Oregon defeats UCLA 42-30
By Matt Joye
Oct. 11, 2014 4:09 p.m.
PASADENA — Just seven minutes into the second half, the game was all but over.
Oregon senior cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu stepped in front of a pass from redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley for an interception. Two plays later, the Ducks were in the endzone with a 34-10 lead.
A week after an upset loss to then-unranked Arizona at home, Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) regained its footing with a 42-30 defeat of UCLA at the Rose Bowl. The loss effectively knocks UCLA (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) out of playoff contention.
The Bruins held the Ducks in check early in the game, forcing punts on Oregon’s first two drives. But a turnover and a slew of UCLA penalties allowed Oregon to jump out to a 21-3 lead late in the first half.
But with just under three minutes remaining in the first half, UCLA drove 84 yards to score with three seconds left on a 16-yard scramble by Hundley to make the score 21-10.
Coming out of halftime, UCLA’s first drive stalled, and Oregon followed it with an 80-yard drive, capped off by a touchdown run from redshirt junior quarterback Marcus Mariota. Even after fumbling the ball, Mariota was able to recover and run 20 yards untouched for the score.
The Ducks delivered the finishing blow 44 seconds later with the Ekpre-Olomu interception, which he returned down to UCLA’s 10-yard line. The Ducks promptly scored two plays later to push their lead to 35-10.
UCLA showed some resilience late, but the Bruins’ three fourth-quarter touchdowns were not enough to overcome a 32-point Ducks lead with 10 minutes to go in the game.
Hundley finished with 216 yards passing, including two fourth-quarter touchdown tosses to junior wide receiver Jordan Payton. Hundley also had 89 yards rushing, with a fumble and the interception to Ekpre-Olomu in the third.
Redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins added 187 yards (8.9 yards per carry) for UCLA’s running game, the only real positive for the Bruins. It was Perkins’ third 100-yard rushing game this year.
For Oregon, Mariota finished with 210 yards and two touchdowns passing, and seven carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman and Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
