UCLA loses to Stanford 31-10, falls out of Pac-12 title race
By Matt Joye
Nov. 28, 2014 3:48 p.m.
PASADENA—Needing a win over a 6-5 Stanford team playing without its best offensive player to clinch the Pac-12 South title, No. 8 UCLA was widely picked by experts to cruise to a win.
Instead, the Bruins were faced with adversity.
After tumbling to an 11-point halftime deficit, UCLA continued to slide in the second half, eventually losing 31-10. The loss prevented the Bruins (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) from clinching the Pac-12 South title, which No. 11 Arizona took in their stead by defeating No. 13 Arizona State Friday afternoon.
UCLA looked poised for an easy win after the first few minutes of the game. Its defense held Stanford to a three-and-out on its first possession, then the Bruin offense carved through the Cardinal defense for a quick touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
But from that point on, nothing came easily for UCLA.
The Cardinal responded with a string of long drives – both in terms of time and distance – scoring three touchdowns in the first half to take a 21-10 lead by halftime. Stanford redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Hogan was near-perfect in the first half, completing 14 of his 15 passes with little pressure from UCLA’s pass rush.
Meanwhile, UCLA had trouble moving the ball consistently after its first drive, maintaining possession for just 8:20 of the 30 first-half minutes.
Needing a momentum-swinging scoring drive to open the second half, UCLA instead gained 15 yards before punting. Stanford then immediately pushed momentum further in its favor, breaking off several big runs as UCLA missed multiple tackles. The Cardinal finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to take a 28-10 lead.
The Bruins finally put a drive together near the end of the third quarter, but after it stalled on the Cardinal 30-yard line, UCLA’s fake field goal attempt came up empty.
The Cardinal (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12) responded on the next drive by hitting a field goal to take a 31-10 lead that would hold until the clock struck 0:00 on both the game and the Bruins’ Pac-12 title hopes.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.
