UCLA football leads UNLV 28-14 at halftime
Sophomore Soso Jamabo rushed for three touchdowns on six carries in the first half to help the Bruins jump out to a 28-14 lead. (Michael Zshornack/Assistant photo editor)
By Matt Cummings
Sept. 10, 2016 6:52 p.m.
UCLA’s pair of sophomore backfield stars carried them to a 28-14 halftime lead over UNLV at the Rose Bowl on Saturday evening.
Running back Soso Jamabo scored touchdowns on three of his six carries, and quarterback Josh Rosen threw for 155 yards as the Bruin offense easily moved the ball against the Rebels.
Jamabo took his first carry of the game wide towards the left side, outrunning UNLV safety Kenny Keys to get the edge and dash inside of the pylon to give the Bruins a 7-0 lead. The Rebels would quickly respond with a 70-yard touchdown drive to tie the score.
On his second carry, Jamabo received a toss from Rosen and again ran wide left. This time, though, the Rebels sealed off the edge. Jamabo stopped, reversed direction, ran all the way to the opposite sideline and into the end zone from 23 yards out for his second touchdown.
After Rosen connected for the Bruins’ third touchdown on a pass over the middle, redshirt senior defensive back Randall Goforth intercepted a deep throw from Johnny Stanton IV and returned it 52 yards to set UCLA up at the Rebels’ 21-yard line.
A few plays later, the Bruins went back to Jamabo, who slithered his way through the UNLV defense for a nine-yard touchdown, his third score of the evening.
UNLV closed the half with another touchdown as quarterback Johnny Stanton IV tossed a 14-yard score to receiver Mekhi Stevenson to bring the Rebels within two scores.
Rosen completed 15 of his 21 passes in the half and even contributed a strong block against 280-pound defensive lineman Salanoa-Alo Wily on Jamabo’s second touchdown run.
Redshirt senior receiver Ishmael Adams led the Bruins with four catches for 42 yards, including two key conversions on fourth down and third down, respectively.
