard touchdown scamper late in the third quarter.

“The line was blocking very well at the line of scrimmage, so it was very easy to just make a cut,” James said. “I was basically at the second level after one cut.”

It appeared the instantaneous second-level burst spread to the rest of his comrades in the backfield as well. Eight UCLA players scorched the Wolf Pack defense, amassing 345 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Four of those touchdowns came in a second half in which UCLA outscored Nevada (0-1) 41-7, thanks to what coach Jim Mora called a calming of his offense’s “first game anxieties.”

“We had some guys that were trying to do a little bit too much,” said Mora of his team’s first half performance, which yielded a 17-13 UCLA advantage. “In the second half, we settled down and we stopped jumping around blocks and losing leverage or trying to go inside or spin or get too far up the field and we had a little bit more success.”

On UCLA’s first drive of the second half, redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley showed he had effectively settled down, leading his team on an 11-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that kicked off a 20-0 UCLA run.

Hitting redshirt senior wide receiver Shaquelle Evans in stride for a 27-yard gain to bring the Bruins down the field, Hundley capped off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown in which he spun past a defender for his second of two rushing touchdowns.

For Hundley, who added 274 yards and two touchdowns through the air in his 15th career collegiate game on Saturday, the first half was admittedly filled with some nerves, particularly with respect to full contact after wearing a red non-contact jersey for much of the offseason.

“I felt a lot more relaxed than last year, but just like anybody, this is our first game coming back home and you’re getting hit for the first time again,” Hundley said. “I had a little bit of nerves going into the game, but after getting smacked around a couple of times, I was pretty relaxed.”

Part of Hundley’s relaxation stemmed from a UCLA (1-0) offensive line that played exceptionally well on Saturday, only allowing one sack and opening up gaping holes all night.

Led by junior left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo and freshman right guard Alex Redmond, the Bruin offense finished the game with 647 total yards, the ninth highest single-game total in school history.

“Today, we got started fast, and that’s what we were emphasizing,” Su’a-Filo said. “Our tempo helped big time … and we took care of problems early.”

UCLA will have some time to take care of any lingering problems with a bye next week before heading to Nebraska in a rematch of the team’s 2012 home opener, a 36-30 win.